The Writings of Albrecht Dürer

328 Pages·1958·13.352 MB·English

by  Albrecht Dürer

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Almost unique among North European
artists, Albrecht Diner left, not only
private letters and journals, but formal
writings published in his lifetime or com¬
posed with an eye to publication. For
Diner was a true modern, the first Ger¬
man conscious of being an artist rather
than a traditional craftsman.
First published seven decades ago, the
present collection has long been out of
print, though the few surviving copies
have served two generations of biogra¬
phers and anthologists. The present edi¬
tion makes it once more available to the
general art-loving public.
Translated with just a touch of the
archaic to enhance its period flavor, it
renders the cream of Durer’s literary
effort—letters, autobiographical sketches,
diary fragments, poems, and technical
studies in the many fields of his interest.
The reader will be fascinated by this
warm and vivid portrait of a man who
was not only one of the world’s supreme
artists but, as this book reveals, a true
pioneer on the frontiers of human knowl¬
edge.

THE WRITINGS OF
ALBRECHT DURER
—Courtesy John G. Johnson Art Collection, Philadelphia
Plate I. Portrait of an Old Man
T
he Writings of
ALBRECHT DURER
★
Translated and Edited
by William Martin Conway
With an Introduction by Alfred Werner
PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY
New York
Copyright 1958 by Philosophical Library, Inc.
15 East 40 Street, New York 16, N. Y.
All rights reserved
7&S.3
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Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Introduction by Alfred Werner ix
CHAPTER I.
The Age of Albrecht Diirer 1
CHAPTER II.
Durer’s Birth-place and Friends 15
CHAPTER III.
Durer’s Childhood and Youth 32
CHAPTER IV.
Diirer at Venice. The Great Pictures 45
CHAPTER V.
Durer’s Great Pictures. The Heller Letters 61
CHAPTER VI.
Durer’s Woodcut Publications 74
CHAPTER VII.
Durer’s journey to the Netherlands 92
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CHAPTER VIII.
Diirer’s last years 127
CHAPTER IX.
Diirer’s intellectual and religious development 142
Appendix to Chapter IX. 161
CHAPTER X.
The growth of Diirer’s ideas about Art 162
Appendix to Chapter X. 187
CHAPTER XI.
The Teaching of Measurements with Rule and
Compass 207
Appendix to Chapter XI. 222
CHAPTER XII.
The Four Books of Human Proportion 227
Appendix to Chapter XII. 253
CHAPTER XIII.
The Theory of Fortification 262
Appendix 274
Durer’s Rhymes 280
Index of Passages cited from the British Museum
Manuscripts 284
General Index 286