Die grosse Kanone

Oil painting 180cm X 120 cm
It took me some 500 hours to complete.

The painting is from my Albrecht Durer cycle and is inspired from a black and white etching from Albrecht Durer made in 1518.
When for Durer this was his largest etching, for me it was also my first painting of those monumental dimensions. I liked so much the imersion in the huge canvas, that whenever I could later spend a lot of time and I get the permission from my wife to occupy the living-room for a few weeks, I produced one of those monsters. For this painting, I was still a student living with my parents, so it was not difficult to obtain the perfect conditions!
some explanations below;
[link]

The subject matter of this print is obscure. A Turk stands prominently in the foreground and surveys a large cannon on a four-wheeled gun carriage. While at this date Turkey posed a military threat to the West, it is unclear whether Dürer is referring to a topical issue.

The modern interest in the print lies in its etching technique and the magnificent landscape. From a high vantage point framed by a tree, our eye is drawn to the buildings below, where a path takes us through a field. A horse grazes there in the sun. Beyond the village is a prospect of mountains, ships and the sea. Landscape was not as yet an established subject for painters, but this comprehensive view stimulated other artists to explore the genre (for example, Albrecht Altdorfer).

This print was the last and most ambitious of Dürer's six etchings. Close inspection shows that the acid has bitten lines of uniform thickness, so that the outlines of objects are no heavier than the detail and modelling inside. Shapes emerge from the dense pattern of lines, but only after patient looking. See, for example, the two figures behind the cannon.

Despite the large editions that can be printed from an etched iron plate, Dürer did not persist with the technique, as it did not have the refinement and variety of marks that he could achieve with engraving