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A Trans-Temporal Resonance of Intellect: On Albrecht Dürer’s Artistic Practice and the “Sayable” and “Unsayable” in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophy



Author(s)

ZHANG Mohan, LIN Hai-tao

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2026.04.011

Kunming University, Kunming, China； Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi, China

This paper explores a profound intellectual convergence, transcending historical periods and disciplinary boundaries, between the Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951). The study focuses on two pivotal events in Dürer’s career: his woodcut Rhinoceros (1515), created based on second-hand accounts, and his overwhelming experience of being left speechless before Aztec artworks in 1520, which he described as “indescribable”. Through the lens of Wittgenstein’s “picture theory of language” and the strict demarcation between the “sayable” and the “unsayable” as proposed in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, this paper reinterprets Rhinoceros as a form of “visual utterance” conducted under conditions of incomplete information. It is argued that the work does not aim for biological accuracy but successfully constructs a symbol of an “exotic marvel” that met the cultural expectations of contemporary Europe and circulated effectively within a specific “form of life”. Dürer’s speechlessness when confronted with the art of a heterogenous civilization vividly embodies the aesthetic and value domain that Wittgenstein defined as “unsayable” yet “showable”. Furthermore, by introducing perspectives from Wittgenstein’s later thought (Philosophical Investigations), such as “language-games” and “meaning as use”, this paper argues that Dürer’s lifelong practice—navigating between establishing a universal visual science (e.g., Four Books on Measurement) and engaging with specific historical networks (the Age of Discovery, the print revolution, cross-cultural encounters)—unconsciously prefigures Wittgenstein’s own philosophical shift from pursuing a static “logical picture” to embracing dynamic “language-games”. Ultimately, the paper proposes that artistic creation is essentially a “boundary-crossing practice” or a “manifestational activity” operating at the frontier between the “sayable” (facts, technique, rules) and the “unsayable” (value, experience, otherness). By creating sensible forms, it enables the perception and communication of the unspeakable, thereby expanding the boundaries of human cognition and understanding. The trans-temporal dialogue between Dürer and Wittgenstein suggests that the highest form of human rational activity lies not in constructing closed epistemic temples, but in the continuous, vital “play” of both following and creating rules within concrete practice when faced with the infinite complexity of the world.

Albrecht Dürer, Ludwig Wittgenstein, the sayable and the unsayable, picture theory of language, language-games, artistic creation, cross-cultural cognition, manifestation, boundary-crossing practice