Our Dürer project team held a third and final workshop in Nuremberg on 14 and 15 July 2025. After successful workshops in Manchester (2023) and Melbourne (2024) it was terrific to pull together many of the threads of the project and to do so in Dürer’s hometown, surrounded by and closely discussing stunning examples of the city’s material culture. The first day was held in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, where we were warmly hosted by the institution’s Director, Prof Dr Daniel Hess, and Assistant Director Dr Heike Zech, who have been crucial partners from the outset of the project, and Dr Claudia Valter of the Graphischen Sammlung. Their intellectual engagement and presentations of their own research – encompassing metalwork, stained glass, and print culture – were highlights of the workshop. ARC team members A/Prof Jenny Spinks, A/Prof Matthew Champion, Prof Charles Zika (University of Melbourne), Prof Stefan Hanß and Dr Holly Fletcher (University of Manchester) and Prof Dagmar Eichberger (University of Heidelberg) along with guest Dr Susanne Meurer (University of Western Australia) joined them for a day of up-close contact with some of the early modern treasures of the collection. Related to the project’s focus on Dürer’s material world, the multiple objects explored and discussed included life-casts of lizards and plants, a barber’s knife, an hourglass, and stunning works on paper.
On the second day the group was warmly hosted at the city’s Museum Tucherschloss und Hirsvogelsaal , a visit organised by team member Prof Eichberger in collaboration with the museum’s Director, Dr Ulrike Berninger, Director of Nuremberg’s Municipal Museums, Dr Thomas Eser, and Art History Fellow at the Tucher Kulturstiftung, Florian Abe. This visit provided further fascinating opportunities to encounter and probe the material world of early modern Nuremberg through the original material furnishings, paintings and objects of the early sixteenth-century Tucher Mansion and Hirsvogel Hall. Dr Christine Demele, another important project partner, kindly hosted us as Director of the Dürer-Haus and provided insights into its newest displays. The second day of the workshop closed with a final session in the church of St Sebald’s, Dürer’s own church. We discussed its paintings, sculptures, and the spaces created by patrician families; and Prof Daniel Hess in particular drew notice to the architectural qualities of the key stained glass windows created in the early sixteenth century. The day contributed to a much deeper understanding of the spatial world of the city through the lens of the networks of makers that made the city such a vibrant location for experimentation in Dürer’s lifetime.
Across the two days team members looked ahead to new research projects inspired by this Dürer project and were able to reflect on the work in progress for the edited collection which will be the final major outcome of the project (watch this space!).
L-R: Susanne Meurer, Holly Fletcher, Jenny Spinks, Heike Zech and Dagmar Eichberger at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. Photo: Matthew Champion.
Stefan Hanß at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. Photo: Matthew Champion.
L-R: Charles Zika, Dagmar Eichberger, Daniel Hess and Holly Fletcher at St Sebald’s Church, Nuremberg. Photo: Matthew Champion.