The Great Piece of Turf

The Great Piece of Turf (Das große Rasenstück) shows a patch of meadow grass at close range, each blade and plantain leaf painted individually. Created in 1503 by Albrecht Dürer, this watercolor transforms humble vegetation into a subject worthy of serious artistic attention. The low viewpoint places the viewer at ground level, eye-to-eye with dandelions and yarrow.

Dürer's nature studies represented a radical approach to observing the natural world. Rather than using nature merely as background, he examined it with the same attention given to human subjects. The Great Piece of Turf anticipates modern ecological thinking in its insistence that ordinary plants deserve careful study.

The watercolor is at the Albertina in Vienna.