Portrait of Albrecht Dürer the Elder

Albrecht Dürer completed this portrait in 1490, when he was just eighteen years old. It depicts his father, the goldsmith Albrecht the Elder, at age sixty-two or sixty-three. This small oil on panel measuring 47.5 by 39.5 centimeters represents Dürer's earliest surviving painting and heralds the characteristic style of his mature work.

The elder Dürer appears in profile facing right, wearing a dark fur-lined robe and black hat. In his hands he holds a rosary, indicating a personal spiritual moment. The subdued greenish background allows the figure to stand out with quiet dignity. The date "1490" and Dürer's monogram appear in the upper left corner, possibly the oldest extant instance of his famous "AD" signature.

Dürer painted this portrait the month before leaving on his journeyman travels. A companion piece showing his mother, Barbara Holper, was created as a diptych but has been separated since at least 1628. The father panel now hangs at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, while the mother's portrait remains in Nuremberg.