Discovering Dürer

Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve (detail), 1504, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Albrecht Dürer was one of Europe’s most ambitious, experimental and acclaimed pioneers of print. Propelling the art of printmaking to new heights during the Northern Renaissance of the late 1400s, the German artist not only elevated the status of prints throughout Europe but secured his reputation as one of the very best. Discovering Dürer brings together a selection of prints by the artist for the first time since a major conservation project of all 374 of Dürer’s prints in our collection was completed. From tears to repairs, transformative specialised treatments have revealed the fascinating past lives of these prints and preserved them for years to come. Their restoration brings to life Dürer’s varied and skilled mark-making and printing techniques.