Dürerhaus

index of sculptures 1988 to 2024

Dürerhaus

2024
Bas-relief in salvaged wood, #145, 157 x 113 x 11cm
Collection Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum, Nuremberg, Germany.

Built around 1420, the Dürerhaus was the home of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer from 1509 to his death in 1528. Nuremberg was an early centre of humanism, science, printing, and mechanical invention. In 1515, Dürer created woodcuts of the first maps of the stars of both hemispheres, and the first perspective drawing of the terrestrial globe.
In the late stages of World War 2, from October 1944, Nuremberg was 90% destroyed by Allied bombing and heavy ground combat. The house took significant damage and was brought to the brink of collapse. The bas-relief shows it with various degrees of damage, consolidation attempts and repairs.
The Dürerhaus bas relief was finished on May 14th 2024. That day it was 84 years ago the city of Rotterdam was bombed by the Luftwaffe, laying waste to its entire historic centre. As we are witnessing the rise of nationalism, xenophobia and cynical gas-lighting let us hope this will not lead us back to an era of destruction.

The bas relief will become part of the collection of the City of Nuremberg. It will be installed in the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum as part of the new permanent exhibition that will be presented on February 18th 2025.