Young Hare

The Young Hare (Feldhase) by Albrecht Dürer captures a wild hare with photographic precision, each hair rendered individually in watercolor and gouache. Created in 1502, the study demonstrates Dürer's unmatched ability to observe and record nature. The catchlight in the hare's eye even reflects the window of Dürer's studio.

Dürer likely kept the hare temporarily in his workshop to study it from life. The wet nose and alert posture suggest a living animal rather than a specimen. Such nature studies were not intended for sale but served as reference material for paintings. The Young Hare has become an icon of German Renaissance art and natural history illustration.

The watercolor is at the Albertina in Vienna.