Durer made these complex woodcuts based on knots drawn by the ingenious Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, and this is one of the rare examples where Durer copied the work of another artist. Durer called the works ‘Knots’ and their purpose is unknown. Among the scholars, there is a debate whether these are patterns intended for embroidery or textiles, design for ceramics or labyrinthine didactic tools for training draftsman. The work was created in 1507. For those who don't know, Albrecht Durer was a German Renaissance painter, graphic artist and art theorist. He was one of the greatest masters of art of the Middle Ages, i.e. during the Age of Humanism and Reformation. His well-known works are: Adam and Eve; Self Portrait; Praying Hands; Rhinoceros; The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse; Knight, Death, and the Devil…
The pattern was drawn by importing a high-resolution image of Durer’s work into 2D CAD software and carefully tracing it by hand. The main knotwork pattern was drawn with high precision and consists of lines and arcs only.
