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The Power of Art

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 3,317 ratings · 53 reviews

"Great art has dreadful manners," Simon Schama observes wryly at the start of his epic and explosive exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. "The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things; visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a...more "Great art has dreadful manners," Simon Schama observes wryly at the start of his epic and explosive exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. "The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things; visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your sense of reality. . . ."

With the same disarming force, The Power of Art propels us on an eye-opening, breathtaking odyssey, zooming in on eight extraordinary masterpieces, from Caravaggio's David and Goliath to Picasso's Guernica. Jolting us far from the comfort zone of the hushed art gallery, Schama closes in on intense make-or-break turning points in the lives of eight great artists who, under extreme stress, created something unprecedented, altering the course of art forever.

The embattled heroes--Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko--each in his own resolute way, faced crisis with steadfast defiance, pitting passion and conviction against scorn and short-sightedness. The masterpieces they created challenged convention, shattered complacency, shifted awareness and changed the way we look at the world.

With vivid storytelling and powerfully evocative descriptive passages, Schama explores the dynamic personalities of the artists and the spirit of the times they lived through, capturing the flamboyant theatre of bourgeois life in Amsterdam, the passion and paranoia of Revolutionary Paris, and the carnage and pathos of Civil War Spain.

Most compelling of all, The Power of Art traces the extraordinary evolution of eight "eye-popping" world-class works of art. Created in a bolt of illumination, such works "tell us something about how the world is, how it is to be inside our skins, that no more prosaic source of wisdom can deliver. And when they do that, they answer, irrefutably and majestically, the nagging question of every reluctant art-conscript . . . 'OK, OK, but what's art really for?'"(less)

Hardcover, 448 pages

Published November 7th 2006 by Ecco (first published November 1st 2006)

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Dec 13, 2008 Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

A couple of confessions – the most obvious is that I haven’t actually read this book. I’ve seen the documentary, but I’m going to tell you about it anyway. This is a documentary to be seen and not read about. The filming, editing and direction are almost as breathtaking as the artworks discussed. This is documentary film making at its best. You are NEVER spoken down to. He NEVER assumes you will know something only the initiated will know. Schama is a God among men and, a bit like David Attenbor...more A couple of confessions – the most obvious is that I haven’t actually read this book. I’ve seen the documentary, but I’m going to tell you about it anyway. This is a documentary to be seen and not read about. The filming, editing and direction are almost as breathtaking as the artworks discussed. This is documentary film making at its best. You are NEVER spoken down to. He NEVER assumes you will know something only the initiated will know. Schama is a God among men and, a bit like David Attenborough, he could talk about grass growing and I would be in a trance (in fact, I may have listened to Attenborough talking about grass growing, I’m almost certain I must have).

I don’t care if there will always be a Britain – as long as there will always be a BBC, that is all I ask.

The other confession I have to make is that I don’t do Art – in fact, not even art. I would love to be able to art, but it just isn’t one of those things I have any talent for. I look at paintings and photographs and I’m stunned by the idea that someone could think to compose an image in that way, light it just perfectly, use that image as a metaphor in such a way as to twist my lungs out of me so that I can’t breathe – but that is not what I do. I am completely incapable of arting and it breaks my heart.

Everyone ought to have a story about why they never became the new Picasso – you know, a ‘the day I learnt I would never be heavy-weight champion of the world’ story. And this is mine. At high school I was always crap at Art, but one day we were asked to do an ‘abstract’ painting. I spent the lesson doodling something in the corner of a vast white sheet of paper – something tight-arsed and tiny, as was my want. Anyway, when it was nearly time to pack everything away a friend came over and while he was leaning on the table talking to me – possibly whilst gesticulating so as to explain to me just how crap my painting was – he knocked over my paints and they splashed all over the paper I had been working on. I carefully picked everything up and took it to the sink – let the paint drip off the paper, cleaned the desk and left the paper there to dry off while I went to clean my hands.

When I got back the art teacher was standing over my desk and I was just about to say, “Look, I can explain,” when she said, “Trevor, this is the best work you’ve ever done, look at how free it all is – I’m going to hang this up”. And she did. (New born talent can sustain neither too little nor too much praise – I can’t remember where I heard that, but it is always part of this story) I knew then with utter certainty, as I’ve never known anything else before or since, that art and I would always be star-crossed lovers.

Meeting some of the greatest of artists can be a bit of a shock. Here you are going to get up close and personal with Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko. I’m not sure I would like to be stuck beside any of these guys at a dinner party. And not just the ones that topped themselves – all of them are anything but ‘fun guys’. The first couple are certifiable. But God, could they Art.

Generally, each episode looks at a master and we get to see his master work, we get to see it from all angles, so to speak. Take Guernica as a case in point – we learn of the fascist bombing of the town, we hear of Picasso saying to some Gestapo scum holding up a postcard image of the painting and asking if Picasso did this piece of degenerate filth. “No, you did.” (If that story isn’t true, it ought to be). We learn of the allegorical stories that most affected Picasso, that fascinated him throughout life and how these became the archetypal images in Guernica – the raging bull, the gored horse, the candle against evil.

And then we have the last few moments of this documentary – possibly the most powerful and moving of the entire series – with Colin Powell at a press conference after justifying the invasion of Iraq and how they had Guernica (a copy, obviously) covered before the press conference follwing his fatal UN speech. The line apparently said by his media advisors that the painting would be ‘too distracting’ is painfully apt with all of the deepest and most apparent of ironies.

The Rothko is the least impressive episode of this series. Although you do get to see an actor play a very young, and very high camp, Schama marching up to the Tate and being stopped dead by a room full of Rothkos. A friend of mine, just back from Britain, had much the same experience. Well, sans mincing, I hope.

The Van Gogh love of yellow paint is an image that will haunt me. As was the beautifully quick cut to Simon saying something like, “It was much worse” just before this. I watched much of this series in an aspect not too different from Bernini’s St Teresa.

This really is a magnificent series – there must be a way of praising it too highly, but I’m sure I haven’t found it just yet.
(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you're like me you took an art history survey in college and then maybe a Euro-pass tour including the Louvre, British Museum, etc., and walked out thinking you knew something about art. That's a bit like owning a copy of "Beatles 1" and thinking you know the Beatles.

In this companion book to a British TV series, Schama takes you under the skin and the canvas of 10 masters from Caravaggio to 1970s. The book's premise is that certain artworks have the power to elicit emotion and even action....more If you're like me you took an art history survey in college and then maybe a Euro-pass tour including the Louvre, British Museum, etc., and walked out thinking you knew something about art. That's a bit like owning a copy of "Beatles 1" and thinking you know the Beatles.

In this companion book to a British TV series, Schama takes you under the skin and the canvas of 10 masters from Caravaggio to 1970s. The book's premise is that certain artworks have the power to elicit emotion and even action. Why is this? Schama actually answers that question.

This is not a primer or a "lives of the artists." Schama assumes you know something (which in my case is literally true--I know something, but not much) about the artists and their times. He fills in plenty on such topics as religious worship in the 17th century, construction of St. Peter's, the French revolution, and the bombing of Guernica.

This really is art criticism at its best. There is little painterly (or sculptor-ly) jargon and lots of living, breathing analysis and history (and even dirt on topics like Bernini's slatternly, adulterous girlfriend, fully realized in a bust that blazes with concupiscence). He never fawns over his subjects while recognizing their flaws and laziness as well as their genius.

Unlike almost other "companion" books, which take a scrapbook approach, this one has real substance and easily stands alone (although my mother tells me the DVD of the series is also excellent). The book is nicely produced and beautifully illustrated with a few well-chosen plates. Schama's descriptive prose is so fine that you easily resist the urge to go to Google images (at least until later) because you can't tear away from this book.

ADDENDUM AUGUST 2012: I was visiting my mother and watched the DVD sections on Caravaggio and Bernini. They were ridiculously overamped (and also felt padded and repetitive). When describing Bernini's "Ecstacy of St Teresa," in which the floating stone nun appears to have a cataclysmic orgasm, Schama appears to have a involuntary wet dream of his own while indulging in some anachronistic purple pornographic prose. Then he has the nerve to add that the statue has inspired quite a lot of bad writing. Case in point. (less)

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Aug 30, 2007 Abhishek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Schama has a tendency to harangue...but his sincerity and off-the-cuff humor more than makes up for this. Moreover, when you compare this with the intense passion that went into the making of each painting and artist in this book, you more than get carried in the stride.
Plus the book has Grrrreat pictures! :D
I think my favorite were the chapters on David and Caravaggio (potboiling soap-operas both).
I only wish his analysis of the artists was a tad more multi-dimensional...he tends to stick to th...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Mamdouh Abdullah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

إن كنت تفضل القراءة في الفن وفي الفنون التشكيلية, لن تجد أجمل من المؤرخ الدكتور سايمون شاما. وإن كنت تفضل مشاهدة اللوحات عبر الشاشة عن قرب مع عرض سينمائي للفنان المراد الحديث عنه مع لوحاته, كذلك لن تجد سلسلة وثائقية تلفزيونية أعظم من هذه للمؤرخ الفني سايمون شاما. يبحر شاما بمشاهده/ القارئ في رحلة فنية مع ثمانية رسامين: كارافاجيو وبيكاسو, وبيرنيني, وجاك لويس ديفيد, وآخرين. شاهدت هذه السلسلة - وهي لا تختلف عن الكتاب, وكانت مشاهدة مثيرة خصوصاً مع كارافاجيو وبيرنيني وديفيد. سأتحدث عن كارافاجيو هنا.

غ...more إن كنت تفضل القراءة في الفن وفي الفنون التشكيلية, لن تجد أجمل من المؤرخ الدكتور سايمون شاما. وإن كنت تفضل مشاهدة اللوحات عبر الشاشة عن قرب مع عرض سينمائي للفنان المراد الحديث عنه مع لوحاته, كذلك لن تجد سلسلة وثائقية تلفزيونية أعظم من هذه للمؤرخ الفني سايمون شاما. يبحر شاما بمشاهده/ القارئ في رحلة فنية مع ثمانية رسامين: كارافاجيو وبيكاسو, وبيرنيني, وجاك لويس ديفيد, وآخرين. شاهدت هذه السلسلة - وهي لا تختلف عن الكتاب, وكانت مشاهدة مثيرة خصوصاً مع كارافاجيو وبيرنيني وديفيد. سأتحدث عن كارافاجيو هنا.

غربية سيرة كارافاجيو و مواضيع فنه, وما يثيره من جدل حتى الآن عبر اكتشاف لوحات فنية قيل بأنها له, ولا تزال محور دراسة إن كانت بالفعل هي له أم لا. على بدايات القرن السابع عشر كان النحات والخليفة الذي تم رعايته تحت أحضان الكنيسة ليخلف المعلم الأول مايكـل انجيـلو،, جون لارينزو بيرنيني, علامة مبشرة على ولادة نجم بارز قد يتفوق على المعلم الأول. فهو شاب صغير أكمل منحوتة وعمره لا يتجاوز الثامنة من العمر. وعلى الجهة الأخرى, بعيداً عن أحضان الكنيسة, كان كارافاجيو, أشهر فنان في روما, يقصف بأعمال وصفها المؤرخ الفني سايمون شاما بدراما الشوارع.

اللوحات الفنية عند الكنيسة الكاثوليكية في تلك الفترة ليست مواد للتزيين أو إعطاء شكل جمالي للمكان المراد فيه وضع لوحة من التراث الديني. وإن كانت إحدى النتائج الثانوية هي كذلك فلا جدال بأنه هدف وإن كان غير أساسي.. الهدف الأول هو استعمالها كسلاح في حرب الروح: بمثابة خطاب موجه للذين لا يعرفون قراءة الكتاب المقدس, فتكون هذه اللوحات بمثابة بديل يقص من خلاله الفنان ما تريد أن تبشر به الكنيسة بأجمل صورة, وأروع صياغة.

لم يكن كارافاجيو مهتماً بهذا الطريق لأنه يملك رؤية أخرى. لا يستطيع أن يرسم لوحة عن الجنة, أو تجسيد أحداث من الكتاب المقدس. ليس لأنه لا يعرف أو يستطيع: كان يفضل أن يرى بعينيه ما يرسمه على اللوحة. انتقلت ملكة الرسم من سعة الخيال إلى غرفة الأستوديو: ينظر بعينيه ويرسم فقط.

الأشكال الفنية قبل كارافاجيو تظهر بصورة مثالية لا تحمل أي عوامل لمرور الزمن عليها. صورة مثالية ممتلئة بالحياة. في لوحة سلة الفواكة مثلاً مجموعة من الفواكه تم تجميعها في سلة. ما هو جديد في فن كارافجيو أن الشجر في اللوحة يحمل عوامل الموت والحياة. ها هنا قطعة من الشجر الأخضر تحمل علامة من علامات الفناء, سوف يتقدم إلى أن يصل إلى الفاكهة ذاتها, وتحل عليها دورة الطبيعة. وفي لوحة أخرى يرسم شاباً مريضاً يحمل قطع من العنب. في أحد الأفلام السينمائية عن كارافاجيو, سأل الكاردينال الرسام : لماذا رسمت الفتى وهو يحمل علامات المرض؟ قال الرسام أنه كان مريضاً طوال الصيف, ولم يجد بد من رسم اللوحة بهذا الشكل. ثم أن اللوحة تمثل الحياة, وليست بفن. في لوحة موت العذراء شكل آخر مختلف عن ما سبقه وإن كان هذه المرة عبر تصوير كائن بشري. حسب التراث المسيحي, وفاة العذراء ليست وفاة بالمعنى الحقيقي للموت. في اللوحة تظهر ككائن طبيعي ميت, لا فوق طبيعي. أثارت هذه اللوحة السخط في الكنيسة نظراً لطريقة الرسم الجديدة والمختلفة عن ما سبقها من صبغة ملائكية, وكذلك لطريقة عمل الرسام في اللوحة إذ قيل بأن المرأة المرسومة كانت بالفعل لفتاة ميتة تم وضعها في مكان كارافاجيو المقدس ليصدم الكنيسة ويحدث ثورة في الفن. هنالك مهارة تشير إلى موهبة كارافاجيو: الضوء والظل. هذا التلاعب الذي مصدره نافذة أو مدفئة يرفع من طابع الإثارة بتركيزه على الفعل الكائن في الصورة. لوحة مثل نداء للقديس متى تحمل هذا التضاد الذي مصدره نافذة خلفية تشطر اللوحة لقسمين: الظل الذي يفرض تحيزه عبر إلغاء جزء من مكونات المكان, والضوء الذي يتجه مباشرة للرجل الذي يشير إليه المسيح بإصبعه. خمس أشخاص: أي واحد فيهم يشير إليه الاتجاه؟ هو ذلك الجالس جلسة من يخشى أن يكون هو المشار إليه, وكأنه موقن بأن مصيره قد تحدد بهذه الإشارة. من بالقرب يعطي تأكيدية بأن الاتجاه هو للقديس متى, غير أن الضوء الذي يحتل الجزء الثاني من اللوحة لا يعطي مساحة للآخرين بأن يشكوا بأنهم هم المقصودين. هذا التلاعب بالضوء والظل فسره أحد المنظرين كإستعارة للحياة والموت.

في غرفة حقيرة منزوية في إحدى المدن الإيطالية, يستلقي الرجل الذي أحدث ثورة في الفن التشكيلي على بدايات القرن السابع عشر, كارافاجيو, نائماً تحت رعاية خادمه الذي ظل يرافقه لفترة طويلة, هاذياً بإسم باسكلوني, وهو يعاني من آلام هائلة يحملها هذا الجسد والعقل الذي أحدث من المشاكل ما لم يحدثه أي رسام قبله. تحت سطوة هذا الهذيان يبدأ المخرج البريطاني ديريك جارمان إعادة رسم خارطة حياة كارافاجيو في فيلم يحمل اسم الرسام نفسه.

كيف يحدث أن أحد المبدعين الذين يقدمون أرفع وأجمل الأعمال الفنية يحمل بداخله سلوك وتصرفات لا تشير أبداً إلى ما أبدعه بقلمه, أو ريشته؟ هل من المحتم أن يكون هناك تطابق بين القيم الجمالية التي يبدعها الفنان, مع السلوك الإنساني والأخلاق الرفيعة؟ كان كارافاجيو بلا جدال أحد أشهر فناني عصره, واختط خطاً خاصاً به كان له تأثير على تيار واسع, غير أن التطابق الذي قد يحدث بين القيم الفنية والأدبية وسلوك الفنان تجاه الآخرين لا ينطبق على كارافاجيو, إذ عاش حياة غريبة مليئة بالعنف والهرب والشتائم, والقتل!. كان يمارس العنف في الحانات ويتفاخر بحمل الخناجر والسيوف ويدخل في عراك مع من يعرف ومن لا يعرف, غير أن بداية العنف كانت بسبب فتاة اسمها لينا: امرأة ذات جسد روماني جميل, هام بعشقها كارافاجيو. رجل آخر تطلع إليها: ماريانو باسكلوني. ذهب لوالدة الفتاة وهو يطمع في الزواج بلينا. ذهبت الأم لمقابلة الرسام لتحدثه في هذا الأمر, غير أن هذه الحكاية لم تدم طويلاً بعد تلك المحادثة إذ تلقى باسكلوني هجوماً من الخلف أردته قتيلاً. لم يكن هناك شك في من هو الفاعل. بعد ذلك بسنوات كانت لديه فتيل معركة أخرى مع توماسوني. كان الرسام المشهور برسم إبداعات فنية شهيراً بتلاعبه بالسيوف, تم الاتفاق على النزال في إحدى الساحات, ثم حدث أسوأ ما كان يتخيله كارافاجيو: نقل غريمه لمنزله وهو يحتضر, وأعلن حينها أن كارافاجيو مطلوب للسلطات القضائية بسبب جريمة القتل, وهناك مكافأة للقبض عليه.

بين السجن والهرب من السجن, والهرب من روما للأبد ثم العفو, كانت العبقرية الشريرة تجد لها مكاناً آمناً في اللوحات. المؤرخ الفني سايمون شاما في السلسلة الوثائقية الفنية المميزة قوة الفن Power of art قدم كارافاجيو بصورة أجمل من الفيلم السينمائي كارافاجيو. وإن كان شاما حدد لوحة واحدة للحديث عن كارافاجيو, فهو لم يخصص الساعة الزمنية المحددة للحديث عن هذه اللوحة بشكل خاص: تحدث عن غالبية أعماله في قالب يحمل الطابع السينمائي حيث نشاهد كارافاجيو وهو يحارب ويرسم, يمارس العنف والقتل ويرسم بريشته تحف فنية, غير أن عنوان الحلقة مخصص للوحة ديفيد مع رأس جالوت. هناك روائع للرسام أجمل من هذه, لماذا اختار شاما هذه اللوحة الغريبة التي يظهر فيها الملك ديفيد وهو مقتص من رأس جالوت؟ من المفترض أن يكون الرأس المفصول عن الجسد هو رأس جالوت, بينما في اللوحة الرأس هو لكارافاجيو نفسه, وكأن كارافاجيو يقول: هذا أنا.. أعرف ما فعلت وما اقترفت يداي. أراد شاما أن يتحدث عن كارافاجيو كما يرى الرسام نفسه, يحمل من العبقرية الفنية الكثير وأحدث تأثيراً فنياً. هذه العبقرية تقبع تحت عقل لا منتمي, غير منضبط بأخلاقيات تتوافق مع طبيعة فنه كرسام. ها هو الذي غير اتجاه الفن من تصوير الإنسان والطبيعة بصورة ملائكية إلى بشر يعيشون ويموتون, يفصل رأسه عن جسده محاولاً التخلص من الثقل الذي يرزح تحته. تبدو محاكاة رائعة لمسير كارافاجيو على ضفاف النهر هارباً وهاذياً, مريضاً, متجهاً إلى حتفه بعد ثمانية وثلاثين سنة أحدث من خلالها هزة عنيفة في الفن والرسم في القرن السابع عشر.(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Uco Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jean-longo

Historian Schama certainly has a powerful method of telling a story. He tells the tales of eight different artists Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko. The book was written to accompany the television series published by the BBC but it is not necessary to have seen the series to enjoy the book. I read the book several years before watching the series and after watching the series picked up the book again. Reading through it again I could imagine the visual...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 21st-century, history, the-continent

Look, you either hate Schama or you love him. It just has to be that way- his personality, definite opinions and style are all over his work, and he makes absolutely no apologies for it. I happen to fall into the love it category. Is it "good" history? No. But it's incredibly compelling history- he tells you the kind of story that makes you want to know more about it. It sets out a rich, decadent feast, drama-ramas it up and tells you how it is. I'm more entertained watching his documentaries th...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Gadi rated it 5 of 5 stars

I couldn’t put it down. One of the most compelling introductions to any subject I’ve ever read. Now, in museums, in classes, in my room surfin’ the net, I find myself remembering the sordid, passionate lives of Caravaggio and Van Gogh and Rothko and David. And Schama portrays each one in such vividly articulated descriptions, from their life to their artwork.

I must say, though, that I despise the Rothko chapter—maybe because I can’t stand his art, either. Who gives a shit about red lines on a ca...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Damon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed this book as much if I knew more about art. But I don't so I loved it. Simon Schama is fairly well known in the UK because he presented the BBC documentary History of Britain but he's really an art historian, based at Columbia.

It's definitely true that this is a greatest hits kind of book: Caravaggio; Bernini; Rembrandt; David; Turner; Van Gogh; Picasso; Rothko. But if there is a theme I guess it is artists who tried to expose themselves to the public through the...more

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Oct 17, 2009 Liz DeCoster rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir, non-fiction, art

I took my time with this book (and the BBC-produced DVD series), and it was worth it. The author's strong opinions, whether the reader agrees or disagrees, keeps the reader very much involved. The focus on one or two memorable pieces and the carefully selected historic and biographic details prevent the work from becoming overwhelming.

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Dec 26, 2010 John David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-and-art-history

I debated over and over whether to give this book three stars or four, and finally decided on the latter. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I read this as a stand-alone book, not a companion piece to the PBS series of the same name, as I’m not sure that I’d be able to stand Schama’s endless attempts to dramatize and eulogize everything, implying that there is somehow meaning in even the most minute detail of the canvas, not the mention the personal lives of the artists.

Schama devotes forty or...more I debated over and over whether to give this book three stars or four, and finally decided on the latter. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I read this as a stand-alone book, not a companion piece to the PBS series of the same name, as I’m not sure that I’d be able to stand Schama’s endless attempts to dramatize and eulogize everything, implying that there is somehow meaning in even the most minute detail of the canvas, not the mention the personal lives of the artists.

Schama devotes forty or fifty pages a piece to eight artists presented in chronological order: Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko. The text is interlarded with the most sumptuous full-plate color representations of some of the artists’ most well-known and recognized work. One of the biggest advantages of the book is that, while technical aspects of the individual pieces of art are discussed, they are not put in a vacuum: Schama simultaneously emphasizes cultural, political, and social factors which facilitate a greater and fuller understanding of what he’s talking about.

Depending on the reader (or, so I hear, the viewer of the eponymous PBS series), you will find Schama’s prepossessing gregariousness and endless apotheosizing somewhat disconcerting. I certainly did. But at the same time, I recognize that if this is what it takes to get someone who has never previously cared about art into a museum to leave astounded and wanting to come back, then it has ultimately performed its job quite nicely. Introductory art educators or those who wish to gain a fundamental familiarity with the above artists will benefit most from this book. But those who already have this knowledge, as well as how the biographical information and the artwork interact with one another, will learn precious little. I must say, though, that the dozens upon dozens of color plates make the book well worth its $50 price tag (though from the looks of things, it’s available for less than half that on Amazon).
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May 28, 2011 Joyce added it

As a historian Schama has always excelled at "reading" paintings for the materialist details -- what they can show us about daily life and historicizing fantasy -- but as he gets older he seems to be allowing himself to argue for the role of individualism and belief in the creation of material objects.

Here he could be read as appearing to glamorize the myth of the rebel artist, because he certainly does not shy away from the seamy details of almost every life he recounts. His favored subjects ar...more

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Aug 19, 2008 Barry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, english

This is a convenient vehicle for Schama, who, as much as he loves art, really likes to argue.

Schama is self-aggrandizing, melodramatic, irritating and truly compelling. He injects his out-size personality into the book and it's better for it.

One can certainly quibble with his choices of which pieces of art best represent turning points of art history (or according to Schama's overinflated prose, history in general) but his choices make for a lively book.

The Power of Art is aimed at people like m...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Simon Schama's story telling is at its best in The Power of Art. I love this book. It has beautiful pictures of the art. Schama takes you inside of each artist's life and times to help you understand the context of the works discussed. I learned so much from this book, even an appreciation for artists I had not been fond of before. I highly recommend The Power of Art!

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Sep 09, 2007 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I should begin with that my experience with painting in grade school ended rather badly, I couldn't keep up with what the teacher was doing so I just stopped and for all intents and purposes left the building. The only art work I have in my house are photos of nature areas and art work given to me pre-framed that happened to look good hanging on nails inserted by the previous owners of the house.

Having said all this, wow. Simon Schama's the Power of Art DVD series was extremely impressive and wh...more

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Dec 18, 2009 Kirsten rated it 4 of 5 stars

A published historian and widely respected academic, Simon Schama has a fantastic ability to marry fact and entertainment. This book is the written companion to his BBC series "The Power of Art". Both come highly recommended, whether you're a novice or you come from the hard knocks of an Art History education.

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Mar 18, 2010 Jayaprakash Satyamurthy rated it 4 of 5 stars

An opinionated, sometimes quite illuminating look at some great artists and their art. What grates on me quite a bit, and did so in the TV series too, is Schama's obsession with using a colloquial, hardass sort of language which will seem dated as hell in ten years' time.

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Aug 26, 2012 Maria Bustos rated it 2 of 5 stars

I think this book was really good. Even the cover makes it look interesting. I like this book because its about art. Ive read this book before when i was in 6th grade.

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Jun 16, 2012 Marl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-related

Personally I am a fan of Schama's. He has a gift for story telling which he does with passion and eloquence. This book is constantly near by bedside. Fabulous!

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Feb 10, 2013 Keith Climpson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book accompanied by a great DVD series. The essays on Turner, Rembrandt and Rothko particularly enlightening. A fantastic read for any art lover

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Aug 15, 2012 Barbara Roma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read parts of it and it´s very nice because give you new informations about the painters here, personal informations and insights about their lives.

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Feb 11, 2011 Trisha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The production values of the TV series were amazing and the quality of this book live up to that standard. Schama at his very best.

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Dec 21, 2010 Sheyda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-for-fun

A fantastic whirlwind tour of art history. Will provide maximum bang-for-buck in preparing you for museum visits.

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Jan 08, 2010 Kimberly marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Recommended to Kimberly by: Sally, Teri

Shelves: to-read-nonfiction

Apparently this is a companion volume to a BBC documentary on art. I'd love to see the program, too.

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Jun 29, 2012 Alan Philp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantastic paintings / artists and Schama always so readable.

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Nov 22, 2010 Farida rated it 5 of 5 stars

The DVD to accompany this is EXCELLENT

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Sep 04, 2010 Lucinda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-philosophy-medical, one-of-favorites, brilliantly-written

wonderful cultural critique of art in the first person by a brilliant historian

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Jun 09, 2011 Bap marked it as to-read

5 stars from Mike.

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Oct 03, 2012 Danny McCaffrey marked it as to-read

INFJ?

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Mar 28, 2009 Greg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Awesome book.

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Jul 30, 2011 Ingrid Budts rated it 4 of 5 stars

Love Simon Schama!!

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About Simon Schama

Simon Schama was born in 1945. The son of a textile merchant with Lithuanian and Turkish grandparents, he spent his early years in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. When his parents moved to London he won a scholarship to Haberdashers’ Aske’s School where his two great loves were English and History. Forced to choose between the two he opted to read history at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Here he was taught...more Simon Schama was born in 1945. The son of a textile merchant with Lithuanian and Turkish grandparents, he spent his early years in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. When his parents moved to London he won a scholarship to Haberdashers’ Aske’s School where his two great loves were English and History. Forced to choose between the two he opted to read history at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Here he was taught by Sir John Plumb whose other students: Linda Colley, Roy Porter and John Brewer are now central to British historical thought. It was Plumb’s influence which instilled in him the importance of narrative and written style in order to gain an audience for history outside academia. One of the hallmarks of Schama’s work is his flair for description: ‘he gets arcane matters to walk, in fact dance, off the page’ according to fellow historian Peter Hennessy. However, his approach is contentious and invites criticism of subjectivity and populism from academic circles. Schama remained at Christ’s for 10 years after his degree, becoming a fellow and then director of Studies, before moving to Brasenose College Oxford. While at Oxford he wrote Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands 1780-1813 (1977), which won the Wolfson Literary Award, and Two Rothschilds and the Land of Israel (1979). At Oxford he met his wife, Ginny Papaioannou a geneticist from California.

Tired of the Oxford system (he once described his experience as being ‘like a gerbil on a treadmill’) and enticed by the freedom of US Academic life, he moved to America in 1980, becoming Professor of History at Harvard. Here he wrote The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1987), Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989) and Dead Certainties (Unwarranted Speculations) (1991): an a unusual linking of the death of General Wolfe at Quebec in 1759 and the murder of a doctor, George Parkman, by a Harvard Professor in 1849. Citizens, which was written at lightening speed: 900 pages in only 18 months, won the 1990 NCR Book Award. However, Schama’s emphasis on the terror and violence of the revolution and his argument, that from its beginning it was a ‘sacrament of blood’, ensured it has never found a publisher in France. He is now professor in history and art history at Columbia where he has written Landscape and Memory (1996) which received the W H Smith Literary Award and Rembrandt’s Eyes (1999). The latter is a controversial reassessment of the artist which attempts to reinstate the notion of Rembrandt the genius, aiming to invoke the atmosphere as well as the historical context. In Schama’s view, as he tells David D’Arcy in Art Newspaper ‘There are some passages of sublime reinvention for which history has absolutely no answers…it seems to me pointless and trivial to pretend that it does.’

Simon Schama has also worked for the BBC on a 16 part series: ‘A History of Britain’ and has been an art critic and cultural essayist for The New Yorker and Talk magazine. He lives in New York with his wife and their two children Chloe and Gabriel.(less)

More about Simon Schama...

Books by Simon Schama

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution

At the Edge of the World?: 3500 B.C. - 1603 A.D. (A History of Britain, #1)

The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age

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