In this piece of work, however, Dürer only used two woodcuts, depicting the magnificently decorated six-wheel coach steered by a Victoria, carrying the Emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, as well as three honorary virgins. One of his last woodcuts shows Ulrich Varnbüler (1522), who was a friend of Pirckheimer and Dürer, almost half life-size, and a man with a large cap, self-confident (after all, he was a Pronotarius of the Emperor at the Imperial Supreme Court), and somewhat brooding. His name, Ulrichus Varnbüler, is at the top edge of the sheet next to the year. In a sheet roll at the right sheet edge there is a Latin inscription, in which Dürer expresses his friendship with Varnbüler.
In producing an engraving, a drawing is applied to the polished metal plate with a bevelled graver, a chisel-like tool. This is followed by inking. The colour that has not been absorbed by the grooves of the engraving is wiped off, and a sheet of paper inserted between the cylinders of the printing press, so that the paper can absorb the inked drawing, and can subsequently be peeled off. This technique had been practised in Germany since approximately 1440, and was further developed by Schongauer and Dürer, among others.
A good opportunity to observe the individual steps for a copper engraving are the proofs. From the work on Adam and Eve, which is, incidentally, Dürer’s only copper engraving with an Old Testament subject, there exist two such proofs. These offer an excellent demonstration of his treatment of the differences of light and dark. His most important teacher was Martin Schongauer, who taught him the confidence of the outline and the language of form. One of his great antagonists in this field was Lucas van Leyden, fifteen years his junior. Dürer met him during his trip to the Netherlands, and they exchanged a number of engravings.
Dürer’s earliest attempts in this field go back to the years 1494 and 1495, which certainly include The Great Courier (c.1494/1495), The Ravisher (around 1494), and also The Offer of Love (c.1494). Among these early engravings is the Virgin with the Dragonfly (1494), where at the bottom centre is Dürer’s early monogram, which he later gave up again, The shading has still been reproduced by very regular rough hatchings, whilst the head of the Child bathed in full light has not yet been modelled. In contrast, the rich embankment with the buildings is quite detailed. Another of Dürer’s early copper engravings is The Prodigal Son (c.1496), which tells of a youth who has squandered his possessions, and is now asking his father for forgiveness on a farm, which appears to be quite Franconian, in the middle of a herd of pigs.
One of the most beautiful engravings shows St. Eustace (1500-1502) surrounded by his hunting dogs and a stag, carrying a crucifix arranged approximately half way between the horse and the castle.