Marriage Coat of Arms of the Families Duerer and Holper. Verso of the Albrecht Dürer the Elder portrait

This 1490 panel depicting the marriage coat of arms of the Dürer and Holper families, on the verso of the portrait of Albrecht Dürer the Elder now in the Uffizi, was the back face of a paired portrait diptych — the standard format for patrician and merchant family portraits in fifteenth-century Germany. The heraldic display on the reverse of a portrait panel served to identify the family's lineage and social status, transforming the physical object of the portrait into a document of dynastic identity as well as individual likeness. Albrecht Dürer brought Italian Renaissance ideas north, combining German Gothic tradition with classical proportions to become the dominant artist in the German-speaking world. The paired portrait format with heraldic reverse was standard in the northern European tradition, and this early work by the young Dürer demonstrates his command of the genre from the very beginning of his independent practice.

Executed in Oil on canvas, the work showcases Albrecht Dürer's brilliant draftsmanship, with particular attention to the interplay of light across the sitter's features. The handling of drapery and accessories demonstrates the technical refinement expected of formal portraiture.