on, and conferred on him letters of
nobility; Charles V., his successor, confirmed him in his office,
bestowing upon him at the same time the painter's coat of arms, viz.,
three escutcheons, argent, in a deep azure field. Ferdinand, King of
Hungary, also bestowed upon him marked favors and liberality. Durer was
in favor with high and low. All the artists and learned men of his time
honored and loved him, and his early death in 1528 was universally
lamented.

DURER'S HABITS AND LITERARY WORKS.

Durer always lived in a frugal manner, without the least ostentation for
the distinguished favors heaped upon him. He applied himself to his
profession with the most constant and untiring industry, which, together
with his great knowledge, great facility of mechanical execution, and a
remarkable talent for imitation, enabled him to rise to such
distinction, and to exert so powerful an influence on German art for a
great length of time. He was the first artist in Germany who practiced
and taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human
figure, according to mathematical principles. His treatise on
proportions is said to have resulted from his studies of his picture of
Adam and Eve. His principal works are _De Symmetria partium in rectis
formis humanorum corporum_, printed at Nuremberg in 1532; and _De
Verieitate Figurarum, et flexuris partium, et Gestibus Imaginum_; 1534.
These works were written in German, and after Durer's death translated
into Latin. The figures illustrating the subjects were executed by
Durer, on wood, in an admirable manner. Durer had also much merit as a
miscellaneous writer, and labored to purify and elevate the German
language, in which he was assisted by his friend, W. Pirkheimer. His
works were published in a collected form at Arnheim, in 1603, folio, in
Latin and in French. J. J. Roth wrote a life of Durer, published at
Leipsic in 1791.

LUDOLPH BACKHUYSEN.

This eminent painter was born in 1631. His father intended him for the
mercantile profession, but nature for a marine painter. His passion for
art induced him to neglect his employer's business, with whom his father
had placed him, and to spend his time in drawing, and in frequenting the
studios of the painters at Amsterdam. His fondness for shipping led him
frequently to the port of the city, where he made admirable drawings of
the vessels with a pen, which were much sought after by the collectors,
and were p