as well as the half smile of the older man, he wonders if that grin might have been born of Albrecht the Elder's satisfaction that his toil has been rewarded by a son of such talent, who was now about to set out on the world for his wanderjahr. A contributing factor to this pride is that Albrecht the Elder trained his son in his own profession, as a jeweller, but at one point came to regret the choice of apprenticeship as the younger man was so obviously suited to drawing and painting. However, his son learned many skills during that period and it gave him a discipline with his hands that became a defining factor of his work, especially in his ability as an engraver. Conway described the panel as indicating "an astonishing depth of psychological insight" for an artist not yet 20 years old. In its simple design and detail it shares many of the characteristics of, and is a key precursor to, Dürer's mature work. He portrayed his father again in 1497, when the older man would have been around 70. He has aged noticeably in the intervening seven years: his skin is saggier, the wrinkles deeper and more pronounced. In this later portrait Dürer seems at pains to convey these effects of ageing, which are all too evident on his father's face. According to Brion, his eyes have lost their "distant, mystic" appearance and now seem less contented. Conway agrees, seeing traces of haggardly agitation, but holds that the two paintings convey a similar overall highly favourable and compassionate impression of the man. The panels Each canvas is mounted on two boards of equal width, which have been cut vertically and appear have come from the same tree. Tree-ring dating of the wood suggests it was felled around 1482. Wood intended for use in panel painting was generally allowed to mature for around 10 years, giving an approximate dates of 1490–92 for the works. The panels are covered with canvas made of fine but loosely woven linen, and underpainted in white paint. Whether Dürer prepared the panels himself or purchased them already prepared is unknown. The father panel is signed and dated on both sides, in what may be the oldest extant instance of Dürer's signature monogram of a large open A and small d. However this inscription and the 1490 date are later additions. The