Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Art - History of Art, grade: 1,30, University College Cork, language: English, abstract: This essay scrutinises the wide range of influences on Albrecht Durer the Younger (1471-1528) by analysing the artist's "Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty-Six" (1498). After briefly introducing the artist, it examines the aesthetic impact of the Italian Renaissance and humanist thought on the painting. In a next step, it demonstrates how Durer's artwork is also inspired by Northern portraiture. Moreover, the discussion will be embedded in the cultural and historical context in which the painting was created by underlining the special status of Nuremberg and Venice in the late 15th century.