For over 500 years, Albrecht Dürer's images have shaped our understanding of art. A weighty volume published by Taschen Verlag explains why this is so. But it is not only the works and incredible craftsmanship of this Renaissance artist that fascinate us, but also the man himself, for Dürer was a true "multimedia artist."
Many of Albrecht Dürer's paintings are iconic, such as Praying Hands, The Hare, and his self-portrait. The fact that they are still known to so many people after more than 500 years is, of course, due to Dürer's artistry, but above all to the fact that he was a visionary and far ahead of his time. The XXL volume Albrecht Dürer: Complete Paintings, Selected Drawings, and Prints not only brings together 500 drawings and all of the artist's paintings, it also describes Dürer's unusual career and the influence he had on art and his time.
Dürer's hometown of Nuremberg was experiencing its heyday at the time, and art also benefited from trade and wealth. However, Albrecht Dürer did not limit himself to portraying patricians and nobles; he also traveled extensively and thus came into contact with Renaissance humanism, experienced the colors of Venice with his own eyes, and learned about the ideals of classical beauty in Italy. He reinterpreted all these influences and transferred them to art, for example in his reflections on measure and proportion.
The reason why Dürer's works still inspire and move us today is that he repeatedly succeeded in creating a great sense of intimacy. Even simple sketches were drawn with such mastery that they – such as the hare – have been reproduced for centuries and hang on many walls as postcards or prints. The more you read this comprehensive volume, the more you realize how versatile Albrecht Dürer was, mastering painting as well as printmaking and drawing. Reading it also sharpens your awareness of what constitutes art and creativity. In the age of AI, it is good to remind ourselves of this.
Albrecht Dürer is just the thing to immerse yourself in over the holidays or on long winter evenings. You can really lose yourself in the pictures, and the texts constantly reveal new things about this fascinating polymath.
Albrecht Dürer. Complete Paintings.
Selected Drawings and
Prints
Christof Metzger, Julia Zaunbauer, Karl Schütz
Taschen Verlag, hardcover with fold-out pages, 798 pages
€175
ISBN 97836386(53814631) German
ISBN 97836386(53814535) English
