This book was a good lesson for me. I knew very little about Dürer before. I knew he made woodcuts and engravings, was responsible for "the praying ha...moreThis book was a good lesson for me. I knew very little about Dürer before. I knew he made woodcuts and engravings, was responsible for "the praying hands," etc. Apparently the "hands" piece is just a study for a large altarpiece. The diversity of Dürer's talent is most evident. He used the woodcut, engraving and etching to publish and reproduce his art to all levels of society in Europe at a crucial time.
Other artists appear in context with some of their work. Grunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece is incredible and elaborate, laid out over several pages with instructions on folding the pages to view it. Dürer's 192-woodcut Triumphal Arch shows on pages 130-131, which he made for Maximilian I. I'm familiar with Holbein and Cranach, but I learned new things about them as well.
In the final chapter, at the height of Dürer's doomsday fears (the last vestiges of middle-age superstition), he dreamed of a deluge. He awoke and used watercolor to record a landscape with bomb-like floods falling from the sky. It's a remarkable illustration that reminds me of how important Dürer was to graphic design. You can see it here (if the link doesn't work just google "durer dream"). (less)
Doré did most of his work in the mid-19th Century, and though he was French and Catholic, preferred and often worked commissions for his Victorian nei...moreDoré did most of his work in the mid-19th Century, and though he was French and Catholic, preferred and often worked commissions for his Victorian neighbors in England. After the completion of the 241-plate Bible, he was criticized for his overuse of drama. This amazes me, since I can't think of a Biblical scene without an excess of drama. Doré's depictions are hardly embellished, if you read the source, but perhaps it's his excess of imagination which frightened critics. At any rate, these plates represent just a small fraction of Doré's prolific work. He drew (and his team engraved) illustrations for over 200 books, averaging 200-400 plates per book.
Funny story. A few of these plates were picked out, painted as posters and displayed in a London courtyard to promote the book. "They drew great crowds and there was nearly a scandal, for one of them represented the Deity, a subject at that time regarded as inadmissible in art in England. The canvas was hurriedly withdrawn and Doré, not at all pleased, joked wryly: 'It did not resemble either my French or my English publisher.'" (p viii) Reminds one of our current trouble with Sunni Muslims forbidding depictions of Muhammed.
Plates 1-139 deal with the Old Testament, 140-160 with the Apocrypha, 161-241 the New Testament. All plates include Doré's signature in the bottom left corner, the engraver's bottom right. H. Pisan is one to look for, as his are superior to the others in detail and shading.
To focus on just one, as an explanation of what makes Doré's depictions great: Plate 7 "The Deluge". It features the last promontory left on the surface of the flooded earth, with drowning people clutching at it and floating along the waves. At the very top of the rock stands a tiger with two cubs at her feet, and she has one in her mouth. She's holding her cub above the water. I'm supposed to be concerned for the people dying below, but the tiger's selflessness puts a lump in my throat. The tiger is not a detail from the text, it's purely the artist's invention. Many of these plates have similar details that lend pathos to the scene without lessening its authenticity.
I recommend this to anyone wishing to learn about woodcutting and lithography. Begin with Albrecht Dürer and end here. (less)
I don't normally go in for coffee-table photo books, there are just too many out there. Life Magazine, however, published from 1936-1972 encapsulates...moreI don't normally go in for coffee-table photo books, there are just too many out there. Life Magazine, however, published from 1936-1972 encapsulates a majority of the era of photography. This book, with short captions and chapter headings, focuses on the visual summation of Life's themes.
Two photos in the collection floored me. The first, on page 104, is of the body of a suicide who jumped from the Empire State building. You can see the photo and read the whole story here: http://www.codex99.com/photography/43.... A seemingly non-violent picture of a beautiful young lady in a peaceful reclining position, nearly wrapped in the metal hood of the car she crashed through. It's really a photo about the inertia of time. You can picture the car parked there, then suddenly changed, then sitting there quietly unchanging again for the photo.
The second is a horrifying photo of a torture and lynching victim from 1937 Mississippi. Here's a scan, but I warn you – it's graphic –http://flickr.com/photos/foojoygreent.... What sort of men could do this? Looking at a photo like this undoes every little logical and moral insistence and indignation. I know we've all been desensitized to violence, but this cruel act was done here – by us, in a way, and not so long ago.
There were many amazing photos of celebrities – Hemingway kicking a can, several incredibly candid shots of the Kennedys, a timeless portrait of Greta Garbo, not to mention the children and animals.
This is definitely worth the buy, but I recommend the hard bound edition. My soft cover version is falling apart.(less)
I'm impressed. The author sort-of grazes the treetops of 20th century art history. I was surprised that so little was said concerning Duchamp's privat...moreI'm impressed. The author sort-of grazes the treetops of 20th century art history. I was surprised that so little was said concerning Duchamp's private life, but I learned a great deal about his career as an artist/anti-artist. I suppose that these Time-Life books are all pretty broad in their critical capacity.(less)
My hope is to work my way through all of these Time-Life Artist books. Duchamp was my first, this is my second. I like how the editors alternate the a...moreMy hope is to work my way through all of these Time-Life Artist books. Duchamp was my first, this is my second. I like how the editors alternate the articles from all text, to all illustrations with apropos captions. I'm hoping to continue finding these rare artists. I enjoy learning about the artists which my art history class failed to cover. I attended a fundamental religious college which censored all nudity with black markers and tape. Understandably, there was little to learn. (less)
As usual for this series, there are chapters that cover other artists of Van Gogh's world – Pissaro, Gauguin and an especially good bio on Toulouse-La...moreAs usual for this series, there are chapters that cover other artists of Van Gogh's world – Pissaro, Gauguin and an especially good bio on Toulouse-Lautrec. Luckily for the reader, however, there is comprehensive information on Van Gogh's life and artistic career – enough to make this volume into a biography of sorts. I was vaguely familiar with the artist's struggle with mental stability, mainly from documentaries and textbooks highlighting the shocking details (the ear, etc).
I feel much more properly informed now. Most striking of all is the artist's self-awareness and lucidity apparent in his letters to his brother Theo (often written during and after his attacks). Theo's similar insanity and dissipation after the artist's death prove, if not the hereditary condition, at least the enormous sympathy he felt for his brother. Theo's plight and ignominious end strikes one as more terrible, as he is clearly not the genius, but only the disciple and supporter of a genius.
The other striking thing I take away from the book is, in the last pages, a viewing of eight of the artist's self portraits. One can clearly see, not only the evolution of his talent, but the simultaneous degradation of his will to live. The backgrounds become increasingly muddled, the focus loosens and the perspective flattens. In the last, which everyone has seen and is familiar with, his eyes are haunting.(less)
With little of the "lit crit" egotism, this work managed to be incisively critical and creative at the same time. I picked it up out of interest for t...moreWith little of the "lit crit" egotism, this work managed to be incisively critical and creative at the same time. I picked it up out of interest for the title buzzwords, and the book's incorporation of art critiques as well as literary. But the running theme is less about perception and more about genesis. Brockbank manages to sew it all together nicely, starting with early Renaissance Milton and Blake and ending with Joyce's new methods. Each essay or chapter is tied to the others, following a progression (or ascent or descent, depending on your view) of birth to death, genesis to apocalypse. An alternate title choice might be "An Exegesis on Genesis".
In a Joycean manner I'll start at the end: Brockbank's poetry on varying pieces of art is feeble, but I admire the attempt. It's brave to end a critical work with your own words, and at least apt to the titular creativity. Some of the poems, however weak, aided my understanding of the artwork, so the effect was not entirely lost. I especially enjoyed "Absinthe I" as it opened my eyes to the contrasting personalities on the canvas.
Now going back to the prose (the rest of the book), I was impressed by the varying motifs aside from the obvious birth/death. There was a treatment of the fall of man, as seen from the angle of virtue versus vice which appears in every work critiqued. The writer her/himself features without irony in most works as Satan or God, both creating more than destroying.
After moving through Milton and several idyllic Christian creation legends, Pope's Dunciad and the essay thereon caught my attention most. The Grub Street London literary underground stands in for a Dantesque world, with scatological references to emphasize the vulgarity of untalented writers. "The world of The Dunciad is still familiar enough: great cities continue to create garbage, hack writers to satisfy our huge appetite for trifles, pedants to traffic in banalities masked as profundities…" (p 102) Pope and most of the great Elizabethan writers worried that artistic creation was mired in the common herd. Seems a propos more than ever today.
Brockbank then proceeds past a meticulous study of Keats and on to Joyce, in my favorite essay "From Genesis to Guinnesses: Joyce and Literary Tradition" which was delightful, though I haven't read a word of Joyce yet. My favorite remark is on one of Joyce's many coined words "sinse" and the linguist Sollers reasons: "Ever since sense, there is sin; ever since sin, there is sense; ever since since (time), there is sin and sense… In one word … you have a thesis on language and man's fall from paradise." (p 134)
Finally, Brockbank winds it all up with an essay comparison of Shakespeare's virtue plays and Carpaccio's Ursula panels. He makes an interesting point on the city/citadel theme in theater and art, running from Greek tragedy to the Enlightenment.
I would recommend this to anyone weary of the lit crit crowd, especially Saussure or Hume. It's a surprisingly creative and expressive book for non-fiction.(less)
I picked this up after hearing some ideas on poster design from Munari in a documentary. It's surprisingly well written and it opened my eyes about fl...moreI picked this up after hearing some ideas on poster design from Munari in a documentary. It's surprisingly well written and it opened my eyes about fluidity and accessibility of graphic design, and that was only one small chapter. I ended up learning much more about product design and concepts, originality of art, universal simplicity of design communication, etc.
In one chapter he describes an orange, a pea pod and a rose as product roll-outs. His interest in bamboo as a sustainable material is interesting. Toward the end he lost me, when he started describing his art installations of folded material, which seems to me the only example in the book that it was published in the 60s. Munari has been described to me as a bit of an egotist, but I saw little of that. His sarcasm seemed appropriate and kept it lively. (less)
I wish all art books kept things as clean and simple as this one does. Clean design, single covers to a page, with bold text biblio and light text des...moreI wish all art books kept things as clean and simple as this one does. Clean design, single covers to a page, with bold text biblio and light text descriptions. I hate art books that cram pages with scaled down prints. The intro describes the movements and reasons behind the art, the techniques employed, the names associated, and refers to examples by number within the text. The text exhibits 143 covers at varying scale, according to their largest fit on a page. A concluding index identifies over 70 monograms which I'm sure I'll refer to in the future.
Following are three examples of my favorites, which are key pieces that illustrate dispensations of cover design. Sadly, the era passed when dust jackets took over the burden of marketing the book, at least in the US, and for a while before edition clubs revived artisan cover design in the 40s.
The New Day: A Poem in Songs and Sonnets by Richard Watson Gilder. 1876, designer unknown. http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l1r... p 24. Though the illustration of the peacock feather is attributed to the author's wife Helena, the quality of this cover lies in the shimmer and detail of the gold inlay, as well as the incredible design decision of placement in the corner, as if it floated there during handling.
The most powerful indication of insight within these cover designs appears in this unknown designer, 1880 edition of Richard Markham's Aboard the Mavis p 82. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vxoTGton9a4... The titling is unimpressive, but the jaw-dropping, premonitory decoupage design makes me wonder how many leading future artists had this book on their shelf during the making of the 20th century.
Kipling's The Jungle Book. Frank Hazenplug, 1913. http://www.americanaexchange.com/AE/A... p 47. It may be difficult to make out in this image, but the illusive backlighting is the key to this cover. The usual way is to let the cloth stand as background and the gold as a prominent detail, but this cover uses the gold in the back and the dark green cloth color as foreground. The silhouettes begin in the dark green trees and figures, are followed by olive green trees, then pea green trees, then gold to show the light seeping through towards the viewer. (less)
Another good volume of the Time Life artists series. This is my third and I hope to read them all eventually. I can't decide to continue randomly hopp...moreAnother good volume of the Time Life artists series. This is my third and I hope to read them all eventually. I can't decide to continue randomly hopping from one to another, or laying them all out chronologically. I think it's easier to maintain interest if I jump back and forth among the artists.
This volume on Watteau was good. There is not a particular lot of information on him, so the writers struggled to consistently link the many artists mentioned back to the titular artist. More time was spent on Boucher, Chardin, etc. In reality the book was about French art in the time of Louis XIV, XV and XVI. I recommend it to anyone studying pre-revolutionary art.(less)
These Time-Life World of… books are good for three reasons. First, they alternate two styles of writing. The first chapter is mostly text, the second...moreThese Time-Life World of… books are good for three reasons. First, they alternate two styles of writing. The first chapter is mostly text, the second just images and captions, and so on. It's a good way to cover a lot of ground without being monotonous. The second good thing about the series is that it's not just eponymous biography. The "World of" any artist they name often includes fellow artists, precursors and disciples, as well as some minor history and psychology. The final positive feature I'll mention is Time-Life's perfect proofing. I mourn the days when you could read a passage of any length without grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. It's a comfort to read something soothingly mistake-free now and then.
The major shortcoming of these books are the various, often genre-straddling writing styles, especially with this particular text's writer John Russell. His imagery is hyperbolic and sometimes even confusing. Anyway, these are didactic textbooks at their best, which is why I'll probably never rate one higher than 3 stars.
Henri Matisse is certainly fascinating. He worked as hard as Cézanne, but remained miraculously sane. He didn't seem to be burdened by the public's opinion, yet remains likable in Parisian society. He lives an uncommonly long life, and manages to reinvent himself repeatedly unto the end. I wasn't surprised to hear that his trip to the South Seas Islands to follow in Gauguin's footsteps fell flat. Matisse proves that the dissipation of most artists cannot be blamed on a career in art. "The energy within you is stronger than ever for being held back, compressed, and said No to."
Not only was he a man of intense purpose and discipline, but he always had the discretion to know where to concentrate his efforts. One trait of his earlier work that struck me was his leaving a model's hands incomplete. It began with his first sculpture The Serf on page 33, where he pulled off the arms, which he considered "superfluous to the expressiveness of the figure". Later in his "Odalisque" series his models' hands rarely have form. I wonder if it was due simply to the movement of the sitter, or their sensory function… Why didn't he consider them essential?… I'll have to do some research.(less)
I confess I wasn't too familiar with Gainsborough. What little I had gathered from his career marks him as a landscape painter of renown, but his port...moreI confess I wasn't too familiar with Gainsborough. What little I had gathered from his career marks him as a landscape painter of renown, but his portraiture is remarkable. For the 18th century, his portraits are bizarrely photographic in likeness, especially his duchesses and actresses, though his height exaggerations withhold some realism. The paintings of his daughters are particularly perfect. His later peasant portrayals are fascinatingly foreshadowing of 20th century impressionism.
There is a clear difference between the portraits he enjoyed which he flooded with personality and vitality, and the inevitable commissions he disliked which he muted and merely "boiled the pot." I enjoyed the painter's replies to rivals and patrons which display his wit and sarcasm. His quarrel with the Royal Academy on the proper hanging of his submissions is entertaining.
The text is enlightening of the era, the beginnings of England's competition with the continent in the field of art. Other artists like Van Dyck, Hogarth, and of course Joshua Reynolds are treated equally. (less)
This condensed outline of the 26 "World of..." art history volumes is difficult to rate. I suppose it helps the reader organize the whole series in hi...moreThis condensed outline of the 26 "World of..." art history volumes is difficult to rate. I suppose it helps the reader organize the whole series in his mind. It includes a comprehensive index and an international listing of museums, albeit from 1970. I rated it 2 stars because I don't think I gained anything from reading it. One could easily skip this volume in the set (unless you needed to find an untitled author).(less)
I knew very little about Winslow Homer before reading this, so it really was a lesson for me. As it progressed I was worried that he was going to be a...moreI knew very little about Winslow Homer before reading this, so it really was a lesson for me. As it progressed I was worried that he was going to be a sugar-coated genre painter. Much of his earlier Civil War era work was just that - rowdy farm boys and dairy maids. His lithography work with Harper's Weekly is very interesting though light-hearted. His cartoon faces look perfect in profile, but in a frontal view the eyes and brow are very wide-set and separated. It seems very distinctive and curious for 19th century art.
I've always been interested in the Hudson River School and their naturalistic treatment in landscapes. It seems Homer held to this in most of his landscape work, even after he moved from oil to watercolor. He also appears, however, to parallel the move being made in literature at the time – the shift from transcendentalism to the "New Thought" movement. Whatever the reason, his look at nature became much bolder and braver than the "old school" method. The head writer of this volume, Flexner, explains it well on page 161: "Primitive peoples try in their art to make their peace with the savage aspects of life, but civilization usually turns its back, hoping that the blow will not fall today, or tomorrow. Homer did not turn his back."
Another aspect that fascinates me is the difference between oil and watercolor. Homer realized that when painting with watercolor you can use the white background as negative space. Paints can be thinned to allow the white background to show through. He could use the same blue to create different shades by thinning it. This sort of "lightbox" technique is routine among graphic designers, who use opacity effects to shade colors in design programs.
I was interested to learn about Ryder and his semi-outsider art, and Eakins with his unpopular but excessively honest portraits. Also, the reproductions of Church's insanely well-lit landscapes are beautiful.(less)
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