Original subtitles

But the height of the Italian Renaissance, when Michelangelo and Leonardo were establishing

their reputations, a German artist emerged, who transformed painting north of the Alps.

He was the first major self-portradist and printmaker, and his evocations of the natural

world have never been surpassed. His name, Albrecht Jura.

Jura was born in May, 1471, in Nuremberg, in what's now known as Bavaria.

One of at least 17 children, he was the son of a goldsmith, and when he was about

11, he joined his father's workshop, where he began to learn the techniques of engraving.

The Gothic style dominated art and architecture in Central and Northern Europe. It was an age

of great architectural achievement, of magnificent cathedrals proclaiming the power

of the Catholic Church through their spires, their stained glass, their paintings, and

their sculptures.

Jura was born into an exciting age of invention and discovering. The first printing

presses spread news of extraordinary explorations across the seas by the Porsche

Gees, who were about to open up new trade routes with the East.

Jura's hometown was a centre for scientific innovation, the invention of the first

pocket watch happened here, along with developments in nautical and astronomical equipment.

This undoubtedly had an impact on the young artist.

Jura's technical brilliance as an engraver and his precosious talent for drawing,

are both illustrated in this self-portrad, completed when he was just 13 and still apprentice

to his father.

The method he uses is silver point, which involves making marks with a silver stylus rather

like a modern pencil. It's a method which demands great artistic confidence, as what's

the line's been created, it's permanent, and therefore impossible to correct.

The inscription was added later, and it shows Jura's pride in his achievement. This

for the age of 15, Jura joined the workshop of Michael Volgamot, the preeminent artist

of Nuremberg. Here he learned to make woodcuts and book illustrations, and assisted

his master in producing stained glass windows and painted altar pieces, like this one,

still hanging in Nuremberg's and Lawrence Kierker.

But the most valuable advice that Volgamot was to give the young artist was to travel, of

need to broaden his horizons, and learn new skills from masters in other cities.

So at the age of 20, Jura began a period of four years as a German, effectively, a travelling

craftsman. It was an initiation period, both for Jura as a young man, and an artist,

and he travelled around the Holy Roman Empire, or what we now call Germany, fringes of France

and Switzerland, working, meeting people, and also learning new skills, and being exposed

to copies of work by the great young Italian masters, people like Leonardo and Mantenia.

And all of that sense of transformation in Jura, and a young man trying to find his

own artistic voice, is wonderfully evident in this painting. It's a self-portrait by Jura,

age 22, and this is the first known oil self-portrait produced independently as a self-portrait,

rather than just as an image of the artist appearing in a much bigger work. Ever, in the history

of Western art, this is the first one that we know. And we see a confident young man, who has

a wistful, slightly restless looking his eye, looking out at us, but also off into the distance.

He's smartly clad to show his newfound status or his burgeoning status, this slightly

camp, jovial red, tassel hat, the elaborate gown that he wears, but he's clushing in his hand,

a sea holi, a piece of sea holi. Now, in Germany that means man's fidelity. It's also sometimes

a plant that's considered to be an aphrodisiac. And we know that when he comes back to New

Ramburg, he falls in love with, gets engaged to, and then marries Agnes Frey. And therefore this

work is seen as a devotional picture, and some people think that it was painted by Jura as a gift

to his fiancee.

Even after his marriage, Jura's yearning to travel remain unquenched, and he embarked on the

difficult journey across the Alps to the mecca of European art, Italy, to the flourishing

city of Venice. When he arrived here, he encountered a fabulously wealthy place,

one of the most important trading ports in Europe, a place where East met West,

in short it was a vibrant cultural melting pot, whose buildings, whose light,

and the sheer drama of the place must have staggered the young man from New Ramburg.

But Jura was most affected by the status of the artist in Italian society.

Italian painters sculptors and architects had begun to transform themselves from tradesmen and craftsmen,

to creative individuals even geniuses, admired, wealthy, and of social standing. In Northern Europe,

painters were still considered lowly craftsmen. After about six months in Venice, Jura returned

to New Ramburg, a proud young man, determined to raise his own creative status,

who promptly set up his own workshop. The output was varied, portraits and religious images,

alter pieces and stained-glass windows, but at the core were his woodcuts and engravings,

and it was in this area that Jura made his most significant artistic developments.

As well as having a long tradition in fine craftsmanship,

Nuremberg also became a major centre for printing in Europe. In the decades following

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press with movable type, some time around 1450.

The implications of this invention were immense across the west and led to the dissemination of

ideas from political pamphlets to plays to the Bible. But it became more powerful when visual imagery

was incorporated too, using the traditional technique of the woodcut. And consequently,

mass-produced illustrated books were spread throughout Europe.

Woodcuts were made by marking the areas that should stay white on a block of wood.

The wood was then sent to a carpenter who gouged out the white and areas, and the block was

subsequently inked in the image printed. It was possible to make hundreds of copies from one

block, and because they were made of inexpensive materials, woodcuts could be more experimental.

The vast majority of woodcuts were made to illustrate religious publications, mainly vibes and

prayer books. For jura, though, the production of prints had distinct advantages over commissioned

paintings. Prints were much quicker to produce, being cheaper, achieved a far greater circulation of

his work. In addition, the techniques of engraving that he'd learnt from his father,

meant that jura was emanating suited to this medium.

And this is the result of jura's study of a mastery of the art of woodcuts.

Fifteen large-scale images finished in 1498 to accompany an edition of the Bible that was

produced in both German and Latin, telling the saga of the revelation of St. John, the last book

of the New Testament. The story that St. John unfolds in that last book of the Bible,

is a fantastic tale of apocalyptic doom, of the affliction of mankind, huge punishments

vented from on high by an angry god. And he brings that all to life here, when you see trumpets

spewing blood, you see eagles proclaiming woe to all who dwell below on earth. But then there's

a change, and for the last four prints of the fifteen, you see a struggle between good and evil,

in which, of course, in the end, good triumphs. And those are some of the most memorable

images ever produced in graphic art in this way. There's the horror of Babylon,

this wonderful image of the sinful woman riding on a multi-headed monster,

clashing a gold goblet, which is full, which is symbolic of her abominable crimes of

fornication and lust. Now I produce a visual account of this apocalyptic tale at the end of the

fifteen century. Well, in spite of the superficial era of prosperity, this was a time of social,

political and religious unrest. There are plagues and pestilences at regular intervals.

Also, there's religious persecution, heretics were tortured publicly and executed.

And there was a spread of what the Germans called the French disease, syphilis,

which had arrived in Germany at the beginning of the 1490s. And so in a way,

Jura is bringing to life the world around him, as well as letting his own imagination,

interpret the wild imagination of St. John. These are masterful woodcuts. The extended

size, the control of line, the attention to detail and the overall composition, show this to be the

work of a master. These works, in effect, made Jura's reputation as an artist, he didn't produce these

for connoisseurs, in the way that oil paintings were produced, where only one person could own them.

These were meant for everyone. Also, look at his signature, this trademark AD. It's right there,

prominent at the bottom, but central. And it's a nice link to the fact that there's a consequence

of these works. Jura moves into the mainstream of German art and this establishes him as a major figure.

The wide distribution of Albrecht Jura's prints fostered both his fame and commercial success.

In turn, he found that his oil paintings were in demand among wealthy patrons.

Jura then won a string of major commissions, one of the most memorable of which was produced in

1499. It shows Oswald Krell, the son of a respected trading family in Jura and Berg,

but there's a good deal more going on in this painting than the simple display of a powerful figure.

The portrait of Oswald Krell is psychologically charged in a way that had rarely

if ever been attempted before. It shows a disturbed looking figure,

clenching his fist and staring sharply off to his left. He seems wracked by an inner turmoil,

which suggests he's about to erupt. Krell had, in fact, been recently jailed

for a verbal attack on a Nuremberg citizen during the performance of a play.

He's recorded as having been pugnacious and temperamental, and I think Jura conveys this through

his gaze, his expression, and his taught body language. He also portrays the idea of a

fiery individual by setting the portrait against a vivid red backdrop.

Whilst Jura earned his living painting the wealthy of Nuremberg, he also continued to explore

his own self image, in this the third of the three great self portraits that still exists today.

This in many ways is the culmination of that project, and what we see is Jura at the age of 28,

identifying himself with Christ. This is almost a self portrait as Christ.

Now, he's wearing a fashionable fur coat, and so he's proclaiming his own status, his own success.

He's also proclaiming his own technique and talent, and this work would have been used as a way

of selling himself and his work and his skills to potential customers. The pictures mirrored

and modeled on the Byzantine approach to painting Christ. In other words, Christ is there fully

frontal confronting us or staring out, but of course, unlike Byzantine art, which was

ordinary stylized, this is graphically realistic. He also subverts the Byzantine technique

of centrality and frontality, just a little, with Christ's hair, the parting slightly skewed,

and his eyes subtly, but significantly staring off to the right hand side of the painting.

Now, many art historians have said that this shows his devotion to Christ, and I go along with that,

exemplising, he's putting himself in the place of Christ his Savior. But he's also identifying

himself with Christ. He's saying, I think, that as an artist and a creator, there are certain

parallels, and this is as much a celebration of himself as it is of his Christianity.

But the key to the painting is in the inscriptions. On the left hand side, there's AD 1500,

his signature, and when it was painted. But on the right hand side, and in Latin, there's an inscription

that reads, thus, I, Albrecht, Europe, and Europe painted myself in indelible colours at the age

of 28. And I think the key is the indelible, because here he is, not working in fresco, not working

on paper, or using graphic techniques, trying to produce something that will be as permanent as

possible. The identification, if you like, with eternal life, an image that will live well

beyond Europe's life. And 500 or so years later, the work is still going. It looks incredibly fresh.

The beginning of the 16th century heralded a new age of scientific curiosity, which saw the

natural world come under close scrutiny. Exotic species such as monkeys and lions were being

discovered, as European explorers ventured further afield. Dura's drawings of new and different

species were among the first to be made. Some were from stuffed animals, and others were simply

from written or verbal reports. His most popular image, though, was the hair, believed to have

been drawn from a stuffed model, as well as from detailed observation of the real thing.

It's a startling the life-like image, a particular brushwork, combining tiny strokes of water

colour and coash, bring the fur to life. The precision is just a striking here in a great piece of

painted a year later. It shows a microcosm of a meadow taken from a low view point,

and depicting a great variety of plants, yaro, dandelion, plantain and meadow grass. This increased

naturalism and realism as a result of scientific study was something that had become even more

important to Dura, following a second trip to Italy in 155. The lessons that Dura learnt on this trip

both scientific and artistic were assimilated into this work. Adam and Eve painted in 157,

exemplifies his close study of human proportions, and his quest for the perfect human form,

appropriately used to depict the biblical version of the first human couple. Adam holds a

branch from the tree of knowledge and looks yearningly towards Eve. In the other painting, Eve looks

back at him with a seductive glint in her eye as she succumbs to the temptation and plucks the

apple from the mouth of the snake. They're carefully modelled and dexterously depicted in motion.

These are considered to be the first life-sized news in the history of German religious painting,

and they blend together a heavy mixture of idealised beauty, innocence, and eroticism.

Dura's reputation as an artist also helped him to gain status as a citizen. In 1590 brought

a large house in Neuramburg. He also became a member of Neuramburg's Grand Council.

Although the post-held little real power, it was a sign of his increasing prestige in his native

city. And commissions were plentiful too. In 1512, Dura was made court painter by the most

powerful political figure in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.

The artist was put to work producing propaganda for Maximilian, which included the series of

portraits of the Emperor himself. And Maximilian was to need all the propaganda he could muster

as within a few years, religious issues were to cause serious political unrest.

The Roman Catholic Church was the single most important institution in Europe.

Its architecture was everywhere as a flamboyant symbol of the Church's wealth and power,

but increasingly this was resented. Prehistim bishops were seen to exploit the Church as a kind of

cash cow to fill an extravagant lifestyle, a far cry from the poverty of Christ and his disciples.

In turn, they were seen to be exploiting the power they had over their congregations. They acted as

an intermediary between God and the people. And were part of a power structure whose apex was in

Rome in the Vatican with the Pope himself. And this resentment fueled an idea of reform,

which came to a head in 1517 when a young Augustinean monk, called Martin Luther,

nailed his 95th thesis to the door of the Church in Vittenberg, a few hundred kilometers

east of here in Neuramburg. And this triggered a theological and political movement known as the

Reformation. The implications throughout Germany and the rest of Europe were huge.

Culturally, Luther's ideas were spread through the spoken and written word fueled by the recently

translated Bible. The implications for art, though, were very serious, devotional images,

sacred images, and alter pieces over the next 10 years or so were gradually faded out and eventually

banned, and artists left Germany in their droves. And it was in this context that during

himself began to wrestle with the ideas of Lutheranism.

Neuramburg embraced the Reformation in 1525, soon after which,

Jura began what he described as his most ambitious work. This one, sometimes called before apostles,

but more accurately described as the four holy men. The four people we see in the picture

starting on the left are St. John the Evangelist who holds his own gospel open behind him,

very much in the background, St. Peter. In the next panel, in the distance, St. Mark,

and finally, on the end an extreme right and very strong presence is St. Paul.

Now, there's something odd about this work when you look at it, because often,

these types of paintings were the wings to flank a central panel making up a triptage or

alter piece. As we know, the Reformation stopped the production by about 1530. Soon after this

was painted, of all the pieces, and X-ray and research, more recently, has shown that Jura painted

these exactly as we see them now. In other words, he wanted simply to draw our attention

to these four figures. But the most important aspect of this painting is how we interpret it

in the light of what is happening in Jura and Berg and around Germany in general, and fundamentally

what Jura's own sympathies are. Well, if you look at the painting, the crucial fact to begin with

is the fact that St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, the Pope, the rock on which the Christian

Church is built, but also the pivot of the Roman Catholic Church, is in the background. And St. Paul,

the muscular head of Christianity with his sword, and St. John, are there very much as the heroes.

And St. John, clutches his own Bible, looks at his own gospel, the opening words of which are,

in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

And then you look and see at the bottom of the paintings, inscriptions, under each of the figures,

taken from Luther's translation of the Bible in 1522. And then the very opening inscription,

where Jura says, roughly translated, beware all worldly leaders, not to mistake human delusion

for the word of God. So, what's he saying? Well, broadly speaking, he's embracing the reformation

he's embracing change, he's stressing the fundamental importance of the Bible, translated,

and accessible to all. He's stressing the idea that everyone has the potential to get into the

Christian faith, but also to understand what it's about and not be taught from on high in

a language that no one understands. Now, even though he said he spent more time on this painting than

any other work, he received no money for it. Instead, he gave it as a gift to the city fathers of

Jura and Berg, both as a monument to himself, and also as this visual warning, in a sense,

this isn't the word made flesh, it's the word made visual, and this is Jura's own monument to

that state of affairs. And ironically, it was the last oil painting Jura ever produced.

His graphic work and restless curiosity showed no signs of diminishing, though.

Whilst on a trip to the Netherlands, news reached him of a beeched whale in Zeeland, a Dutch

studying and drawing the creature. But this interest in the natural world proved to be as undoing,

because he contracted a severe fever, which some believed to be malaria, and from which he never

recovered. He died on April 6, 1528, at the age of 56. Jura's achievements were vast,

thanks to his mastery of printmaking, his influence spread rapidly throughout Europe, and he emerged

as the father figure of Jura Monat.