Praying Hands (Dürer)
| German: Betende Hände | |
 | |
| Artist | Albrecht Dürer |
|---|---|
| Year | c. 1508 |
| Type | drawing |
| Dimensions | 29.1 cm × 19.7 cm (11.5 in × 7.8 in) |
| Location | Albertina, Vienna |
Praying hands (German: Betende Hände), also known as Study of the Hands of an Apostle (German: Studie zu den Händen eines Apostels), is a pen-and-ink drawing by the German printmaker, painter and theorist Albrecht Dürer, executed c. 1508. The artwork is stored at Albertina museum — Graphische Sammlung in Vienna, Austria. Dürer used white heightening technique and black ink on (self-made) blue colored paper. The drawing shows two male hands palm to palm praying, the body to the right (not seen). Also, the partly up-folded sleeves of the prayer are seen.
The drawing is a sketch (study) for an apostles' hand who was planned to be in the center panel of the triptych for the Heller Altar, which was destroyed by a fire in 1729.[1] The hand sketch appears on the triptych in the inside center panel on the right in similarity, although in smaller size. On the same paper is a sketch of the apostle's head, but the sheet has been divided from it. Overall, Dürer made 18 sketches for the altarpiece.[2]
The first public recognition of the artwork was in 1871 when it was exhibited in Vienna.[3]
The image depicts probably the master's own hands.[4]
In popular culture
The 2015 Drake album If You're Reading This It's Too Late includes a stylized version of the Dürer original on the album cover.[5]
In Ronald Harwood's The Dresser, after Norman applies make up to "Sir"'s hands, he states, "There! Albert Durer couldn't have done better."[6]
In 2011 Pavlos Tsakonas, student at the Athens School Of Fine Arts, made a graffiti mural based on Dürer's original drawing.[7] The mural is on the side of a 10-story building in the center of Athens, at Peiraios 20 street. The version is altered to have the hands pointing downwards.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Betende Hände (Dürer). |
- ↑ www.barefootsworld.net Robert Perry Hardison (Barefoot): "Dürer". Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ (German) www.welt.de Die Welt "Wie Albrecht Dürer die Betenden Hände erfand", 24 December 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ (German) www.focus.de Kultur: "Dürers „Betende Hände“ Tausendmal kopiert", 22 November 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ (German) www.theophil-online.de Theophil-online, ökumenische Online-Zeitschrift: "Call God - Materialien für einen alternativen Zugang zum Thema Gebet im Religionsunterricht - 2.3.5. Variationen zu Albrecht Dürers Betende Hände", Gerd Buschmann 2002. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ www.complex.com "Drake's "6 God" Art Was Inspired by a Dead German Painter" 15 March 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
- ↑ Harwood, Ronald (1982-01-01). The Dresser. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 9780573608438.
- ↑ "H προσευχή του Ντύρερ σε τοιχογραφία κτιρίου στην Ομόνοια | Athens Street Art". Flickr - Photo Sharing!. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
