The Virgin Mary in Prayer

This 1518 painting of the Virgin Mary in prayer, in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, is a late devotional work showing Dürer's mature synthesis of Italian compositional grace with northern exactitude. The intimate, contemplative mood reflects the deepening spirituality of Dürer's later years 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 Virgin's hands are joined in prayer, her downcast eyes expressing devotional absorption. Dürer's refined modeling of the face and hands achieves a porcelain-like delicacy, while the deep blue mantle is rendered with characteristic precision.