Albrecht Dürer and the Depiction of Cultural Differences in Renaissance Europe

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of Dürer's depictions of human diversity, focusing particularly on his depictions of figures from outside his Western European milieu. Heather Madar contextualizes those depictions within their broader artistic and historical context and assesses them in light of current theories about early modern concepts of cultural, ethnic, religious and racial diversity. The book also explores Dürer's connections with contemporaries, his later legacy with respect to his imagery of the other and the broader significance of Nuremberg to early modern engagements with the world beyond Europe. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Renaissance studies and Renaissance history.

Heather Madar is Professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, USA

Introduction 1. From Saracen to Turk: Dürer and the Origins of Ottoman Imagery in German Renaissance Art 2. Ottoman, Mamluk and Roman: Dress and Identity in Dürer's Art After 1495 3. Ottomans as Ottomans: Portraiture, Genre and Polemical Imagery 4. Black Ottomans and Black Mamluks: Racial Difference in Dürer's Depictions of Muslim Figures 5. Katharina and Portrait of an African Man: Black Presence in Renaissance Europe Conclusion