Albrecht Dürer

Dürer is seen as the archetypal Renaissance artist of Northern Europe. He had unique skills of observation, was a master narrator and a superb technician. He visited Italy, and added interest in proportion and perspective to his Northern taste for surface detail.

He was a polymath - a writer and theoretician as well as a painter and graphic artist. Himself influenced by the work of Mantegna, Leonardo and Giovanni Bellini, he in turn influenced many Italian artists through his prints.