albrecht durer was clearly a precocious artist. he was the son of a nuremberg goldsmith and drew this portrait of himself at the age of 13. he became the first artist in western art to make a detailed series of self-portraits throughout his life analyzing his changes of mood and image. durer studied nature with the same incisive vision with which he analyzed himself. he was one of the first artists to paint water colors from direct observation. he wrote, "we german artists "have grown up like wild trees in the forest, knowing nothing of the rules of proportion and perspective." these water colors were painted while durer was traveling from nuremberg to venice. he wished to learn from italian art and to have his status as an artist acknowledged in the land of the renaissance. venetian paiings from around 1500 show the city that durer visited-- the wealthiest trading center in europe. giovanni bellini, who painted this portrait of the doge of venice, was described by durer as very old but still the best of the venetian painters. the