arthistoricum.net

For several centuries, Georg Schweigger’s (1613–1690) small sculptural reliefs were appreciated as works by Albrecht Dürer and collected throughout Europe. Early art historical research, however, considered the objects to be forgeries and attributed them to the so-called Dürer Renaissance. For the first time, this publication makes the entire œuvre of the Nuremberg sculptor accessible to art history and shows that Schweigger’s reference to Dürer’s art was highly original and by no means guided by fraudulent intentions. The finely crafted works and their motifs reflect the complex thinking of his time, rendering tangible multiple sculptural as well as graphic influences and knowledge of international art movements. The author lays out a lucid path through the intricate ways of Dürer’s reception in sculpture from the 16th to the 20th century and re-locates Schweigger in South German sculpture of the 17th century.