First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor Francis; an informa company.
#1125009 in eBooks 2013-01-11 2013-01-11File Name: B00B0YW2N8
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Magnificent Genius Captured In One VolumeBy Zon||EidolonAlbrecht Duuml;rer is an underrated artist. He is not known by the general public the same way the Italian Renaissance artists are - it must be a conspiracy; along with the Kennedy assassination and the inexplicable career of Keanu Reeves. Personally; I have been in love with the mans stuff ever since I took a class on Northern Renaissance art in college a long time back. Duuml;rers art is incredibly vivid and detailed; yet never seems cluttered or superfluous. His art truly makes an impression of the viewer - once you see one of his works of art you will not forget it - or him.This is a collection of Albrecht Duuml;rers engravings; etchings and drypoints. While I love his woodcuts and paintings; to me Duuml;rers true genius was in the engraving - he was the greatest engraver of all time. "St. Jerome In His Study" and "Meloncolia I" are the epitome of the craft. This well-made Dover paperback collection; as far as I can tell; compiles all of them for your viewing pleasure. Some resizing has been done on some of them to get them to fit; but you still get the detail so its not a huge deal. Some of the reproductions are lower quality photographs (if you look really *really* hard you can see "newspaper dots"); which while not horrible are not ideal although most of the detail still comes through fine. One thing I really; *really* love about this book is that the descriptions of the works are right next to the works themselves - so no flipping to the front or back of the book to read about the etching that youre looking at. Another thing I love is that the editors give you some early versions and sketches of some of the pieces; which means that you get to see the creative process behind some of these masterpieces. Cool deal.Overall; this book is necessary - it is absolutely necessary for anyone who is a fan of Albrecht Duuml;rer; necessary for anyone who is an engraver or just appreciates the art of engraving; and even necessary for any lover of art in general. If you like this than Dover also has a book of Duuml;rers woodcuts; also available on .1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. hurry up and buy itBy AcrophobeThis is a fantastic book that I would recommend to just about everyone. I have a few criticisms; but considering the incredible value of this book; I dont hesitate to give it 5 stars.This book is a compilation of Durers works in engraving; etching; and drypoint; with historians and critics comments on each image. Except for 15 images; all are reproduced at full size. There are 12 pages of introduction; notes; and list of plates; 7 pages of bibliography and index; 5 pages of images formerly attributed to Durer; and 1 page dedicated to a portrait. Having studied the artists work in painting; woodcut; drawing; engraving; etching; etc; I think engraving was his best medium. Some of his other works are among the best in those media; but his work with engravings is beyond compare. Next to his peers; every other engraver gets a congratulatory pat on the head and an honorable mention.As far as subject matter; Durer was one of the greatest visionaries of representational art. These engravings; especially the three "masterworks;" display a superhuman artistic skill. It escapes my comprehension how a human hand could possibly draw such fine and consistent lines. Durers engravings are; to be succinct; a miraculous achievement. If alien conquerors came to Earth and demanded proof of humanitys worth; handing over Newtons Principia and a good copy of "St Jerome in His Study" should suffice to save us all. He generally disregarded conventions about art and media. Hes the only artist i know of who made engravings as carefully; literately; and allegorically as any masterpiece in painting or fresco. In many ways; he was about 400 years ahead of his time.I wish this book had paid more attention to the masterworks and some others; with more detail images. The only detail in the book is of the dog in Melencolia I. Even here; at about 3X size; the lines are amazingly fine. Like a seasoned magician; much of Durers work is literally beyond the capacity of the naked eye to observe. The quality of reproduction is generally quite good. I recommend browsing this book by a window in bright sunlight; with a large magnifying glass. This is the only way to appreciate the work Dover put into making this book. But the images arent perfect. To see an example of poor engraving reproduction; take a close look at Adam and Eve on the cover; then flip to page 87. Youll notice that the image inside the book is much darker; and almost all the background detail disappears. I also compared the books print of Adam and Eve to one featured in an art history textbook and noticed the same thing. Dover simply used a bad print of this engraving. But this print is the exception to the rule; as the reproduction quality overall is quite good.The commentaries with the images are occasionally superfluous and obtuse. Plate 75 is especially notable; as no less than four "experts" fail to notice that the pleasant; portly dancing housewife is drawing a knife from a sheath; a small gesture that obviously changes the interpretation of the image. Many other images come with puzzling criticisms about the composition and subject matter that the editor does not elaborate on.A few nitpicks aside; I think that any self-respecting student of art; art history; symbology; and religion should buy this book immediately. Considering the quantity and quality of art you get for the price; Dovers edition is essential.On a related note; I highly suggest reading Art in Prints article; called "Remaking Durer: investigating the master engravings by masterful engraving;" (available online) in which a scholar and a modern day engraver describe the process of trying to make an exact copy of Durers "St. Paul" of 1514. It was only after reading this article that I could appreciate Durers methods.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. DelightfulBy JessicaThis book had been on my wish list for about six years; and finally; after having seen several of Durers originals at the Albertina Museum in Vienna; I broke down and purchased this. The detail of the images is pretty decent. You can see all the lines in each of the etchings and most of them are true to size. Each image also contains a brief history; which is interesting; discussing things that Durer recorded in his diary about a particular etching or how other artists portrayed similar scenes or just giving background on the story portrayed. Its a nice little treasure in my library. Love it!