By+Anna

Back in the fifteenth century， in a tiny village near Nuremberg， lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen！ In order to keep food on the table for this group， the father and head of the household， a goldsmith by profession， worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.

Despite their seemingly hopeless condition， two of the elder children， Albrecht Durer and Albert Durer， 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. They 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 Durer 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. Albrechts 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 Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrechts successful 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， now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream， and I will support 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 to 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.”endprint

More than 450 years have passed. By now， Albrecht Durers hundreds of masterful portraits， pen and silver！ point sketches， watercolors， 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 Durers works. More than merely being familiar with it， you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home.

One day， long ago， to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed， Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brothers 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”.

15世纪的时候，一个有18个孩子的家庭生活在德国纽伦堡附近的一个小村庄里。18个孩子啊！身为一家之主的父亲是一个金匠，为了不让孩子們挨饿，他每天工作将近18个小时，还在附近打打零工。

虽然生活艰难，前途渺茫，但年长一些的阿尔布雷特·丢勒和他兄弟艾伯特还是有梦想的。他们都想发挥自己的艺术天赋，但他们知道，父亲无法供他们两个中的一人到纽伦堡的专业院校学习。

晚上两兄弟在拥挤的床上进行了多次长谈后，有了一个约定。他们决定抛硬币。输的人要到附近的矿场工作，用所得收入供赢的人上学。赢的人完成四年的学业后，要售卖自己的艺术品，或者必要的话，去矿场工作，用赚来的钱供输的兄弟上学。

一个周日早上做完礼拜后，他们抛了硬币。阿尔布雷特·丢勒赢了，去了纽伦堡。

在接下来的四年里，艾伯特一直在做危险的矿场工作，以资助他的兄弟。阿尔布雷特·丢勒的作品很快在学校出名了，他的蚀刻、木版画和油画比大多数教授的作品还要出色。毕业时，他的作品已经卖了很多钱。

当这个年轻的艺术家回到家乡时，丢勒一家在自家草坪上举行了晚宴，以庆祝阿尔布雷特学成归来。这场难忘的晚宴在音乐和欢笑声中持续了很长时间。饭后，阿尔布雷特·丢勒从桌前的荣誉座起身，向他亲爱的兄弟艾伯特敬酒，感谢他这几年的牺牲使自己得以圆梦。最后他说：“艾伯特，我的兄弟，现在轮到你了，你可以去纽伦堡追梦了，我会支持你的。”

所有人都转过头去看坐在桌子末端的艾伯特，他面色苍白，泪流满面。他摇了摇低着的头，抽泣着不断重复说：“不……不用了……”

最后，艾伯特站了起来，擦掉眼泪，扫了一眼长桌上在座的亲人，然后把手紧紧贴着右脸，轻声说：“不用了，兄弟，我不能去纽伦堡了，太迟了。看看四年的矿工工作把我的手弄成什么样了！我每个手指都至少骨折过一次，最近右手还患上了严重的关节炎，现在的我连举杯回敬你都做不到，更不用说用笔或刷子在羊皮纸或帆布上画出精致的线条了，不，兄弟……一切都太迟了。”

转眼450多年过去了。如今，阿尔布雷特·丢勒的几百幅大师级肖像画、钢笔及银尖笔素描、水彩、炭笔素描、木版画和铜版画在世界各大博物馆中展览。但奇怪的是，你可能和大多数人一样，只对他的一幅作品很熟悉，而且不仅仅是熟悉，你家很可能挂着它的复制品。

很久以前的一天，为了对艾伯特的付出表示敬意，阿尔布雷特·丢勒让艾伯特双手合十，指尖朝上，非常心痛地画下了他那双饱经摧残的双手，并将其简单命名为“手”，但世界各地的人们都被这幅作品感动，并将这幅向爱致敬的画作重新命名为“祈祷之手”。endprint