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Overview
Between 1514 and 1526, Albrecht Dürer made a series of small engravings of five of the Christian Apostles: St Paul and St Thomas (both 1514), St Bartholomew and St Simon (1523), both in the Te Papa collection (1959-0023-2) and finally St Philip (1526).
The knife in the hand of St Bartholomew is the instrument of his martyrdom. The engravings of the Apostles of this last period in Dürer's career are quite subdued and unemotional. The stance requires the viewer to look at the head of the saint and to seek out what characterises his greatness. Note the absence of a halo, which distinguishes this plate and St Simon from the earlier members of the set of Apostles: St Bartholomew is thus more down-to-earth than them. St Bartholemew and St Simon are more modest, like artisans; their bodies disappear beneath the draperies. They fill the picture area from top to bottom and have a metallic quality, almost like bronze statues.
The late style is seen on a far larger scale in the so-called Four Apostles (1526; Alte Pinakothek, Munich), Dürer's last major painting. Their austerity and deep seriousness reflects his new commitment to Protestantism.
See: Web Gallery of Art, http://www.wga.hu/html_m/d/durer/2/13/5/098.html
Dr Mark Stocker, Curator Historical International Art December 2016