Lot Essay
Albrecht von Brandenburg became Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1513, and Archbishop and Elector of Mainz in 1514. In return for sanctioning these positions, Pope Leo X demanded heavy payment, since becoming bishop or archbishop in three sees was contrary to canon law. Cardinal Albrecht had therefore to borrow from Fuggers, the wealthy trading house of Augsburg, and made arrangements with the Pope to sell indulgences to repay the bankers, on the condition that he turn over half of the proceeds to the Papal treasury. These were the famous indulgences that provoked Luther to write the ninety-five theses in 1517.
This print was the first of Drer's six engraved portraits, and is called 'The small Cardinal' to distinguish it from the later larger portrait of the Cardinal, dated 1523. The inscriptions are virtually the same on both engravings, except for the date and the age of the sitter. His titles are given in the upper right corner; 'Albert, by Divine Mercy the most Holy Roman Church's Titular Presbyter Cardinal of St. Chrysogonus, Archbishop of Mayence and of Magdeburg, Primate Elector of the Empire, Administrator of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg'. The panel below the figure reads: 'thus were his eyes, his cheeks, his features at the age of 29'.
Drer drew the Cardinal several times before undertaking this engraving. There is a chalk portrait in the Albertina which the artist probably made in 1518 when they were both in Augsburg for the Imperial Diet, and a pen drawing formerly in Bremen (fig. 1), in which the main elements of the print are shown in reverse.
Fig. 1: By permission of the Kunsthalle Bremen
This print was the first of Drer's six engraved portraits, and is called 'The small Cardinal' to distinguish it from the later larger portrait of the Cardinal, dated 1523. The inscriptions are virtually the same on both engravings, except for the date and the age of the sitter. His titles are given in the upper right corner; 'Albert, by Divine Mercy the most Holy Roman Church's Titular Presbyter Cardinal of St. Chrysogonus, Archbishop of Mayence and of Magdeburg, Primate Elector of the Empire, Administrator of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg'. The panel below the figure reads: 'thus were his eyes, his cheeks, his features at the age of 29'.
Drer drew the Cardinal several times before undertaking this engraving. There is a chalk portrait in the Albertina which the artist probably made in 1518 when they were both in Augsburg for the Imperial Diet, and a pen drawing formerly in Bremen (fig. 1), in which the main elements of the print are shown in reverse.
Fig. 1: By permission of the Kunsthalle Bremen