Mini Monographs in Medieval and Early Modern Studies4 Albrecht Dürer's Four Apostles

This monograph is the first full-length critical study in English devoted to helping not only specialists but also general readers appreciate the distinctive meaning and artistry of Albrecht Dürer's late and puzzling masterpiece, Four Apostles. The year 2026 means that 500 years have passed since Albrecht Dürer's monumental Four Apostles was completed, but these two panels continue to attract much scholarly and popular attention. This monograph argues persuasively that Dürer's diptych represents the artist's vision of ideal harmony even as it acknowledges the reality of distinct identities. Even five centuries later, this composition retains an uncanny ability to move viewers who live in very different times and places but still deal with the same issues of division and unity that challenged the artist, his church, and his city in the early sixteenth century.