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Overview
The Cardinal
Cardinal Albrecht (Albert) of Brandenburg (1490-1545) was Elector and Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545. His sale of indulgences (Church pardons for sins) to repay loans to the Fugger banking family, and to sustain his lavish lifestyle, infuriated Martin Luther and provoked him to write his 95 Theses which led to the Reformation.
Albert's relatively liberal ideas, his friendship with Ulrich von Hutten, and his political ambitions, appear to have raised hopes that he could be won over to Protestantism; but after the German Peasants' War of 1525, he ranged himself definitely among the supporters of Catholicism. He needed a prestigious church that met his expectations at a central location in his Residenz town. Albert feared for his peace of mind in heaven, and collected more than 8,100 relics and 42 holy skeletons which needed to be stored. These precious treasures known as "Hallesches Heilthum" and indirectly related to the sale of indulgences had triggered the Reformation a few years before. Then the cardinal and the Roman Catholic members of the town council wanted to repress the growing influence of the Reformation by holding far grander masses in a new church dedicated solely to the Virgin Mary.
The new Protestant doctrines nevertheless made considerable progress in his dominions, and he was compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Magdeburg in return for 500,000 florins. During his latter years he showed more intolerance towards the Protestants, and favoured the teaching of the Jesuits in his dominions.
The engraving
"Before I became ill this year [1523] I sent an engraved copper plate to Your Electoral Grace with your portrait together with five hundred impressions thereof. Finding no acknowledgment of this in Your Grace's letter, I fear that either the portrait did not please Your Grace - this would sadden me, as my diligence would have had poor results - or else, I fear that it may not have reached Your Grace at all. I beg Your Grace for a gracious reply." Thus we have in Dürer's own words the history of this engraving.
The fact that Dürer sent five hundred copies to the Cardinal, all produced at the same time, explains the uniform quality of so many impressions found in various collections. All these have the identical watermark, a small jug. This engraving is based on a new preparatory drawing that probably dates from the Diet of Nuremberg, 1522/23. The Cardinal had gained weight since the earlier engraved portrait (The Small Cardinal), 1519, he had wild, protruding eyes, a bulbous mouth and layers of fat on chin and cheeks. Dürer offset the predominant lower part of the face with a large cap. It suggests that beneath it a large, impressive head is to be found. In actuality that was not the case. Dürer used utmost discretion in the treatment of the physiological details without denying the monstrous reality. It is Dürer's most interesting utilisation of a profile.
In contrast with the Small Cardinal, and in accordance with other late portrait engravings, this portrait has depth and substance. It is treated as a real tablet, carved and framed after the fashion of Roman tombstones, which were common in Germany, as in Italy and France. The Latin inscription translates as follows: 'Albert, by divine mercy the most Holy Roman Church's titular presbyter cardinal of St Chrysogonus, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, Primate Elector of the Empire, Administer of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg'.
See: 'Albert of Brandenburg', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_of_Brandenburg
Web Gallery of Art, http://www.wga.hu/html_m/d/durer/2/13/5/097.html
Dr Mark Stocker, Curator Historical International Art December 2016