Story Behind "Praying Hands"

This article was submitted by Amy Weddle and is the story behind the "Praying Hands" shown below.

Albrecht Duhrer was a famous painter; but before he became famous, he was poor. He and a friend shared a room and rent. They were both wanting to become artists, and they were too poor to pay for their art classes. They decided that one would work while the other went to art school, so that they could pay for the lessons, while the other learned the trade of painting. Then, once the one learned to paint, the other would learn and the painter would work.

Somehow, it was decided that Albrecht Duhrer would be the one to take the art lessons, and his friend would work to pay for them. Each day, Duhrer learned to paint and his friend worked. When Duhrer had enough experience with art, he started selling his works to help pay for his friend's way through art school. But by now, his friend had labored so long that his hands were calloused, cramped, and his fingers were twisted so, that he couldn't even hold the paintbrush in his hand. So, to pay tribute to his friend, a great Christian man who sacrificed his dream of becoming an artist so he could pay his friend, Albrecht Duhrer's way- Duhrer painted a picture of his hands as he prayed. It blessed Duhrer's heart to see his friend pray, so he gave tribute to him the only way he could- he painted his friends hands, folded in prayer.

Well, I hope I was able to tell the story just right and everything. Enjoy! Amy