# The Apostles Philip and James [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DÜRER, Albrecht]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Tempera on canvas, 45 x 38 and 46 x 37 cm ## Commentary Dürer's monogram and the date are visible in the upper part of the two canvases, which are part of a series of twelve heads of apostles which the artist planned, though never completed. The two heads are constructed with an incisive and meticulous line, a reflection of Dürer's troubled search for moral austerity. We may recall that this was a particularly delicate time in German history, shortly before the emergence of Martin Luther and the Reformation. The two saints inspire a diffuse sense of solemn veneration, in the passionate, severe eyes, the embittered curve of the mouths, and the overabundant beards, depicted as heavy, noble masses of coiling hair. ## Related artworks - [A Young Girl of Cologne and Dürer's Wife]() - [Abduction of a Woman]() - [Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam \(detail\)]() - [Adam]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()