A Great Piece of Turf

A Great Piece of Turf, by Albrecht Durer

Created in Nuremburg in 1503, the picture is an incredibly accurate depiction of precisely what the title declares: a piece of turf, and not much else. Upon examination, many of the plants have been identified as common plants like dandelion and daisy and meadow grass. Durer's ability to capture nature in such exquisite detail is still worthy of praise despite the rudimentary models. It is both scientific and artful, displaying even the root system of this piece of turf in great detail.