The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer

by Albrecht Dürer, Willi Kurth (Editor), Campbell Dodgson (Introduction)

Albrecht Dürer was a master in various media, but it was in woodcut design that his creative genius reached its highest expression. Here are all of his extant woodcuts, a collection of over 300 great works containing all the familiar cuts long treasured by the world's art the celebrated series on the Life of the Virgin, The Apocalypse of John (17 cuts), The Great Passion, St. Jerome in his Study, Samson Fighting the Lion, The Fall of Icarus, The Six Knots, The Men's Bath, St. Christopher, The Virgin in Glory, The Rhinoceros, The Last Supper of 1523, illustrations from Dürer's "The Art of Measurement" and from his four books on human proportion, and many others, including much little-known material. This book is the only available source for many of these works.
Although sacred subjects predominate (the Holy Family, scenes from Christ's life, crucifixion, etc., the lives of the saints, Old Testament episodes), many other motifs are treated. There are portraits of prominent men of the ages, book illustrations (secular and religious), coats of arms, the celestial and terrestrial globes, animals, mythological and historical themes, etc. The plates are arranged generally in chronological order permitting the reader to view the development of Dürer's art. From out of the gnarled figures and landscapes one can see the emergence of an individualistic style and skill unrivaled in this sphere.
An introduction by Campbell Dodgson and a 34-page textual guide to the plates by Dr. Willi Kurth discuss the evidence and controversies surrounding the authenticity of each work, citing the opinions of all the important Dürer scholars; they also furnish the reader with the historical background of the cuts and of Dürer's life and times — from the years of apprenticeship in Nuremberg to the last works of 1520–1528.
All of the woodcuts are reproduced in excellent detail. This book is indispensable for the professional art historian and critic. To the layman with any aesthetic interests at all it will be a source of stimulation and satisfaction that only great art can provide.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Biography, Reference, Classics

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

German painter and engraver Albrecht Dürer incorporated the classicism of the Renaissance of Italy into northern European art.

This printmaker and theorist hailed from Nuremberg.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrech...

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'd be hard pressed to find a better value in art books. This is a nice big volume with sharp reproduction on non-glossy paper. There's little more to say about the book itself, other than expect to see page after page of saints and sinners, heads on plates, people being beaten with sticks, strangely-shapen breasts, people being cooked in pots, Jesus doing various things, a badass griffin with a scroll, people being stabbed with swords, and a scaly monster handcuffed like a captured fugitive about to get the business from an angel with a huge, elaborate key.

The only downside to this collection is that it's just woodcuts. Many of Durer's greatest black-and-white works were metal engravings, and you'll be seeing none of those here. But if you like the style of woodcuts, Durer has a huge variety of illustrative techniques for you to admire.

[Katya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great large book with really good prints. This is one of those books that probably would NOT look good enough on a e-reader or a tablet, for in art books it is the size and the quality of the print that counts. So the paper here is the best medium, in my opinion.

It would be ridiculous, of course, to expect my review of Durer's art - we are only talking about books here. But I must say that thanks to this gorgeous edition one comes as close as possible to viewing Durer's original work. The effect is mesmerizing - fantastic creatures, scenes of battle and horror (really, any known to me horror film is far behind in its imagery!), angels and demons in their eternal opposition - they take the viewer hundreds miles and hundreds years away and bring one to a calm, sublime and meditative state of mind. Yes, calm and meditative, in spite of the many terrifying things depicted by the artist, for in art it is not what is depicted that ultimately touches our soul, but how it is done. And in this case it is done with a magical precision, capturing details that sometimes just about break one's heart.

[Judith Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone gave me this book nearly 50 years ago, and although I have many times looked through it, it is only now, in lockdown, that I have carefully gone through the pages, looking closely at the artwork and reading the notes (two bookmarks required so I could flip backwards and forwards!).

What a superb artist Durer surely was!

I first came across his work on a visit to Oberammergau when I was twelve, when I saw a print of his praying hands, and funnily enough, I found a tiny bookmark of this print recently in a secondhand book bought in a charity shop.

Speaking of things tucked into books, I used this Durer book to press a collection of those printed tissue papers that you used to get in the greengrocers wrapped round citrus and other fruits, now sadly superseded by plastic stickers. A kind of ephemeral art in themselves. There are 51 of them, from growers in Italy, Spain,Greece and the USA, and I guess I must have stopped collecting them at some point.

[Jonkel Argo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vakrere tresnitt finner du kun i Japan. Men hvis du liker Jesus er Dürer best.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this copy (copyright 1946 by Crown Publishers) at a curiosity shop in Alameda CA. It's in excellent condition and I paid only$3.29 for it.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The detail Durer could get into a block of wood is astonishing, and the woodcuts reproduced here are like those magic-eye illustrations that were popular about twenty years ago, where you stare and stare trying to make the image emerge in 3D. Death and the Maiden isn't in there, so presumably that wasn't a woodcut.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I'd have liked it better if the notes were actually WITH the woodcuts and not in a separate section, requiring a lot of page-flipping.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thick book. Just looked at the pictures. Pre-read for CC1

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

These days, Durer's most famous woodcuts are his rhinoceros and his magic square. But his bread and butter were biblical scenes, the lives of saints, and portraits of his noble patrons.


Durer marks the beginning of the Renaissance in Germany. His subjects (as above) are purely medieval, but his naturalistic anatomical style puts him is the same league as Leonardo and Michelangelo.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but the layout is appallingly unhelpful as the reader constantly has to flick to and fro between the pictures and the explanations.

[Kevin Casto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful images of the work of Durer. A wide scope and sequence of his woodcuts.

[Krk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, do I love Durer's work. That's it. That's the review.

[Nick Pompella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prints themselves are obviously masterworks - it's Durer after all - but the way that Dr. Kurth has arranged the prints does well at showcasing a gradual biography of technical mastery spread across Durer's life. By calling upon the expertise of other aficionados of the Durer woodcuts, Kurth was able to cross-reference every individual print to come to the closest approximation of when these prints were completed. The end result is a chronological arrangement of Durer's work that shows shockingly humble beginnings. This collection is very interesting if only because the audience gets to see just how far Durer had to come before evolving into the artist - tactician that was capable of the Apocalypse series.

[Mii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely.

[Bradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the woodcuts of my favorite artist.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reproductions in life size on matte paper.