2 Euro "Albrecht Dürer"

Born in Nuremberg in 1471, Albrecht Dürer was an engraver, draftsman, painter and treatise writer. He became the highest representative of the art and culture of the Northern European Renaissance, thanks to the predominance of graphic expression, including drawing, from composition to study from life, to landscape, to portrait. The obverse of the 2 euro coin dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the artist’s birth shows the Madonna and Child, a detail taken from the famous painting of the same name of 1526, kept at the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence. From the dark background emerges the figure of the Virgin carrying a pear in her hand and holding Baby Jesus in her arms. A strong sense of family intimacy pervades the work, characterized by attention to detail and faithful reproduction of reality, distinctive features of Dürer’s art.

Credits: Photography cabinet of the Gallerie degli Uffizi - by concession of the Ministry of cultural heritage and activities and tourism