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Primary sourcePainting1524

Willibald Pirkheimer

Albrecht Dürer · 1524

An engraved profile portrait of Dürer's closest friend and humanist mentor, made by Dürer in 1524.

Dürer engraved this portrait of his closest friend and humanist mentor in 1524.

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Engraving of a man in profile facing left, with curly hair and a fur-collared garment, in a bust portrait. A Latin inscription in a framed panel below reads Pirkheimeri effigies, dated MDXXIV.
Albrecht Dürer, Willibald Pirkheimer, 1524. Chester Beatty Library.

About this source

What it is

This engraving is a bust portrait by Albrecht Dürer, made in 1524. It shows a man in profile, with a framed Latin inscription naming him and giving the date. It is held today at the Chester Beatty Library.

Why it matters

The sitter, Willibald Pirkheimer, was Dürer's closest friend and humanist mentor. The portrait shows how artists of the period used engraving to honour and commemorate the learned men around them, and reveals the close ties between Dürer and the humanist culture of his time.

Look closer

  • Why might Dürer have chosen a profile view rather than a frontal one?
  • What does the Latin inscription add that the image alone cannot?
  • What does this portrait suggest about the value Dürer placed on friendship and learning?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Albrecht Dürer on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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