In our world of bright graphics and animation, it's easy to overlook the genius of the woodcuts made by the German artist Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). Seemingly simple black lines on a white background, they were in fact revolutionary.

    Durer counted among his acquaintances the Italian artists Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci. Like them, he worked in several media, including oil painting and watercolors. Although the woodcuts were a medium from an earlier time, he brought to them the artistic techniques of the Renaissance, such as an improved system of perspective, and more realistic representation, setting them apart from his predecessors.

    He also borrowed the concept, first made popular in Italy, of including figures from classical mythology, as well as continuing the tradition of using Biblical scenes and characters. His "Apocalypse" series depicted the four horsemen from the last book of the Bible. Other famous works include a portrayal of a later Christian writer, "Saint Jerome in his Study," and allegorical images such as "The Knight, Death, and the Devil," and "Melencolia I," which shows a psychological state.

    He was also a theorist who wrote of artistic techniques such as perspective and ideal proportions.

    Unlike many artists of his time, Durer became famous at a fairly young age. Because of this, and the fact that he left numerous autobiographical writings, more is known of his life than of many others. He was the third of 14 to 18 children (accounts vary). He began his career as a goldsmith apprenticed to his father, learning to draw and work precious metals. But his drawing was superior, so he was apprenticed his town's leading artist, a man named Michael Wolgemut.

    He also studied with other artists, and as a young man traveled out of his hometown of Nuremberg to places like the Netherlands and Switzerland. He later traveled twice in Italy, and once again in the Netherlands, but spent most of his life running a workshop in Nuremberg.

    He died a wealthy man at 56. Today his house and workshop are a museum.

    Vocabulary: Which word above means:

    1. fail to notice

    2. types of art

    3. representing an idea or story

    4. gold, silver, etc.

    5. relationships of size

    6. those who came before

    7. people one knows

    8. apparently

    9. a means of making things look 3-D in a flat image

    10. one who explains the ideas behind something

    ANSWERS: 1. overlook 2. media (singular medium) 3. allegorical 4. precious metals 5. proportions 6. predecessors 7. acquaintances 8. seemingly 9. perspective 10. theorist