The artwork “Portrait of a Man (John Stabius)” was created by Albrecht Dürer in 1517. Dürer, a noted artist of the Northern Renaissance, was known for his detailed and expressive portraits. The genre of this artwork is a portrait, capturing the likeness of John Stabius.
In this depiction, we see a stately male figure with a robust beard and a penetrating gaze. The man’s facial features are rendered with fine attention to detail, highlighting individual hairs of his beard and the contours of his face. He wears a hat which adds to the character of the image, and the shading under the brim of the hat casts a shadow across his eyes, adding a sense of depth and intrigue to his expression. The year “1517” is inscribed within the drawing, indicating when it was made. The use of light and shadow, as well as the intricate lines to create texture and volume, are characteristic of Dürer’s skill as a draftsman. The portrait conveys not just the physical attributes of John Stabius but also hints at his personality and the fashion of the time.
