Albert and the Whale: Albrecht Dürer and How Art Imagines Our World
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-08 03:19:14
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Philip Hoare
- ISBN：1643137263
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Nick Evans
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This was an interesting， if quirky， read at first。 However， it quickly seemed to lose its way。 The author's mission seemed to be to embrace as many whale references as possible and to hang them onto a construct that tied all the thinking from Durer's time through to the present day。 For me， it didn't work and I gave up about two-thirds the way through。 This was an interesting， if quirky， read at first。 However， it quickly seemed to lose its way。 The author's mission seemed to be to embrace as many whale references as possible and to hang them onto a construct that tied all the thinking from Durer's time through to the present day。 For me， it didn't work and I gave up about two-thirds the way through。 。。。more
Always Pink
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To use a clichee: Lightning has struck。 Philipp Hoare has fallen for Albrecht Dürer–big time。 In his latest book he embarks unto a veritable pilgrimage to see Dürer‘s key works as well as a number of places the artist has been to。 Utterly entranced especially by the sensuous beauty of Dürer’s self portraits， Hoare ponders （as well as wonders） about the almost visceral reactions of a number of other writers to the genius and his works， among them Thomas Mann， his son Klaus Mann， Christopher Isher To use a clichee: Lightning has struck。 Philipp Hoare has fallen for Albrecht Dürer–big time。 In his latest book he embarks unto a veritable pilgrimage to see Dürer‘s key works as well as a number of places the artist has been to。 Utterly entranced especially by the sensuous beauty of Dürer’s self portraits， Hoare ponders （as well as wonders） about the almost visceral reactions of a number of other writers to the genius and his works， among them Thomas Mann， his son Klaus Mann， Christopher Isherwood and W。H。 Auden， Marianne Moore， and W。G。 Sebald。 Being Hoare， he combines these musings with intriguing tales of the whale， his own totem animal and what he presumes would surely have enthralled Dürer’s fantasy likewise， had not in December 1520 a near-fatal storm prevented his ship to reach a beach in Walcheren in Dutch Zeeland， where a whale had lain stranded。 That Hoare himself suffers from Dupuytren’s contracture， a disfiguration he also detects in a number of hands drawn and painted by Dürer， most conspiciously in his Munich self-portrait， adds yet another layer of connectedness between the two artists。 The quasi impressionistic style of Hoare’s associations asks for a reader who is quite well-versed in German literature， art and history。 The art historian in me quite loved all of this name dropping， but I certainly did not follow Hoare's flight of ideas in all its intricacies。 Probably to highten the poetic quality of the reading experience he often， somewhat chummily， refers to people by their first name only; places are not named but summarized pars pro toto as „cobble-stone-paving“ or „cathedral town“; David Bowie e。g。 is regularly quoted as „the star man“。 All this speaking in codes and transgression of times， genres and even genders sometimes worked beautifully， but sometimes just left me disoriented， as if I was listening in to a story being told at a neighbouring table in a rather quirky bohemian restaurant。 。。。more
Vansa
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This book starts with a middle-aged Durer in ， who's lost a patron， and wants to make works of art glorious enough to attract others。 It takes in the times-increasing international trade， the confusion of people in contact with new worlds， to explore， enslave， colonise。 It's also about Durer's relationship with nature， and his magnificent artworks of animals， and the level of details captured even in a rendering of blades of grass。 With Durer's art as a foundation， the writer spins us out in a s This book starts with a middle-aged Durer in ， who's lost a patron， and wants to make works of art glorious enough to attract others。 It takes in the times-increasing international trade， the confusion of people in contact with new worlds， to explore， enslave， colonise。 It's also about Durer's relationship with nature， and his magnificent artworks of animals， and the level of details captured even in a rendering of blades of grass。 With Durer's art as a foundation， the writer spins us out in a swirling narrative that takes in everything that Durer's had an effect on （with a focus on elements that interest Hoare， of course！）。 So you get examinations of Durer and whales， depression， the appropriation of art and perversion of its meaning （ Durer was a huge favourite of Hitler and upheld as a symbol of the Aryan race， though we have nothing to suggest Durer ever believed anything of the sort）。 Hoare quotes Panofsky on Durer-an art critic who was a refugee in Princeton， at the same time as Einstein and Thomas Mann。 THIs connection to Thomas Mann gives us one of my favorite sections of the book-an analysis of Thomas Mann's life， family and his works， and most importantly ， their fierce （and brave） denunciations of Nazism。 Thomas Mann and his family's lives read like lessons on resistance， and the importance of using your power to give a voice to those who don't have one。 He also takes in the work of WG Sebald， the structure of the book seems quite inspired by Sebald's Rings of Saturn。 Except， instead of a walking tour of a part of England， Hoare does a a round-the-world tour in search of Durer's works， and along the way， gives us a meticulously researched work on what it means to be a human and our place in the natural world。 This is a beautiful， compelling， rewarding read， enriched with some absolutely delightful photographs-super-fun ones of the author playing around with skulls and bones， and absolutely gorgeous reproductions of Durer's art。 I wasn't particularly interested in Durer when I picked up the book， I started it because I find Hoare's writing interesting， I finished it telling my husband that I was firmly convinced Durer is the greatest Renaissance artist。 You finish the book wanting to flip back to the first page to begin reading it again。#AlbertandtheWhale #NetGalley 。。。more
Robert Peters-Gehrke
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