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Ardith Hinton:

AH> Albrecht Durer, 1471-1528.  Once again you piqued my
AH> interest because Dallas & I have a copy of "The Little
AH> Owl" dated 1508.  :-)

Indeed. As a true Reneissance man, he was not only an
engraver but also an excellent painter, so that he had
"silenced all the painters who said that I was good at
engraving but could not manage color." I see little point in
having copies at home, of however great works, and prefer
genuine prints and pictures by local and less-known artists.
Several years go, my town's Exhibition Hall hosted an
exhibition of North Korean art -- from oil painitng to
embroidery. I bought there a huge oil painting depicting a
river descending from mountains onto a plain, with a tiny
bus in the extreme background, tourists like tiny specks of
color grouped around it -- a tribute to social realism
perhaps, or a way to liven up the masses of blue and green.
This picture cost me a miserable 50 dollars, so that I
wanted to pay more. Oil paintings of comparable size and
quality by local painters cost 10-20 times more! Poor North
Koreans...

AH> I don't know much about visual art in general or about
AH> this artist in particular... but I've always thought my
AH> owl looked a bit sad & began to wonder upon reading your
AH> comments what was going on in Durer's mind.

Or is it simply the empty-eyed contemplative stare of a
stuffed animal? Anyway, I like his Young Hare much better:

   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Albrecht_
urer_-_Hare%2C_1502_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

That serious fella has a world-wise look to his eye, has he
not? If he were not red, he would be fit for the role of the
possessed hare in The Witch (or The VVitch) -- a beautiful
movie with dialogue exclusively in Early Modern English.

AH> Uncle Google tells me the work you're referring to dates
AH> back to 1514 .. the year the artist's mother died... and
AH> it's also widely believed that his arranged marriage was
AH> not a happy one.

The medieval Melancholia represents the frigid Saturnic
Hella, the Norse mistress of the nine worlds of the dead.
Her name is connected with that of the leader of the Wild
Hunt, Helle-quin, which later became known an harlequin.
Durer worked within the Medieval worldview, and his
engravings are illustrations to Medieval mythology.

AH> I see no further evidence of sadness in what I can find
AH> on the Internet.  The images there are small,

Why, the Wikipedia scan is large and good:

   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Albrecht_
urer_-_Melencolia_I_-_Google_Art_Project_(_AGDdr3EHmNGyA).jpg


AG> however, and I am aware of other situations in which
AG> e.g. the audience wouldn't realize Beethoven was deaf
AG> when he wrote his "Ode to Joy" if they hadn't been told.

Nor would I. I have read that Beethoven used a crude hearing
aid in the form of a metal rod, of which one end was
connected with the piano strings and the other the composer
held in his teenth to feel the vibrations. This reminds me
of a Russian theater actor that went deaf at the height of
his career, but continued to act better than many that could
hear. He had an almost supernatural sense of time and
rhythm. He could act standing at the edge of the scene
facing the audience, and say his lines exactly over the last
of word of his partner behind his back. Similarly, I have a
drawing by a Russian artist who is nearly blind. She has but
8% of normal vision, and when I met her to buy the drawing
she was with a guide.

AH> While I don't think art necessarily has to be beautiful

I think art is all about beauty in all its forms.

AH> it's probably more attractive to people in general when
AH> it comes close at least.  In my youth I had a rare
AH> opportunity to spend some time alone with an aunt who
AH> had received formal training in visual art whereas I was
AH> studying music.  We found that many of the terms we
AH> used, such as form and texture, were identical.  But
AH> being able to discuss the whys & wherefores doesn't turn
AH> people into artists or musicians.

That is true, even as being able to drive does not make you
an automotive engineer. Everybody appreciate good food but
few are good cooks.

AH> Summarizing the prose poem you mentioned above:
AH>
AH> 1).  The author uses a capital letter... not unusual,
AH>      based on my observations of poetry & of prayer
AH>      books written around the same time.  He's uncertain
AH>      as to whether he ought to say "he", "she", or "it".
AH>
AH> 2)  The Demon says "I've never experienced it, and now I
AH>      doubt it's real."
AH>
AH> 3)  The Angel's reply is more thoughtful.  It suggests
AH>      to me that when I find myself particularly moved by
AH>      a bit of music... frisson... I am not alone.

I suppose it reflects the attitude of the characters. The
male protagonist thinks her a woman, perhaps as a symbol of
what men adore. The Demon talks about "adumbrations of some
transcendent Mystery", and calls it "the thing Beauty".
Having failed to find it, he does not believe in it, missing
the simple truth that if Beauty were found all life would
lose its meaning and cease. The Angel tells of the same
Mystery as the Demon, but concludes from it that Beauty does
exist, but is beyond men and angels, even as God is.

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