Albrecht Dürer’s Ideal City: Deconstructing its Biases, Meanings, and Implications

Abstract

Prompted by the threat of Ottoman invasion and the recent peasant revolts, in 1527 Albrecht Dürer dedicated his Etliche Unterricht zur Befestigung der Städte, Schlösser und Flecken (Instruction on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Towns) to King Ferdinand I. Included in his treatise was a plan for a city that he claimed would successfully respond to these issues. This paper takes a close look at this understudied plan specifically in relation to the latter issue – the internal social tensions splintering Ferdinand’s territories – to unveil some of its problematic elements, including an unfavourable attitude towards the lower class pervading it. Examined alongside other “ideal” cities created in the period, and within the historical context in which it was produced, Dürer’s city is one of several influenced by its creators’ disregard for the poor, his penchant for social and economic distinction, and his preference for authority. Responding to the peasant unrest that many perceived as a crisis, Dürer designed a city that he saw as ideal for the craftsmen it was built for and for the King, who desired fortified, cooperative towns. As we will see, however, the borders that he, and others working under similar conditions, drew were not ideal for everyone.