Albert and the Whale: Albrecht Dürer and How Art Imagines Our World
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- Create Date：2021-06-17 09:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Philip Hoare
- ISBN：1643137263
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Summary
An illuminating exploration of the intersection between life， art and the sea from the award-winning author of The Whale。
In 1520， Albrecht Dürer， the most celebrated artist in Northern Europe， sailed to Zeeland to see a whale。 A central figure of the Renaissance， no one had painted or drawn the world like him。 Dürer drew hares and rhinoceroses in the way he painted saints and madonnas。 The wing of a bird or the wing of an angel; a spider crab or a bursting star like the augury of a black hole， in Dürer's art， they were part of a connected world。 Everything had meaning。
But now he was in crisis。 He had lost his patron， the Holy Roman Emperor。 He was moorless and filled with wanderlust。 In the shape of the whale， he saw his final ambition。
Dürer was the first artist to truly employ the power of reproduction。 He reinvented the way people looked at， and understood， art。 He painted signs and wonders; comets， devils， horses， nudes， dogs， and blades of grass so accurately that even today they seem hyper-real， utterly modern images。 Most startling and most modern of all， he painted himself， at every stage of his life。
But his art captured more than the physical world， he also captured states of mind。
Albert and the Whale explores the work of this remarkable man through a personal lens。 Drawing on Philip’s experience of the natural world， and of the elements that shape our contemporary lives， from suburbia to the wide open sea， Philip will enter Dürer's time machine。 Seeking his own Leviathan， Hoare help us better understand the interplay between art and our world in this sublimely seductive book。
In 1520， Albrecht Dürer， the most celebrated artist in Northern Europe， sailed to Zeeland to see a whale。 A central figure of the Renaissance， no one had painted or drawn the world like him。 Dürer drew hares and rhinoceroses in the way he painted saints and madonnas。 The wing of a bird or the wing of an angel; a spider crab or a bursting star like the augury of a black hole， in Dürer's art， they were part of a connected world。 Everything had meaning。
But now he was in crisis。 He had lost his patron， the Holy Roman Emperor。 He was moorless and filled with wanderlust。 In the shape of the whale， he saw his final ambition。
Dürer was the first artist to truly employ the power of reproduction。 He reinvented the way people looked at， and understood， art。 He painted signs and wonders; comets， devils， horses， nudes， dogs， and blades of grass so accurately that even today they seem hyper-real， utterly modern images。 Most startling and most modern of all， he painted himself， at every stage of his life。
But his art captured more than the physical world， he also captured states of mind。
Albert and the Whale explores the work of this remarkable man through a personal lens。 Drawing on Philip’s experience of the natural world， and of the elements that shape our contemporary lives， from suburbia to the wide open sea， Philip will enter Dürer's time machine。 Seeking his own Leviathan， Hoare help us better understand the interplay between art and our world in this sublimely seductive book。
Reviews
Mathilde Fasting
，
Just loved this book， really the most interesting book I have been reading this year。 Are you interested in art， literature， history of ideas， or whales， explore this book and take time to think and read carefully。
George Millership
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Sprawling and romantic， sometimes to its benefit， sometimes to its detriment。 At its strongest when discussing the relation between knowledge， depiction， and capitalism - and how art can expand but limit the imagination。I love his explorations of art as an interface with nature。 I use interface literally; the woodblock prints。 Good too are his discussions of fascism。 But to be honest I didn't get much from this - entertaining but vague references and repetitive through lines。 Still， worth a read Sprawling and romantic， sometimes to its benefit， sometimes to its detriment。 At its strongest when discussing the relation between knowledge， depiction， and capitalism - and how art can expand but limit the imagination。I love his explorations of art as an interface with nature。 I use interface literally; the woodblock prints。 Good too are his discussions of fascism。 But to be honest I didn't get much from this - entertaining but vague references and repetitive through lines。 Still， worth a read if Dürer and modernism are your thing。 。。。more
Chris
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WG Sebald gets frequent mentions and Iain Sinclair gest namechecked in the acknowledgements （yes， I am sad enough to read them）， Hoare， though， is not really in this exalted company， lacking the exactitude and insight of the former and the idiosyncratic obsessiveness of the latter and if anything is a little anonymous。 It rather feels like a book that anyone with a modicum of scholarship and access to a decent library might have written。 Despite this， he is entertaining enough company if you hav WG Sebald gets frequent mentions and Iain Sinclair gest namechecked in the acknowledgements （yes， I am sad enough to read them）， Hoare， though， is not really in this exalted company， lacking the exactitude and insight of the former and the idiosyncratic obsessiveness of the latter and if anything is a little anonymous。 It rather feels like a book that anyone with a modicum of scholarship and access to a decent library might have written。 Despite this， he is entertaining enough company if you have any interest in Durer， Thomas Mann or entre deux guerre New York Bohemia and this is an enjoyable enough read。 Sadly， though， what we don't get is much about how art imagines our world。 BTW Whales （and of course Melville） only make brief cameos but as they were the subject of Hoare's previous book he's probably had enough of them。 。。。more
John W。
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It is hard to characterize this book， not a biography of Durer not a description of his art but a journey through art， life nature and human nature and personal memoir。 Confusing sometimes as the author jumps from one idea to another and the text frequently does clearly refer to the illustrations contained in the book。 So it really is more about the author and his thoughts than about Durer。
Ross Cohen
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Difficult to follow。
Mike
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This is a book that defies categorization or description。 Philip Hoare uses a failed trip Albrecht Dürer made to see a beached whale to take off on an excursion through the world and history of art， literature， natural history， music and so much more。 Along the way Hoare mixes in Marianne Moore， Thomas Mann， W。H。 Auden， David Bowie， and a surgery he underwent to unclench his fingers。 I started reading Hoare's work with Leviathan， and have been a rapt and avid reader ever since。 His books feel li This is a book that defies categorization or description。 Philip Hoare uses a failed trip Albrecht Dürer made to see a beached whale to take off on an excursion through the world and history of art， literature， natural history， music and so much more。 Along the way Hoare mixes in Marianne Moore， Thomas Mann， W。H。 Auden， David Bowie， and a surgery he underwent to unclench his fingers。 I started reading Hoare's work with Leviathan， and have been a rapt and avid reader ever since。 His books feel like puzzle boxes， guides， and most of all， immense gifts to me。 He's the sort of thinker this world could use more of。 。。。more
Mandy
，
It’s very difficult to describe this book as it’s such a wide-ranging and discursive work， a blend of art history， memoir， literature， poetry， psychogeography， the natural world – and even surgery。 At the heart of it is the author’s love for and admiration of Durer， many of whose works are featured in the book – but it’s so much more than that。 Impossible to classify。 It’s such an imaginative and original piece of writing， and although it assumes a certain amount of cultural knowledge on the par It’s very difficult to describe this book as it’s such a wide-ranging and discursive work， a blend of art history， memoir， literature， poetry， psychogeography， the natural world – and even surgery。 At the heart of it is the author’s love for and admiration of Durer， many of whose works are featured in the book – but it’s so much more than that。 Impossible to classify。 It’s such an imaginative and original piece of writing， and although it assumes a certain amount of cultural knowledge on the part of the reader， as no concessions are made， it’s nevertheless a compelling ride as we accompany the author on his journey while he immerses himself in Durer’s art。 Perhaps occasionally he gets a bit carried away， and there are indeed a few passages that are overwritten， but overall I really enjoyed the book and found it a compelling and entertaining read。 。。。more
Nick Evans
，
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
，
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
，
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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