as
painting.

Here Durer remained for three years, until 1490. He was now but
nineteen, full of hope and perhaps conscious, to a certain extent,
that his was no ordinary skill of hand. He was now ready, according to
the custom of his countrymen, for his "wanderschaft" or journeyman
period, when he should complete his art education by going abroad to
other towns to see their ways and thus improve his own method. For
four years he traveled among neighboring towns. The evidence is strong
that the last year was spent in Venice. We have little certain
knowledge of where he spent these years but we feel quite sure that
one of the places he visited was Colmar, where he became acquainted
with the artist, Martin Schougauer.

He was called home rather suddenly in 1494 by his father, who had
arranged what he thought was an acceptable marriage for his son. A
short time before Durer had sent his father a portrait of himself in
which he figured as a remarkably handsome and well-dressed young man.
It is supposed that the father sent for this portrait to help him
along in his arrangements for the marriage of his son. However
Albrecht may have felt about the matter of making his marriage merely
a business affair, he never expressed himself, but was married shortly
after his return to Nuremberg.

[Illustration: ST. JOHN AND ST. PETER _Durer_]

[Illustration: ST. MARK AND ST. PAUL _Durer_]

Agnes Frey, the woman selected by Durer's father, was a handsome woman
of good family with a small fortune of her own. She has come down to
us with a most unenviable record as a scold who made life almost
unendurable for her husband. It is now quite certain, however, that
for all these years she has been grossly misrepresented, simply
because her husband's friend Pirkheimer, for small reason, became
offended with her. It seems that in his lifetime Durer, who had
collected many curious and valuable things, had gathered together some
remarkably fine stag-horns. One pair of these especially pleased
Pirkheimer. The widow, without knowing Pirkheimer's desire for
these, sold them for a small sum and thus brought upon herself the
anger of her husband's choleric friend, who wrote a most unkind letter
concerning her which has been quoted from that day to this to show how
Albrecht Durer suffered in his home. The truth seems really to be that
Agnes Durer was as sweet-tempered as the average woman, fond of her
husband and a good housekeeper.