Dürer – my personal book of the year award

John Azzopardi: Dürer in MaltaMidsea Books, Gutenberg Press, 2018.

The gigantic genius of Albrecht Dürer revolutionised art, particularly that of print-making. Malta, through the Mdina Cathedral Museum, has been blessed by having one of the most extensive collections in the whole world of his wonderful engravings. All through the generosity of enlightened private collectors, foremost among them Count Saverio Marchese who bequeathed his totally stunning hoard to the Cathedral, and lesser legacies, like the 1992 liberality of the art connoisseur John Cauchi. 

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Most of Dürer’s known prints are there, with a few exceptions, like the erotic and enigmatic 1497 Four Naked Women – one can guess why. Durer’s rapport with women remains enigmatic.  Raised in a family of possibly 18 siblings, aged 23 he ended victim of a prearranged marriage to Agnes Frey, and most miserable the deal turned out to be: resentful, vindictive and childless. The spouses had little love and less respect for each other. In his private letters he referred to his wife as the ‘old crow’, at best, and at worse in unprintably vulgar terms. His friend...