polity holy roman empireconcept:era early modern

Praying Hands

Name: Provenio Provenance Knowledge Graph
License: https://provenio.art/terms

Ink and pencil on paper (1508) by Albrecht Dürer, depicting a pair of praying hands. A preparatory study for the Heller Altarpiece. One of the most widely reproduced images in Western art. Held at the Albertina, Vienna.

Scholarly Significance

The most reproduced devotional drawing in Western art history; a preparatory study for the Heller Altarpiece.

Notes

·Preparatory study for an apostle figure in the Heller Altarpiece (1507–1509), which Dürer painted for Jakob Heller of Frankfurt; the altarpiece itself was later destroyed.
·The hands are often (incorrectly) described as a brotherly self-sacrifice legend; no contemporary source supports this story.
·One of approximately 970 Dürer drawings in the Albertina collection.
·The blue-prepared paper and white heightening are characteristic of Dürer's Nuremberg drawing practice.