In episode 4, Ann and Tru finish up talking about Albrecht Dürer, including his meisterstücke Knight, Death, and the Devil (my personal favorite), St. Jerome in His Study, and Melencolia I. He had a remarkable career and changed the perception and reception of prints in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century.

Images are credited to their collection/institution and are in the public domain. They appear in the order they are discussed. 

Platemark series two | History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In this bonus episode, Ann and Tru talk about what got them interested in art in the first place. Not when they decided to major in art history in college, but when as a child that interest was first piqued. As a child in suburban New York, Ann's mother was a painter who had a studio in the house. Ann was always welcome to play with the materials in the studio and fell in love. Her choice of art history was her attempt to feel closer to her mom, who died when Ann was twelve. Tru's childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, included an argument shelf in the dining room, which contained books available to settle disagreements: the Bible, dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia. Tru's mother was a journalist and the presence of multiple copies of the day's newspapers fostered an interest and recognition of the power of print. 

Platemark series two: History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In episode 3, Ann and Tru finally start talking about an artist. While there are artists of note before Dürer--say Martin Schongauer--he really changes everything. From his monogram claiming authorship to marketing his works, Dürer is the man. So much so that Ann and Tru only get through half of his story. A second episode, episode 204, continues Dürer's story. 

As promised in the episode, here is a link to the Metropolitan Museum's impression of The Fall of Man aka Adam and Eve. You can zoom in really tight and see all the crazy, wonderful detail by clicking on this link: The Fall of Man. Also, for fun, included with the images is an early state of The Fall of Man from the Albertina's collection. Always fascinating to see how an artist builds an image.

Images are credited to their collection/institution and are in the public domain. They appear in the order they are discussed. 

Platemark series two | History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond