Engraving by Albrecht Dürer, 'Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony'; Nuremberg, 1524.

Head and shoulders portrait of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525), looking to the left, wearing a hat and a coat with a fur collar behind a plaque bearing the inscription 'CHRISTO . SACRVM . ILLe . DEI VERBO . MAGNA PIETATE .FAVEBAT . PERPETVA . DIGNVS . POSTERITATE . COLI . D . FRIDR . DVCI . SAXON . S . R . IMP . ARCHIM . ELECTORI . ALBERTVS . DVRER . NVR . FACIEBAT. B.M.F.V.V.M.D.XXIIII'. Shields with coats of arms in the left and right hand corners. To the right is the coat of arms of Saxony, to the left
Bartsch - coats of arms - to the left l'ecusson aux deux epees qui se croisent, to the right l'autre ecu des armes de Saxe et la marque de Durer surmontee de l'annee 1519

Friedrich the Wise of Saxony (1463-1525) was a powerful Catholic potentate who inherited a massive collection of reliquaries in the church of All Saints in Wittenberg but late in life converted to the Lutheran cause. To Dürer's relief, the Elector ensured the safe protection of Luther in his castle at the Wartburg when the reformer's life was endangered following his excommunication in 1521. Friedrich the Wise was Dürer's earliest significant patron, and his commission of a painted portrait in 1496 was a major work that stimulated others to patronzie the young artist. Friedrich's later commissions included Dürer's magnificent 'Adoration of the Magi' of 1504 and the 'Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand' in 1508 as well as other altarpieces.

This engraving shows an elderly Friedrich the year before his death. It is based on a silverpoint drawing in Paris (Ecole des Beaux-Arts; Strauss 1524/I). As with his portrait of Ulrich Varnbüler, Dürer has taken the unusual step of signing the print in full, [as well as including his monogram AD above the left shoulder of the sitter.]

From 'Albrecht Dürer and His Legacy - The Graphic Work of a Renaissance Artist', Giulia Bartrum with contributions by Günter Grass, Joseph L. Koerner and Ute Kuhlemann; British Museum Press; 2002

From 'The Illustrated Bartsch'

'In contrast to the strict profile of [Durer's] portrait of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Durer pictures Frederick the Wise almost full-face. The engraving is based on a prepartory drawing (SD.1524/1), presumably drawn during Frederick's stay in Nuremberg between November 1522 and February 1523. As in most of his later portraits, Durer shows the reflection of a window in the pupils of his sitter, perhaps symbolizing the eye as the window of the soul.'

This engraving shows an elderly Friedrich the year before his death. It is based on a silverpoint drawing in Paris (Ecole des Beaux-Arts

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