Dürer on demand: Work by a father of the European Renaissance went on view at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin this week. German artist Albrecht Dürer was described as a humanist, a ground-breaker and an icon by the German ambassador Christian Friedemann Pauls, at the opening of this new show.
Prof Roger Stalley of TCD and a trustee of the library said that as well as the sense of depth and volume in Dürer's work, the artist had incredible technique and used apocalyptic themes. But Dürer was also "vain beyond belief and very concerned with his own place in the world. He was sensitive as to how people looked at him".
Charles Horton, curator of the exhibition, drew attention to Dürer's use of the double entendre and the fact that he was largely an artist who responded to popular culture - portraying the great knights the way the stars of the football Premiership are depicted today. "He reacted very strongly to market demand. He sent his wife out to sell his prints from a market stall on feast days and holy days," said Horton. Dürer's work "is full of humour, full of detail", he added.
"The Chester Beatty is priviledged to own a substantial collection of Dürer material," said Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue, who opened the exhibition on Wednesday.
Knight, Death and the Devil, an engraving from 1513, was chosen by Liis Variksaar of the Estonian embassy as her favourite. "I had it on the cover of my graduation thesis so I have this connection with Dürer."
The exhibition is "a major picture of the Middle Ages", said the French ambassador, Frédéric Grasset.
"You can understand medieval society through his prints because he depicts the fears, the anguish and the concerns of life in those dark days," said Nils Daag, the Swedish ambassador.
Horton said the collection shows "the whole range of his output" from the earliest works to the year he died in 1528
Albrecht Dürer is at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, until Feb 7. www.cbl.ie
Time to say goodbye to all that
An American play about a young man who must say goodbye to his grandparents and pursue his career attracted a full house to Andrews Lane Theatre for its opening night this week.
Actor Frank Kelly, still remembered for his pivotal role as Fr Jack in cult comedy Father Ted, joined his wife, Bairbre, for the opening. He had just returned from performing in a play in Scotland.
Laurie Morton, whose husband, David Kelly, was awarded the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award last weekend, came with her good friend, Hazel Thompson.
Pádraig Murray, vice president of Irish Equity, who will appear in RTÉ's Fair City shortly, and his partner actor Leonie Quinn, were both in attendance.
Others at the opening on Tuesday of Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro included broadcaster Anne Cassin, whose father Barry Cassin is among the cast; Dr Danné Montague-King, a plastic surgeon from Beverly Hills; RTÉ producer Seamus Hosey and actor Jeananne Crowley, who was delighted to announce she had just bought a horse at the Maam Cross Fair.
The recurring line in the play, "tengo famiglia!" is a key to the play's message, said director Terry Byrne, on opening night.
"It's a delightful mixture of humour and heart," he said. Some in the audience were moved to tears by the story. But Byrne explains: "It's not tragic, it has a heart." And the young man who is played by Mark Huberman "although a very successful young business executive, really does care about what his grandparents think," said Byrne.
Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro runs at Andrews Lane Theatre in Dublin until Sat, Dec 17
Raining rock stars
It was a rainy night in Dublin but the rock'n'roll community turned out in force to cheer artist Guggi at the Solomon Gallery in Dublin. Gavin Friday, Ali Hewson, Andrea Corr and Ronan Keating were among those who gathered to admire his new work.
Singer Brian Kennedy, whose second novel, Roman Song, was published by Hodder Headline this week, said he loved "the temperature" of Guggi's paintings and, he added, "There's something really ancient about them".
"They remind me of Caravaggio in terms of their non-figurative content," said Dr Michael Casey, artist and art historian.
"It's uncluttered. It's self-explanatory and yet, it's still very complex," said hairdresser Joe Power, from Wexford, of Guggi's work.
"I love the triptych . . . the sheer craftsmanship of that. It's a beautifully crafted piece," said artist Jim Fitzpatrick.
Others at the opening on Monday included the British ambassador, Stewart Eldon, artists Brian Gormley and Brian Henderson, producer Bill Hughes, designers John Rocha and Michael Mortell, Ned O'Hanlon who has just produced U2's Vertigo DVD and artist Paul Ferriter, who is currently doing a bronze head of Denis Brosnan, former chairman of the Kerry Group.
Writer Kevin Kiely and his wife, artist Maeve McCarthy, whose portrait of Maeve Binchy was unveiled at the National Gallery recently, chatted to friends as they waited for the star to make it through the deluge outside. Finally Guggi and his wife, artist Sibylle Ungers, with their five sons, Moses (17), Noah (13), Eliah (11), Caleb (nine) and Gideon Rowen (four) arrived safely, and the show got under way.
New Paintings by Guggi is at the Solomon Gallery, Powerscourt Townhouse, South William Street, Dublin 2, until Nov 23
A funny thing happened
Only comedian Pauline McLynn could launch a book called Summer in the City on a night like this, joked actor and former Boyzone member Keith Duffy, as the heavens opened outside. "I always launch a book in a hurricane," laughed McLynn.
This is her fifth book. It is based in London, which "sets it apart from the other four," the actor and writer told those who had gathered in the Hughes & Hughes bookshop for the party on Monday evening.
The gathering included her co-stars in the new play Dandelions at the Olympia Theatre - along with Keith Duffy, were Dawn Bradfield, who had just been awarded the IFTA Best Actress Award last weekend and comedian Deirdre O'Kane. Fiona Looney, the play's writer and author of Misadventures of Motherhood, was also there.
Others who braved the rain included Lynne Parker, artistic director of Rough Magic; comedian Karl Spain; literary agent Faith O'Grady; playwright and co-author of Shooting Gallery Arthur Riordan, and Paul Howard, whose latest Ross O'Carroll-Kelly book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress, was published this week. (See review: W11)
McLynn's husband, Richard Cook, of production company Peer Pressure, is producing a Ross-O'Carroll Kelly CD called The 12 Days of Christmas.
Writer Kate Thompson said her eighth novel, Sex, Lies and Fairytales, which is published by Transworld, is unusual because it is web-interactive.
"There's relentless creativity everywhere. It will have to stop," said McLynn.
Summer in the City by Pauline McLynn is published by Headline Review