Collection: Albrecht Dürer Watercolours & Nature Studies

Albrecht Dürer watercolour prints: nature studies of the Renaissance

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) is best known for his engravings, but his watercolours are among the quietly radical works of the Renaissance. While his contemporaries used watercolour for quick sketches, Dürer treated it as a finished medium and turned it towards animals, insects and plants observed with a precision that would not be matched for a century.

Young Hare, Stag Beetle and Little Owl

The Young Hare (1502) is probably Dürer’s most famous image after his engravings: a brown hare painted fur by fur, with scientific accuracy and real tenderness. The Stag Beetle (1505) gives the same attention to an insect few artists would have considered worth painting, and the Little Owl is studied like a portrait.

The Large Piece of Turf and plant studies

In 1503 Dürer painted a clump of wild grasses, dandelions and plantain at ground level. The Large Piece of Turf is one of the first pure nature paintings in Western art. The same spirit runs through the iridescent Wing of a European Roller and the delicate Catchfly and Lilies.

Hanging a Dürer nature study

Dürer’s watercolours are intimate works that suit a study, a library or a bedroom. The Young Hare and the Stag Beetle make a perfect pair; framed in natural wood with a wide cream mat, they keep the feel of a Renaissance drawing.

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