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A Great Piece of Turf

April 12, 2011

“From this [drawing], the treasure secretly gathered in your heart will become evident through your creative work.”
– Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer large turf

While searching for images for another post, I came across this painting by Albrecht Dürer. A Great Piece of Turf, painted by the artist in Nuremberg, Germany in 1503 is widely considered to be his masterpiece and it is a remarkable piece of realistic painting.  Durer is quoted as saying “Truly art is firmly fixed in Nature. He who can extract her thence, he alone has her.”

I have always thought that botanical painting would be interesting to study and practice, but I am generally put off by what I see as rigidity in the discipline.  The reality is that this is what appeals to me immensely and I am pleased to add to my knowledge of art history by becoming aware of the ‘realistic’ paintings of Albrecht Dürer.

I also think it proves an undeniable fact; weeds are in the eye of the beholder.

Check out a few more of his amazing images.

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  1. Nell Jean says:

    I have a framed reproduction of the Hare, a copy of #1502. It is one of my favs.

    ‘A Great Piece of Turf’ looks a great deal like much of my turf, including going-to-seed ryegrass planted for winter green and soil improvement.

  2. Laurie Brown says:

    I love that his idea of a great piece of turf includes a dandelion and plantain, among other things we modern Americans would consider horrid in turf!

    I’ve never been able to decide which I love more: Durer’s nature paintings, or his grim black and white work.

  3. louise says:

    love this post, a bit of garden interest with art history!

  4. p bargar says:

    Ah…
    *sweet sigh*

    I love his stuff.

  5. That’s been my wallpaper at work for years.

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