1471–1528 · Artists

Albrecht Dürer signature

German painter and printmaker, 1471–1528

Inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Arizonia, slant 0°

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Arizonia

Who Albrecht Dürer was

Albrecht Dürer was born in Nuremberg in 1471 and died there in 1528. Trained as a goldsmith by his father and then as a painter, he travelled twice to Italy and became the most famous artist of the German Renaissance, above all through his woodcuts and engravings, which sold across Europe.

Prints travel far from the person who made them. Dürer needed a mark that would identify his work wherever it went, and he designed one.

The story of the signature

From the later 1490s Dürer signed most of his work with a monogram: a large, broad capital A with a smaller D set inside or beneath it. It appears on woodcuts, engravings, drawings and paintings, often on a small painted tablet or plaque within the picture, together with the year.

The monogram did the job a trademark does today. Because his prints were copied, the AD itself became valuable. Vasari later told how Dürer complained in Venice about the engraver Marcantonio Raimondi, who had copied his Life of the Virgin woodcuts complete with the monogram, and how the authorities allowed the copies but forbade the use of the mark. That episode is known from Vasari’s account and its details are debated, but it shows how seriously the monogram was taken.

On important paintings he could add more. His Self-Portrait of 1500 in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich, has the monogram and date on one side and on the other a Latin inscription: “I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg, painted myself thus, with my own colours, at the age of 28.” He also used the AD on the title page of his book on human proportion, published in 1528, the year he died.

What makes it distinctive

The AD monogram

A wide A sheltering a smaller D, simple enough to cut in wood or engrave in copper.

Date alongside

The year usually sits above or beside the monogram, so each work is both signed and dated.

A tablet in the picture

He often placed the mark on a little painted sign or stone within the scene.

Latin for big statements

On key works he added a full Latin inscription in elegant capitals.

How to give your signature a similar feel

Design a monogram from your initials: make the first letter large and fit the second inside or under it. Sketch it in the Draw tab of the signature generator until it can be drawn in two or three strokes.
For the full name, try Arizonia or Monsieur La Doulaise in the Type tab with the Slant at 0° for an upright, Renaissance feel.
Add the year next to your monogram on artwork or prints, as Dürer did. It makes each piece easier to catalogue later.
Keep the monogram identical every time. A mark is only recognisable if it does not change.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Albrecht Dürer’s signature

What does Dürer’s monogram look like?

A large capital A with a smaller D inside or beneath it, usually with the year nearby.

Did Dürer protect his monogram?

According to Vasari, he complained in Venice about copies of his prints that carried his monogram, and the copyist was forbidden to use the mark. The details rest on Vasari’s account.

Where can I see his signed works?

Major collections include the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Albertina in Vienna and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, and his prints are held by museums worldwide.