River Landscape 

Albrecht Dürer rendered this River Landscape in delicate strokes of pen and ink. The composition divides into three horizontal zones: the detailed foreground, the expansive river, and the distant mountains, each contributing to a sense of depth and atmosphere. Dürer masterfully uses line to articulate form and space. Notice how the faint, almost ethereal lines create a contrast with the dense concentration of strokes that define the town and the trees to the left. This contrast serves not only to describe the physical features of the landscape but also to guide the viewer's eye through the composition. The horizon line, low on the page, emphasizes the vastness of the sky, inviting contemplation on nature's grandeur. Dürer's formal choices here reflect broader Renaissance concerns about perspective and the representation of space. His art operates as a semiotic system, with each stroke and line contributing to the overall meaning, inviting us to reconsider our place within the natural world.