Sławomir Elsner
In the Face of Humanity – Sławomir Elsner / Albrecht Dürer

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
May 23 – August 30, 2026

Sławomir Elsner’s Self-Portrait after Albrecht Dürer (1498) from the dela.art collection is part of the In the Face of Humanity – Sławomir Elsner / Albrecht Dürer exhibition at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
The exhibition showcases a dialogue between the works of Sławomir Elsner and Albrecht Dürer. Elsner often draws on art history, using well-known artworks as starting points for his own interpretations. The layered arrangements of colored lines, characteristic of his style, make the depicted subjects appear elusive and transient. When viewed up close, the works resemble almost abstract compositions; only from a distance do familiar figures and motifs become apparent.

Sławomir Elsner, Self-Portrait after Albrecht Dürer (1498),
colored pencils on paper, 52 x 41 cm, phot. Oliver Killig

The starting point for the Dresden exhibition is Albrecht Dürer’s The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin (1495–1496). Around this work, Elsner develops a reflection on humanity, emotion, suffering, and memory. The exhibition also features works inspired by other paintings by Dürer, including depictions of Adam and Eve, images of the Virgin Mary, and the artist’s celebrated self-portraits.

The exhibition opens with Self-Portrait after Albrecht Dürer (1498) from the dela.art collection. This work references one of Dürer’s most renowned self-portraits, now housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Rather than directly reproducing the Renaissance painting, Elsner presents a contemporary interpretation through a dense network of layered lines. The result is an image based more on an impression than on faithful representation.

In the Face of Humanity – Sławomir Elsner / Albrecht Dürer, exhibition view, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, SKD, phot. Oliver Killig

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