The Story Behind "The Praying Hands"

          Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, Germany, 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 chores he could find in the neighborhood.  Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of the elder children, Albrecht and Albert, 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.  The 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 Dürer 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 Dürer 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 honored 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 fulfill his ambition.  His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, not 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 the 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 Dürer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, water colors, 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 Dürer's works.  More than merely being familiar with, 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 Dürer 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, that no one - no one - ever makes it alone!

        "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you' the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."
                                                                                                            Numbers 6:24-26 NIV

This account was sent by email from a friend in Ridgefield, Washington.

Return to Church History