Albrecht Durer: Renaissance Man

While perusing through some old prints at an antique gallery in Denver a few weeks ago, I came across this little gem, which looks very much to be an Albrecht Durer engraving. Original or not, I don’t know, but it made me remember my early art history classes learning about woodblock prints and this famous German artist and theorist.

Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) wore many hats: he was a print-maker and painter as well as a mathematician and theorist. As a young man in school, he excelled academically and had simultaneously developed a skill and love of drawing. Durer continued to develop his engraving and printmaking skills as he grew from a young apprentice to specialized craftsman. He gained great notoriety in Europe for his ability to create finely detailed engravings full of symbolism and allegories, being considered one of the greatest artists of the Northern Renaissance. 

 

Some of Durer's most iconic works include his paintings Self-Portrait (1500) and  Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1508), as well as the woodblock engravings of Knight, Death and the Devil (1513) and Saint Jerome in his Study (1514). Although aesthetically pleasing, Durer, who was also a learned man, used his mathematical and theoretical ideas of proportion to execute his works. From his extensive traveling throughout Europe he was able to experience classical art and included those motifs and ideas into his works, which had not been done previously in Northern Europe. 

(You can see his monogrammed signature AD)

Mapping the Old and New

Jason LaFerrera is not a classically trained artist, but has been producing simply amazing and truly unique art. His works combine the concepts of historical maps, which he has been collectiong for 10+ years, with modern digital technology to create exquisite images of flora and fauna. His works are available on Esty and are as beautiful as they are complex. I am delighted that Jason allowed me to feature him on the blog!

California Grizzly Bear

Virginia Northern Cardinal

Aguis

The Artist's Touch

A Photograph of Mid-Manhattan with the Area between 

The Plaza, Ansonia, Biltmore and Carlyle Hotels Removed

Sol LeWitt

1978

Cut gelatin silver print

A wonderful gallery in San Francisco that celebrates photographic art, The Fraenkel Gallery, is currently running an exhibition of photography by Sol LeWitt. LeWitt was a pioneer of Minimalist and Conceptual Art in the post-war era, becoming world renowned for his white “structures” (his term for sculptures), and his large, colorful wall drawings and murals which played with the ideas of irregularity and sequences of line and color, bending and stretching the imagination with their size.

However, through another medium, photography, LeWitt was able to take his ideas of Minimalism one step further by cutting, cropping and manipulating many of his images. The Fraenkel Gallery’s exhibition titled: Sol LeWitt: Photographic Works 1968-2004, bring these images in an accessible way, for viewers to see the the artist’s influence at work. LeWitt’s body of photographic works incorporate his overall notion of striving to open the eyes and mind of the viewers to see more than the just the lines he created, but the process and the people whom helped him achieve these aesthetics.

 The exhibition at the Fraenkel Gallery is on display through April 30^th .

Spring is here!

...although it's still cold outside!

On These Walls...

Have you ever wondered what kind of art hangs in the White House? When certain pieces were acquired, the reasons they were brought into the collection and who choose the pieces?

Frederick Childe Hassam

The Avenue in the Rain

1917

Oil on canvas

The New York Times recently published a short but interesting article on the White House art collection and its curator, William G. Allman. One of only seven people to hold the position of White House curator since its inception in 1961 by Jacqueline Kennedy, Mr. Allman has worked in the curator’s office for 35 years and was appointed chief curator in 2002. How does one manage to maintain a collection in a place that is as dynamic as the White House: at the same time being an office, museum and home?

George Caleb Bingham

Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground

1847

Oil on canvas

Mr. Allman seems to fulfill his duties with the finesse of an expert, although an expert he hardly claims to be. But being able to please the presidential administration, cater to the family living in the White House and choose significant pieces that add importance to the collection is a true feat indeed.

A non-profit organization, The White House Historical Association has supported the procurement, management and conservation projects for the collection for 50 years. They work closely with the curator’s office keeping the master wish-list for further acquisitions and as of recently, with the help of Mr. Allman, has been developing and modernizing that list, to include American artists, some still living, who have yet to be represented in our nations White House.