The True Tale Of The Praying Hands

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with 18 children. Yes, eighteen! In order to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost 18 hours a day at his trade, as well as any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.

Despite their  seemingly hopeless condition Albrecht and Albert, two of the older children, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they were fully aware of the fact that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to the art 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 who would attended the academy.

Then, after four years, when the brother who won the coin toss completed his studies, he would in turn support the mining brother to also attend the academy – either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg to study art. Albert went down into the dangerous mines, and for the next four years financed his brother whose creative work at the academy was an almost immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his fellow students and even those 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 Durer 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 honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to fulfill 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.”

Prayer is communication with the Divine.  It can be whispered or chanted or written or expressed in the work you do.  However it is expressed, it is never in vain ~ Donna Wilk Cardillo

All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table, where Albert sat. Tears were 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 at 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 Durer’s hundreds of masterful works – portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, water colors, 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 Durer’s works. More than being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

Yes, you guessed it. One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer 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 later renamed his tribute of love The Praying Hands.”

Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it. Thus, beauty lies even in humble, perhaps ugly things, and the ideal, which bypasses or improves on nature, may not be truly beautiful in the end ~ Albrecht Dürer

The next time you see a copy of this touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder that no one really makes it alone in this world. We need the support, grace and kindness of others. Where would many of us be without the selfless sacrifice and unconditional love of those around us?

I studied history of art and humanities at university for five years and received a degree. Albrecht Durer was one of my favorite artists that I studied. However, I never heard this touching story until recently. I wish I knew the name of the author that I derived much of this information from, so that I can credit him accordingly, but he is unknown. In any case, I hope you receive as much value as I did from the grace between these brothers.