"Praying Hands" is a famous ink and pencil painting drawn by Albrecht Dürer in the early 16th century. He made the drawing on a blue paper he prepared himself. "Praying Hands" is a sketch drawn by Dürer while preparing his works for a church altar. [1] Although the paintings in the church were lost in a fire in the 18th century, the original drawing sketch is still available and exhibited at the Albertina Museum in Vienna. Copies of the images destroyed by the fire made by Jobst Harrich are also at the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt. [2,3]
The drawing caused a lot of speculation about what the artist wanted to tell and who owns the hands. Some believe that there is a sad tragedy behind the painting. According to this story:
"The Dürer family is a family with eighteen children living in a small village near Nuremberg. Their fathers are goldsmiths, but they work very long hours to look after this huge family. Two brothers who are very interested in art want to study at the art academy in Nuremberg, but since the family cannot meet the education of both, the two brothers agree between them. Later, the school-finished brother will also sell his works and have the other read.
In this agreement, which seems fair, Albrecht gets the chance to go to school. Albert works in the mines for four years. Albrecht is very talented, when he finishes his school, he starts making money from the pictures he ordered. When he returns home, he tells his brother, "Now it's my turn, now you will study."
Albert said, "No, my dear brother. I can't go to school anymore. It's too late for me. Look what I've been doing at the mines for four years!" How can I draw delicate lines with a pen or brush? It's too late for me… ”" [4]
Although the story is like this, it is unknown who is the model of the hands in the picture today. There are also those who claim that Dürer uses his own hands [5]. A doctor named Pankaj Sharma has suggested that there are various disorders in the hands of the picture due to rheumatism, muscle loss and diabetes disease [6,7]. According to what is known today, Albrecht drew this picture long after the story I told above could happen, in 1508 at the age of 37. The painting is actually a preliminary drawing by Dürer for painting one of the apostles in the picture, when Jacob Heller ordered a series of paintings for a church in Frankfurt. [1-3] As far as we know, Dürer did not aim to see this draft drawing alone. However, "Praying Hands" made the works depicted on the altar attract attention to the extent that they could not succeed alone [7].
In short, the story of the picture is still quite controversial today. So this tragedy story is not confirmed.
So why did this drawing attract so much attention? First of all, it's a really beautiful piece of art. It reflects Dürer's style: meticulously drawn elegant details, excellent proportions … Although a draft is drawn as a guide, all the details that may be in one hand are reflected. Albrecht Dürer has always loved the complex features of God's creation, and has taken great care to reflect these features that he regarded as sacred in religious scenes, portraits, landscapes, plant and animal still lifes.
As a result, this drawing has a spiritual dimension that touches the essence of humanity and our need for compassion, symbolizing the appeal to God. Whatever the story behind it has been used as an iconic icon for many years and continues to impress the audience [1].
A small note: You can also see these hands on Andy Warhol's tombstone. [8]
Source
- https://lutheranreformation.org/history/durers-praying-hands/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praying_Hands_(D%C3%BCrer)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heller_Altarpiece
- https://truthbook.com/stories/service/praying-hands-painting
- http://www.albrechtdurer.org/praying-hands/
- Pankaj Sharma, “Medicine, Dürer and the Praying Hands,” Lancet 349
- https://hekint.org/2017/01/25/the-model-for-albrecht-durers-praying-hands/amp/
- https://fotospot.com/attractions/pennsylvania/grave-of-andy-warhol