The artists of Italy, when the age of faith was ended, turned to the empty splendors and symmetries of paganism; but their German brothers faced the new problems more sternly, and strove for the life of the future. Under Dürer's hard and homely German scenes, there seem to be double meanings and unfathomable fancies, usually alluding to sorrow, sin, and death, and showing forth the vanity of all things earthly. In sharp contrast with these profound allegories are the humorous grotesqueness and luxuriant fancifulness which appear in others of the artist's engravings, fantastic, uncouth, and quaint. He frequently yielded to the temptation to introduce strange animals and unearthly monsters into his pictures, even those of the most sacred subjects; and his so-called "Virgin with the Animals" is surrounded by scores of birds, insects, and quadrupeds of various kinds. It is interesting to hear of the rarity of the early impressions of Dürer's engravings, and the avidity with which they are sought and the keenness with which they are analyzed by collectors. In many cases the copies of these engravings are as good as the originals, and can be distinguished only by the most trifling peculiarities. The water-marks of the paper on which they are printed form a certain indication of their period. Before his Venetian journey Dürer used paper bearing the water-mark of the bull's head; and, after his return from the Netherlands, paper bearing a little pitcher; while the middle period had several peculiar symbols. A fine impression of the copper-plate engraving of "St. Jerome" recently brought over $500; and the Passion in Copper sold in 1864 for $300. "The Portfolio" for 1877 contains a long series of articles by Prof. Sidney Colvin on "Albert Dürer: His Teachers, his Rivals, and his Scholars," treating exhaustively of his relations as an engraver to other contemporary masters,--Schongauer, Israhel van Meckenen, Mantegna, Boldini and the Florentines, Jacopo de' Barbari (Jacob Walch), Marc Antonio, Lucas van Leyden, and certain other excellent but nameless artists. Vasari says, "The power and boldness of Albert increasing with time, and as he perceived his works to obtain increasing estimation, he now executed engravings on copper, which amazed all who beheld them." Three centuries later Von Schlegel wrote, "When I turn to look at the numberless sketches and copper-plate designs of the present day, Dürer appears to me like the originator of a new and noble system of thought, burning with the zeal of a first pure inspiration, and eager to diffuse his deeply conceived and probably true and great ideas."