Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony

Albrecht Dürer's Portrait of Frederick III of Saxony, painted in 1496 and now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, depicts one of the most important German princes of the Renaissance era. Frederick the Wise later became famous as Martin Luther's protector, but in 1496 he was a young elector and patron of the arts who had just founded the University of Wittenberg. Dürer painted this portrait during the early phase of his career when he was establishing connections with powerful German patrons.

Dürer renders the young elector with characteristic Northern precision, capturing individual features with meticulous detail while maintaining the dignified composure appropriate to a portrait of a ruling prince.