rom the society of friends, Duerer's only solace was in his
art. Here only he found peace and pleasure. How earnestly and deeply he
laboured, the long catalogue of his productions can prove. The
truthfulness of his style is shown in his patient studies from nature,
and his works are the reflex of such a habit. The figure of the burly
townsman of Jerusalem who lifts his cap in acknowledgment of Joachim and
Anna, as they meet at the Golden Gate, in his illustrations of the Life
of the Virgin (Fig. 243), may be cited for its homely truth, a
characteristic which runs through all Duerer's works, and gives them a
certain _naivete_. The figure is an evident study of an honest townsman
of Nuernberg, and is as little like an ancient Jew as possible, though
admirable as a transcript from nature. Of far higher order are the
figures of the apostles, John, Peter, Mark, and Paul, which he painted
in 1526, and presented to his native city.[229-*] We engrave the figure
of Paul, the drapery of which is simple and majestic. A study for this
drapery, made as early as 1523, is in the collection of the Archduke
Charles of Austria. In these pictures, which are painted of life-size,
he has exerted his utmost ability, and eschewed any peculiarities of his
own which might interfere with the greatness of his design. "These
pictures are the fruit of the deepest thought which then stirred the
mind of Duerer, and are executed with overpowering force. Finished as
they are they form the first complete work of art produced by
Protestantism.[229-[+]] What dignity and sublimity pervade those heads
of such varied character![230-*] What simplicity and majesty in the
lines of the drapery! what sublime and statue-like repose in their
attitudes! Here we no longer find any disturbing element: there are no
small angular breaks in the folds, no arbitrary or fantastic features
in the countenances, or even in the fall of the hair. The colouring too
is very perfect, true to nature in its power and warmth. There is
scarcely any trace of the bright glazing, or of those sharply defined
forms seen in other works by him, but everywhere a free pure impasto.
Well might the artist now close his eyes, he had in this picture
attained the summit of his art--here he stands side by side with the
greatest masters known in history."[231-*]

[Illustration: Fig. 243.--Figure from Duerer's Life of the Virgin.]

[Illustration: Fig. 244.--St. Paul, after Duerer.]

Of the great cont