Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/234

 222 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE and fifty plates of great beauty, partly stippled and partly engraved, are ascribed. Albert Diirer was a disciple of Schongauer's. The art of engraving owed more to Albert Diirer than to any other for its advancement, extension, and perfec- tion. To him also belongs the invention of etching, and his works, known at home and abroad, were more fre- quently copied than those of Schongauer, and used by distinguished artists, such as Andrea del Sarto, Nicholas Alunno, and Marco da Eavenna, as designs for their paintings. It was, therefore, with just pride that the military architect, Daniel Specklin, wrote : ' Whatever Italians say, the art of copper engraving is one of those subtle arts that owe their perfection to Germany.' Schongauer had already applied this art to the most manifold uses, not only illustrating sacred subjects, but producing genre pictures also, animals, heraldic shields, designs of all sorts for embroidery ; and as for Diirer's creations, they embraced every imaginable subject, religious, historical, mythological, humorous, satiri- cal, architectural, landscapes, portraits, &c, and his inventive and imaginative powers were equalled only by his industry. Among the various productions of Diirer, three stand out in bold relief in which he has embodied his moral conception of the universe. These are ' The Knight, Death, and the Devil' (executed in 1513), 'Saint Jerome,' and 'Melancholy' (1514). They rank also among the best examples of engraving on copper. In the first mentioned we see a knight, clad in shining armour, riding along an unbeaten path in a rocky defile; Death stalks by his side crowned with serpents, and, with a cruel leer, he holds before him the hour-glass. The Devil, in even more hideous form,