Describe the synthesis of Northern attention to detail with Southern scientific perspective in the work of Albrecht Dürer. In your answer, reference Figures 16.16, 16.17, and 16.18.

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Dürer visited Italy in 1505–1506 to learn the technique of scientific perspective from the Italian masters. His painting The Large Turf (Figure 16.16) from 1503 demonstrates the Northern interest in the depiction of minute details with the humanist interest in natural phenomena, while Draftsman Drawing a Reclining Nude (Figure 16.17) displays the marriage of the Northern tradition with the Southern emphasis on scientific perspective, the tension of the curvilinear as seen in the model, with the rectilinear grid of the draftsman. Dürer’s mastery of oil painting is evidenced through his Self-Portrait of 1500 (Figure 16.18). Reminiscent of an icon, his work evokes traditional images of Christ. For Dürer, in fact, art is a sacred act and is divinely inspired.