WORTH READING 22 Apr 2005

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE OF THE PRAYING HANDS

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 mob, 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 Durer 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 laboring in
the
mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer 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 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 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 Durer's hundreds of
masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors,
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 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
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 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!

Moral:- Behind every masterpiece there is toil and hard work by a team -
no
one can ever make it alone and hence team spirit is very very essential.

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