Customer Reviews (2)

A closer look at Dürer.
Albrecht Dürer was an incredible person and an amazing artist, and this book provides us with the chance to look into some of his thoughts.The first half of the book consists of Dürer's letters to Wilibald Pirkheimer,written while Dürer was in Venice (1506). These are fascinating, Dürer'sdescription of the Venetians and of his artwork completed during hisVenetian stay are especially of interest. The second half of this book is arecord of Dürer's journey to the Netherlands (1520-1521). It is quite dullwhen he is merely recording how much money he has spent on what and wherehe has eaten. But he does describe things such as the great procession ofOur Lady's Church in Antwerp, and he writes about his fears after MartinLuther is taken prisoner, which makes having to read the dull bits worthit.

Insightful letters to his benefactor shares much about Durer
In these days of superstars you fight to read everything you can about the person of interest.In my opinion, Albrecht Durer WAS the quintessential superstar of Rennaisance Germany, and here are letters written in his ownhand.Sometimes funny, but always interesting, you learn of the waysbarter was used to pay off debts, how copies of his many fine works werespread throughout Germany and the accounting of each "stiver"spent of WillibaldPirckheimer's money (his benefactor).Even the fatefuljourney to Zeeland to see the corpse of a whale, which lead to his death,is chronicled here. When you think in terms of the current speed ofinformation gathering--it's hard to believe we are talking about 1514 andnot 1998. ... Read more

Book Description
Faith and Humanism: Engravings and Woodcuts by Albrecht Durer is an exhibition catalogue which accompanied an exhibition of the same name at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts on September 14- October 20, 2002. The catalogue presents forty significant examples of Durer's print oeuvre. The essay by Durer scholar Barbara Butts considers the wider range of the artist's career, with a special emphasis on the spiritual issues that informed his character and his culture. ... Read more

Book Description

Albrecht Dürer is the most significant and admired artist of the northern Renaissance. Tracing his work and influence from his earliest career to his powerful posthumous role within German culture, this richly illustrated book surveys all of the artist's best-known prints as well as numerous drawings and watercolors.

The catalogue of a greatly anticipated exhibition of Dürer's work in England--including loans of many precious works rarely seen by the public--the volume features 85 color and 267 black-and-white illustrations. It follows Dürer's career from his first work in the medieval tradition of Martin Schongauer, through his Italian education in the classical tradition, to his sophisticated development of the woodcut and engraving techniques that changed the history of printmaking. The book examines Dürer's long-lived influence, from the obsession of artists and collectors with his work during the late sixteenth century to the iconic status he acquired amid the rise of German nationalism in the nineteenth. It considers how the popularity of his images migrated into a range of materials as diverse as porcelain and banknotes. This assessment of his art and legacy concludes with a contemplation of Dürers famous print, Melancholia, written by the Nobel Prize-winning German novelist Günter Grass, himself a printmaker.

Offering a much-needed fresh look at the work of a major Renaissance artist, this handsome book is certain to deepen the broad international appreciation that Dürer's work already enjoys.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

The British Museum
December 5, 2002 - March 23, 2003

Book Description
Albrecht Drer (1471-1528) was one of the world's great artistic geniuses, unique among his contemporaries in his ability to translate the basic principles of the Italian Renaissance into the northern European style to which he was born. In addition, he was an exemplary figure of the early Reformation: one of the first people to become interested in Martin Luther's writings, he also counted most of Germany's leading humanists among his friends. This major biography links Drer's artistic development to his personal life and to the turbulent history of pre-Reformation Europe. "An informative and engrossing narrative."--Ellen Shultz, The New York Times Book Review ". . . this masterful tabulation of the known facts of Drer's life is both readable and authoritative, and it provides the fullest assortment of well-translated documents since William Martin Conway. Hutchison has long been acknowledged as a leading scholar of German prints and their makers, and her text extends its biographical mission to provide instructive asides about the intellectual and cultural milieu of Drer's Nuremberg."--Larry Silver, Sixteenth Century Journal ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent peek into the world of Durer
After collecting my 15th Durer book I found a friend who was travelling to Germany and asked for a book IN GERMAN about Durer. The book she brought was actually the book written in english and translated to German. I was delighted! This caused me to reread the english and follow along, as best I could, with the german text. What a pleasure and an underscore to how multitalented and unenjoyed Durer is. From a precocious 12 year old {doing one of the first recognized self portaits} to a traveller of the world, seeker of perspective truth and with humor at his side {read his letters to his friend Pirckhiemer}. Jane C.Hutchinson tells a story worth reading whether you are an artist or just someone who recognizes beauty.

Excellent peek into the world of Durer
After collecting my 15th Durer book I found a friend who was travelling toGermany and asked for a book IN GERMAN about Durer.The book she broughtwas actually the book written in english and translated to German. I wasdelighted! This caused me to reread the english and follow along, as best Icould, with the german text.What a pleasure and an underscore to howmultitalented and unenjoyed Durer is.From a precocious 12 year old {doingone of the first recognized self portaits} to a traveller of the world,seeker of perspective truth and with humor at his side {read his letters tohis friend Pirckhiemer}. Jane C.Hutchinson tells a story worth readingwhether you are an artist or just someone who recognizes beauty. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume, one in a series of lavishly illustrated paperback books on major artists and their works, tells the story of Durer. From a look at the artist's life and times, to the historical and social context in which he worked, to an analysis of his masterpieces, this is a vital visual resource with more than 300 superb full-color illustrations. The fact-based text is aimed at the general reader, and makes the series perfect for art-history students and art lovers of all ages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book
This Phaidon Durer book is probably, for the price, by far the best comprehensive introduction to the life and works of Durer.It is also one of the best books on Durer in absolute terms.The photographicreproductions vividly bring out the color and sharpness of the dozens ofkey Durer paintings illustrated in the volume.The photographs show thatthere is simply no substitute for an up-to-date book utilizing modernphotographic reproduction/printing techniques to reproduce paintings.Ihave looked at several older books in librarys with color reproductions ofDurer works, and this newer Phaidon book has much better quality colorreproductions.It also has examples of key Durer drawings, such as"Praying Hands," and "Architect," as well asgood-quality reproductions of the three classic Durer engravings("Melancolia I," "Knight, Death and the Devil," and"St. Germone in his Study") and beautiful, crisp and brilliantlycolored reproductions of several key Durer watercolors, including theclassics "Hare" and "Great Turf," as well as keylandscape watercolors.Of particular interest are the reproductions of the3 classic self-portraits, of which the one Durer did at age 28 was sofascinating that it alone made me buy this book and is alone worth theprice of the book.Another fascinating painting is the one that Durer madeof Wolgemut, who was his mentor and who taught him how to paint.It isstartlingly brilliantly colored, and has amazing color depth for aphotographic reproduction of a painting.This book shows how Durer maywell have been the greatest graphical artist of the Western World, and onegets a sense of his amazingly modern personality from the selections inthis book and the quality of their detail.It is hard to believe that aman as modern-thinking and scientific as Durer lived 500 years ago.

You'll Adore Durer!
This book was a very pleasant addition to my art library. I never saw it in a bookstore, so I was hesitant to buy it when I saw how little it cost and how small it was. But, I didn't know anything about Durer and wanted tolearn and I figured I'd take a chance on this book. Good decision! Thisbook is well put together and a tremendous bargain to boot. The book startsoff with about a 25 page, obviously brief, biography by Mr. Bailey ofDurer. Then there are 48 full page color plates with descriptions andexplanations of the paintings on the opposing pages. The reproductions areof good quality and the descriptions are well written and informative. Anyof you out there who own a lot of art books know what 48 color platesusually does to the price of an art book, so "Durer" is really asteal. After you see this book you will realize what a great all-aroundartist Durer was. He wasn't only a painter of religious scenes but anequally talented landscape and portrait painter. (Some of the portraits arejust fantastic!) He also did some beautiful nature studies. Included are 2paintings he did of a hare and of the wings of a bird that will just knockyour socks off (assuming you wear socks!). He worked well in all mediums.The watercolors are as beautiful as the oils. Phaidon has a whole series ofthese books in their "colour library" and this book makes me wantto check out some of the other titles concerning other artists I haven'tlearned about yet. Definitely worth purchasing as an introduction to anextremely gifted artist! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great new study of Du"rer
A new and innovative approach to Albrecht Du"rer, with insightful observations on the role of religion in his work. Nicely illustrated.The author has an excellent knowledge and "feel" for Du"rer's art, and also knows the cultural history of the time and understands Du"rer's relationship to the reformation and to the humanist movement. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
This attractively designed—and reasonably priced—introduction to the Renaissance genius focuses on Dürer's studies of the natural world to show how the artist imbued the most ordinary of living things with reverence and emotion.

A master graphic artist, Albrecht Dürer was the most important artist of the Northern Renaissance. Although he was extremely influential as a printer, his drawings and paintings reveal a profound scientific curiosity about and sensitivity to the world around him. This collection of sketches and watercolors includes thirty-four animal and plant studies, including the masterpieces, "Hare" and "Large Patch of Grass." Victoria Salley's lively essay explores Dürer's interest in nature and the gorgeous reproductions which follow allow readers to appreciate the intricate beauty of Dürer's work as well as his keen powers of observation—traits which continue to inspire and instruct artists today. ... Read more

Book Description
Germany's greatest Renaissance artist Though he is most famous for his engravings, Albrecht D?rer (1471-1528) was also a master painter and draftsman whose work exemplifies the spirit of German art. D?rer's importance in the German High Renaissance was such that he can be considered to embody the movement entirely. His visits to Italy (where he studied most notably with Giovanni Bellini) had a profound effect on his artistic development and enabled him to combine both German and Italian influences in his work. In his later life, D?rer's passion for knowledge and progress led him to research and write on the subjects of art theory and mathematics, making him not only the greatest Northern European artist of his time, but also one of its leading thinkers. This overview of D?rer's entire oeuvre?covering his oil, tempera, and watercolor paintings, copper and wood engravings, and his drawings and sketches?is the perfect introduction to his work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent short book on Durer
Taschen's artist series varies, but all are certainly carefully turned out little books, filled with nicely designed formats and excelletn printing.
This book on Durer is an example of the better ones. The author begins right at what for me is the pinnacle of Durer's art - his charcoal drawing of his mother near death, a supreme work of realism, and one of the most powerful portraits in art. A wealth of material is covered without too much difficulty, rather an accomplishment, as Durer's worl is myriad and tricky to get a handle on.
Highly recommended, though Art History majors and readers up to a challenge should step up to the far more complex studies of Durer byPanofsky and, especially, the more recent one by Joseph Koerner, The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art, this latter now in paperback. Koerner's book also has a fine discussion of the misunderstood and very underappreciated art of Hans Baldung Grien. ... Read more

Book Description
Katherine Crawford Luber examines twenty-five paintings by the German artist in an effort to reevaluate his relationship to contemporary Italian art and his status as a painter. Luber explains how DÜrer appropriated Venetian techniques and suggests that the artist was engaged in the exploration of an atmospheric, coloristic perspective. She argues that this exploration unifies DÜrer's work and necessitates a reassessment of the critical division between his painted and graphic work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simply: You must have it
The book is very,very good. First it is in the typical Konnemann Editionsformat,big and top quality paper. It has many illustrations, many of fullpage size, that are of top quality. Also, at its price the book is abargain.If you are interested in Early Renaissance arts, you will find thisbook a valuable addition to your library and because of its very good priceit makes for a perfect gift. However, it must be mentioned that the bookfeatures mostly Durer's superb woodcuts and his paintings to a lesserdegree. I like woodcuts more than paintings, your call though.In additionall of the texts are very well writen without errors, by experts of thefield,with many details that do not tire the reader.A last thing, takingonly in consideration the book's price and its format and image-paperquality, it makes all other various editions of Durer's work look inferior. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Probably the best Durer biography in English
The large size of this book gives ample space to show many, many illustrations of Durer's art. These begin with his Portrait of Bernhard von Reesen, on the book's glossy dust jacket, in a size big enough to capture quite a lot of the impact of the original.

There are high quality reproductions of his engravings, iron etchings, woodcuts, drawings in silverpoint, charcoal, pen and wash and paintings in watercolor, gouache and oil.

Fedja Anzelewsky supplies concise captions, packed with detail. He also comments throughout the text on the circumstances surrounding Durer's artistic work. He gives solid information about Durer's life, from birth to death.

The result is a fine balance between a story of Durer's life and a story of his art. ... Read more