Young Man

During his stay in Venice Dürer received a great number of commissions for portraits, particularly from German merchants. The sitter here is presumed to be a member of this circle. It is probable that this work was only painted after Dürer’s return to Nuremberg.

Backside: Allegory. Taking painstaking and macabre pleasure in observation, Dürer depicts the body of an old woman on the back of this portrait. In her left hand the unhappylooking woman clutches a purse that is filled to the brim with gold coins. Whether it was a lifetime of misery on her part that resulted in this useless accumulation of wealth is impossible to say. It was not unusual in either Italian or Northern painting to include on the back of a portrait a ‘motto’. In this case, the painting was done in full awareness of the transience of all things mortal.