Albrecht Dürer: Watercolours and Drawings

by John Berger

Five full centuries lie between us and the life of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). His ability to represent a subject with an absolute fidelity to every detail seemed miraculous to his contemporaries, and still astounds us now: we need only think of his watercolours of plants and animals. In addition, Dürer was the first painter to devote such close attention to the art of the self-portrait. No artist before him painted as many as he. The works by Dürer collected in this book show the full range of this artist s unique genius.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a college text.

Later he was self exiled to continental Europe, living between the french Alps in summer and the suburbs of Paris in winter. Since then, his production has increased considerably, including a variety of genres, from novel to social essay, or poetry. One of the most common themes that appears on his books is the dialectics established between modernity and memory and loss,

Another of his most remarkable works has been the trilogy titled Into Their Labours, that includes the books Pig Earth (1979), Once In Europa (1983) Lilac And Flag (1990). With those books, Berger makes a meditation about the way of the peasant, that changes one poverty for another in the city. This theme is also observed in his novel King, but there his focus is more in the rural diaspora and the bitter side of the urban way of life.

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

After reading Albrecht Durer, I had a taste for more Durer. Looking in the town library there were three books and I went for this one because it had an essay in it by John Berger. The essay is in fact five pages long, on a couple of which are illustrations. The essay is not concerned with Durer's Watercolours and Drawings which are the subject of this book, but mostly compares and considers his self-portraits. Of Durer's christ-like self depiction in his portraits Berger says: The picture cannot be saying: " I see myself as Christ". It must be saying: " I aspire through the suffering I know to the imitation of Christ." (p.9) which would link Durer to the Devotio moderna and Thomas a Kempis's The Imitation of Christ: Thomas A. Kempis, which all the same would be unusual in that I can't think of any other artist Netherlandish, German, or otherwise who did something similar even when the Devotio moderna had been the latest religious fashion, which it wasn't by Durer's time.

Seen Berger wrote Ways of Seeing, I imagined that he might have something interesting to say in relation to Durer's woodcuts. But if he did it wasn't something that he wrote down here.

Anja-Franziska Eichler's book is in a large format, this one is less than half the size. A coffee table book for a bedsit, or a barge, or some other place with limited space.

The absence of the paintings means that this book does not feel monumental, the watercolours in particular vary between the magnificent (his painting of a Hare), and some that have the air of something done by a hobbyist on their sunday afternoon (like his watercolours of the courtyard of Innsbruck castle), quite possibly because they were intended as studies, or references for potential future works.

Each picture has a little description, but it's just a teasing taster if you are feeling hungry.

[Reza Abedini · Rating 5 out of 5]

کمتر کسی پیدا میشه که تابلوی تک رنگ و شاهکار "دستان ستایشگر" رو نشناسه یا حداقل ندیده باشه.



نحوه آشنایی من با نام " albrecht dürer " به سالها پیش برمیگرده ، اون هم نه با دیدن آثارش بلکه با دیدن اسمش روی جعبه مداد آبرنگی فابرکاستل ! کنجکاو شدم ببینم دلیل این نام گذاری چیه و متوجه شدم که این نقاش نابغه از نوابغ نقاشی با آبرنگ و از پایه گذران سبک های امروزی بوده.
دورر از 11 سالگی نقاشی رو شروع میکنه و تنها بعد از یک سال به چنان مهارتی دست پیدا میکنه که پرتره های سن 12 و 13 سالگیش امروز هم جزو شاهکارهای نقاشی به حساب میاد.



دورر به زندگی در محل تولدش اکتفا نمیکنه و به سفر میره برای کسب مهارت و ارائه کارهاش ، ابتدا با خود نگاره های خودش شروع میکنه ، کم کم به نقاشی از حالت های چهره اعضای خانواده ش میپردازه و رفته رفته به آناتومی علاقمند میشه.
و این موضوع دقیقا چیزیه که دورر رو از تمام نقاشان قبل و بعد از خودش متمایز میکنه ، علاقه شدید نقاش به طراحی دستها و انگشتان به شکل دیوانه واری ادامه پیدا میکنه ، طوری که رفته رفته نیازی به مدل زنده برای طراحی پیدا نمیکنه و بعد از طراحی دستان ستایشگر که در اصل دستان یک راحب در حال ستایش مجسمه مریم باکره هست ، و همچنین با توجه به گرایش های مذهبی اون دوره که بشدت بهشون پایبند بوده به طراحی مسیح مصلوب ، دستان مسیح ، پاهای مسیح ، ردای مسیح ( با جزییات خیره کننده در سایه و تاهای لباس) ، آدم و حوا و .... میپردازه.
تاریخ شناسان از نقاشی های دقیق و خیره کننده دورر به بیماری های اون زمان پی بردن به شکلی که دورر حتی مشکل های ارتوپدی رو هم با جزییات میکشیده. و این واقعا خارق العاده ست.
همچنین مانند الگوی خودش یعنی داوینچی ، دورر هم به نقاشی از موجودات عجیب الخلقه یا دارای نقص عضو (از دوقلوهای به هم چسبیده تا بازیگران سیرک عجایب) پرداخته.
اما هنر دورر صرفا در طراحی آناتومی با جزییات نیست.
در دوره کوتاهی دورر به نقاشی از مناظر روی میاره و از این قابلیت در پرتره های خودش هم استفاده میکنه ، از طراحی کوه آلپ گرفته تا معابد محل تولدش و ساختمان های ونیز.
دورر به مدگرایی هم پرداخته و هر کجا که برای سفر میرفته لباس های مناسبتی زنان اون منطقه رو نقاشی میکرده و از این جهت نقش موثری در مطالعات تاریخی با موضوع پوشش داشته.
در آواخر عمرش به طراحی از حیوانات می پردازه و برخی از طراحی هاش از حیواناتی هستند که در حال حاضر منقرض شدن و زمانی که کتاب و تصاویرش رو میدیدم به این نتیجه رسیدم که چقدر هنرمند توانمند ، بزرگ و موثری بوده.
و در آخر انتشارات Taschen برای کسی که بخواد هنرمند مورد علاقه ش رو بشناسه شاهکار محسوب میشه و بینظیره .

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reproductions are great, but there could be some more text. After reading the Van Eyck book in this same series where the text really went into a quite a bit of detail, this one contains a pretty short essay by John Berger and then a line or two of information for some of the work that follows. As a picture book it's great, as a book to learn about Durer it's a bit lacking.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little study book sampling the genius of Durer. 'A Young Hare' done in watercolour, featured on the front cover and inside pages, is a typical example of this artists exquisite talent. His sketch study of 'The Praying Hands' and those painted self portraits reinforce this view.
I'm a great fan of watercolour, and Durer was a master of this medium. The book contains just a sample of this renaissance artists work, but the reproduced pictures are very good.

[Zhaovedra Xarli · Rating 3 out of 5]

La obra que señalo es Alberto Durero: insólito Maestro Grabador, de Elsa de Llarena. Ese libro es bueno, pero está bien mal que no adjunten los grabados y pinturas que señalan, y en vez de eso, ponen grabados al azar.

[laurentiu]

0

[Kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings and watercolours by Albrecht Dürer are amazing and I am really excited to add this art book to my collection.