Portrait of Barbara

Albrecht Dürer painted the portrait of his mother, Barbara Holper, in 1490 when she was around 39 years old. The oil-on-panel work originally formed a diptych with a companion portrait of Dürer's father, from which it was separated by at least 1628. Barbara's portrait was long considered lost until art historian Lotte Brand Philip reattributed it in 1977.

Barbara Holper was the daughter of Hieronymus Holper, under whom Dürer's father served his goldsmith apprenticeship. The two men became friends, and Holper gave his daughter in marriage when she was just 15 and Dürer senior was 40. Dürer's writings describe his parents' difficult lives and many setbacks. Only three of their 18 children survived to adulthood.

The portrait hangs at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, which reunited both parent portraits for a 2012 exhibition. Dürer's tight focus on his mother's face distinguishes him from contemporaries, showing skill that art historian Stephan Kemperdick called "beyond Wolgemut and his circle."