The 9 square puzzle using most of the brush and ink "Study of Praying Hands" by German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). When the puzzle is complete, you will jump to a 16 square puzzle with the same image.

You can go there directly by clicking the red square. You can read about the artist below.

The image is most of a "Study of Praying Hands", a 1508 work in brush and ink heightened with white by truly one of the great masters of all time ~ German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). You may see the image as I saw it first on Carol Gerten's fine CGFA site here. Carol's site has indeed many many more images of Albrecht Dürer's work. There are a great many sources of images and data re the artist on the WWW. For a listing of resources, check here.

The original 1508 artwork, 29 cm x 20 cm. in size, is in the Graphische Sammlung Albertina, in Vienna.

Albrecht Dürer was born on May 14th, 1471 in The Imperial Free City of Nürnberg (Nurenberg to us today). He was the third child & second son born to Albrecht Dürer, a Hungarian goldsmith, and Barbara Holfer, the daughter of a jeweller. The Hungarian family name of the Dürers was "Ajto" (door in Hungarian), but the father used the name Türer which sounds, I understand, like the German word "Tür" meaning door. The artist called himself however Albrecht Dürer.

There were 18 children in the artist's family but only three lived long enough to grow up - Andreas born in 1484, a goldsmith, Hans, also an artist, born in 1490, and Albrecht himself. I mention this because of the "folk story" which is said to be about Albrecht Dürer & can be seen on a multitude of sites on the WWW. I have found little data, so far, as to whether there is any foundation for the story being true. Certainly there would appear to be two versions, one which involves Albrecht & a brother named Albert and the other involves Albrecht & a childhood friend named Franz Knigstein. Since most of Albrecht's family died young, the brother story sounds unlikely but surely not impossible. Both stories are similar, both are delightful, & perhaps all said and done the truth is irrelevant. If you have never read the story, you can read it below. There are many WWW sites where you can find the Knigstein version.

I hope that in the near future you will be able to read here some biographical notes about the artist & the artwork. I find, however, that that the research necessary to write such notes is most time-consuming, especially since I try to make the result both interesting & accurate. I have not had the time to complete any notes on the artist let alone research the artwork itself. The matter of the artwork is very confusing to me at the present moment. So at this time, in order not to delay those who just want to do the puzzle, I'll provide a couple of links to biographical data. First is the biographic material available on CGFA. And here is another fine mathematics source.

The java applet that runs the puzzle is courtesy of Axel Fontaine, who lived just south of the city of Brussels in Belgium. Axel invited free use of his fine applet which you can, I hope, download here.

The Praying Hands ~ by Anonymous Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this big family, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighbourhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Dürer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy. After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by labouring in the mines. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Dürer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Dürer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honoured position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfil his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you." All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no." Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late." More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Dürer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver point sketches, water-colours, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Dürer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office. One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Dürer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands." The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - - ever makes it alone!

Return to data about the artist above.