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Albert and the Whale: Albrecht Dürer and an Artistic Quest the Understand Our World by Philip Hoare
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book a couple months after viewing a touring exhibit of Dürer's woodcuts at a local art museum.
As I read it, I tried to imagine what it would be like to tour such an exhibit with Hoare.
His enthusiasm would be a little off-putting. His isn't a merely intellectual attraction to the artist and the whale that enticed Dürer on a road trip down the Flemish coast. Roare is passionate about whales. He sees them everywhere--not just in Dürer's art.
His intellect would be enthralling. Dürer was an incredibly detailed artist--despite the medium of woodcuts, his works are populated with characters and flourishes. But Hoare is so invested in the art, that he can pull details out of details. Insights out of hidden flourishes. It would take all day to go through the exhibit at this rate, but the learning would be intense.
Roare's free associating would be hit or miss. He draws on so many sources: science, poetry, literature. The erudition is off the charts.
I'd recommend this book for those who already have explored an interest in Dürer--not enough in the English-speaking world, I'm afraid, more focused on French, English, and even Dutch art than Germany. Without at least some background, this would be a confusing read.
As I read it, I tried to imagine what it would be like to tour such an exhibit with Hoare.
His enthusiasm would be a little off-putting. His isn't a merely intellectual attraction to the artist and the whale that enticed Dürer on a road trip down the Flemish coast. Roare is passionate about whales. He sees them everywhere--not just in Dürer's art.
His intellect would be enthralling. Dürer was an incredibly detailed artist--despite the medium of woodcuts, his works are populated with characters and flourishes. But Hoare is so invested in the art, that he can pull details out of details. Insights out of hidden flourishes. It would take all day to go through the exhibit at this rate, but the learning would be intense.
Roare's free associating would be hit or miss. He draws on so many sources: science, poetry, literature. The erudition is off the charts.
I'd recommend this book for those who already have explored an interest in Dürer--not enough in the English-speaking world, I'm afraid, more focused on French, English, and even Dutch art than Germany. Without at least some background, this would be a confusing read.
swarnak84's review against another edition
4.0
I can see why the reviews are so varied for this book. Its very difficult to define. And initially hard to work out what it was from the hardback blurb. Its not fiction. Its not a biography of Durer, nor is it a memoirs of the author. It isn't just about art or whales or even the influence of Durer. But rather a stream of consciousness that encompasses some biographical details on Durer and Thomas Mann, some of the authors views on Durer, 1930s literary figures and the natural world and brings it together by having the author visit Nuremberg the various highlights of Durer's oevre.
william1349's review against another edition
2.0
Devolves into a whole bunch of junk that’s like “he takes opium, he looks at whale, I walk on the beach and think are they really so far away these medieval mystics”
isaac_tee's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a slow and well developed read. It was cool to see the intersection between history art and humanity. I did gloss over some parts because my interest wasn’t there but I don’t think that impacted my understanding of the book’s message.
enbyemu's review against another edition
I'm calling it quits partway through chapter 3. The book has potential, but I can't tell if it's bad writing or bad editing that's putting me off. It has all these snippets of interesting things (I think), but somehow manages to skip all the between information that would tie them together cohesively, leaving an inpossible-to-follow mess.
lifesaverscandyofficial's review against another edition
a bit heady as in "over my" but I guess I’m the rare sort with little prior familiarity to durer's work prior to reading... a pleasant experience, though, impressionistic and intriguing. curious about his other whale texts!