by the two pictures of the four
Apostles: John and Peter, Mark and Paul; the figures are the size of
life. These, which are the master's grandest work, and the last of
importance executed by him, are now in the Munich Gallery. We know with
certainty that they were presented by Albert Duerer himself to the
council of his native city in remembrance of his career as an artist,
and at the same time as conveying to his fellow-citizens an earnest and
lasting exhortation suited to that stormy period. In the year 1627,
however, the pictures were allowed to pass into the hands of the Elector
Maximilian I. of Bavaria. The inscriptions selected by the painter
himself might have given offence to a Catholic prince, and were
therefore cut off and joined to the copies by John Fischer, which were
intended to indemnify the city of Nuremberg for the loss of the
originals. These copies are still in the collection of the Landauer
Bruederhaus at Nuremberg.

These pictures are the fruit of the deepest thought which then stirred
the mind of Albert Duerer, and are executed with overpowering force.
Finished as they are, they form the first complete work of art produced
by Protestantism. As the inscription taken from the Gospels and
Epistles of the Apostles contains pressing warnings not to swerve from
the word of God, nor to believe in the doctrines of false prophets, so
the figures themselves represent the steadfast and faithful guardians of
that holy Scripture which they bear in their hands. There is also an old
tradition, handed down from the master's own times, that these figures
represent the four temperaments. This is confirmed by the pictures
themselves; and though at first sight it may appear to rest on a mere
accidental combination, it serves to carry out more completely the
artist's thought, and gives to the figures greater individuality. It
shows how every quality of the human mind may be called into the service
of the Divine Word. Thus in the first picture, we see the whole force of
the mind absorbed in contemplation, and we are taught that true
watchfulness in behalf of the Scripture must begin by devotion to its
study.

S. John stands in front, the open book in his hand; his high forehead
and his whole countenance bear the impress of earnest and deep thought.
This is the melancholic temperament, which does not shrink from the most
profound inquiry. Behind him S. Peter bends over the book, and gazes
earnestly at its contents--a