To the Whitworth Gallery for an exhibition of prints by Dürer (and others), in the context of the contemporary material world and power structures. Personally I would have preferred more about the engraving and woodcuts along with the religious upheavals of the time . . . but no matter. It was a pleasure to look closely at the prints and marvel at the skill and precision that went into them. I was left with lots of questions – like how many of the copper plates (engravings), iron plates (etchings) and woodblocks still exist? How many prints were made? I spent some time mesmerised by the woodblock and print of St Veronica. Such skill!
I confess I didn’t like many of the images: too much suffering and martyring. The exceptions were the depiction of textures like fur collars and beards. The information panel for the portrait of Elector Friedrich states: “The artist used his burin to render 13 separate lines within a space covering 2mm”. And the sublime rendering of light coming through the opaque window panes of St Jerome’s study.
The more Manchester builds, the less I like it. It feels as if personal landmarks are disappearing. But heigh ho, that’s the way it goes. It rained all day, so seeing the playfulness of the (otherwise tosh) Lemn Sissay poem on a gable wall made me smile all the way back along Oxford Road.
Aides memoires part 3 