Matteo Cordero > Recent Status Updates

So fascinating how the humble and deferential General Grant was appointed lieutenant general by the president himself, the sole commander of the whole Union army.

It is so impressive how General Grant had to deal with the numerous deaths of his soldiers. His role as lieutenant-general placed him in supreme command of all Union forces and consequently was responsible for so many men. He must have felt guilt over all these casualties blaming himself for his bad choices which caused many losses.

It is so fascinating how Grant first conquered his status as the most successful trusted general during the Civil War with his commanders and with President Lincoln on his side. Many people in the Unions had biased him as an incompetent military leader, a drunkard and unfit for his role during the war. In contrast, he stoically gained his authority with patience and by winning the most important battles in the war.

Amazing account on humans relations which is total warfare.

Love this statement by Robert Green: “You are your worst enemy”. That means you should wage wars against yourself, your inner emotions and your disorderly behaviour

This book does not promote war in its definition. It is first of an self-help book about dealing with yourself as your worst enemy, controlling your emotions focusing on the present moment. It gives so many insights on how to deal with your weakness.

The fascinating journey of the life of Talleyrand, one of the most astute politicians and diplomats in history. It is interesting to understand two different personas such as the irruente and emotional figure of Napoleon and the rational and more calm intellect of Talleyrand.

As I have lived in London for many years near the studio of Bacon in the area of South Kensington, I was particularly interested to read about the fascinating years of the School of London and its culturally rich sociality. Nothing compared to the soulless London ruined by enormous housing prices which had driven away artists of my sort from the city.

Although this biography confuses so much,
in my view, about different names on the social group of Bacon, still presents some anecdotes that are o my interest. Firstly the relationship between Bacon's success, in particular economic, of his career and his death. Because of his enormous success, I think that Bacon had a fear of death and so he was depressed.

It’s probably a too-short biography of one of the greatest artists of Twentieth Century. The book does not give any insights or description of the economic and social substances in which Bacon developed his work which is one of the main interests to understand an artist's career.
However, it’s still a good biography about an artist - they are so few books and biography about artists.

As Im' an artist, it is always interesting to read about my favourite's artists biographies, such as the work of the English painter Francis Bacon. Art is such a niece interest, the larger public is not interested in, neither in the artist's life and so they are so rare to be found in the market.

However, I liked this book describes life during the post-war years in London until the 1980s. It was the bohemian London, cheap to live in and full of artists and culture and sociality. As I lived in London for many years after the 2008 crisis, it is completely changed. It is expensive to live with only millionaires around and little artists.

The first part of the book tends to be a little confusing: it mentions too many names that are hard to remember to understand. It focuses on Bacon's relationships with its lovers and little on his career which is not of my interest.

It's very interesting to understand the relationship of dependence that Pollock had on other people in particular from two women: his mother Stella and his wife Lee Krasner. In the most difficult times of depression until her older age, Jackson always needed Stella's support. She created a dependency that he had never been able to overcome throughout his life. Pollock had to depend even on Lee for his survival.

It is so exciting how Dumbledore affronted Lord Voldemort directly into the minister of magic. Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard of all and even He Who Must not be Named Named couldn't compete with him. Also, Dumbledore's composure and discipline are so fascinating when he confronts Harry Potter's angry reaction to the headmaster's mistakes that lead to the death of Sirius, his only uncle.

Fascinating to understand how difficult it was even in the booming 1950s market of art. Even though he was affected by alcoholism, Pollock as well as other his peers struggled to sell work. He was fortunate to have a small income from some gallerist and important reviews and articles from the times and other equally important art journals, not to mention the support of the influential art critic Clement Greenberg.

It is so interesting to understand how Pollock's success came to life: during the postwar years in the USA the economy boomed. It “put two cars in every garage and meat at every meal”. Consequently, the art market benefited from this environment. Art became accessible not only to the rich but also to the middle classes. It became a consumer good. The market surged and this favoured Pollock’s celebrity.

Fascinating account of artist who became worldwide famous with his paintings made of dripping paint. Very interesting how this book goes into his practice in details.

It’s so interesting in this book to find out how the majority of the New York and US artists supported them financially during the poor years of the Great Depression. The WPA supported artists like Pollock to work on public projects. When the WPA ended, artists needed to sustain themself l - some of them already had somehow an income. However, Pollock was determined to live from the sale of his paintings.

It is always fascinating the calm and disciplined character of the head headmaster Dumbledore. The scene in which the great wizard disappears with a powerful spell in the middle of his arrest is so fascinating. Also, I liked the way He taught very wise and important teaching to Harry, making it a relationship between master and adept.

As an artist myself, I'm very interested in how this biography represents the automatic approach of the Surrealists that was later developed in the painting process of Jackson Pollock.

Another great Pulitzer-winner biography of an artist. The book focuses from Pollock’s early years and his life in New York City. As biography about a visual artist, it does not focuses in particular in any of Pollock’s artworks. It just dedicates few lines for an artwork which makes this book very fluid to read. When I read about artists I’m interest in their life and the historical contexts when they lived.

How like the way this biography introduces - eve though generally - the complicated concepts of
Jung’s psychoanalysis and theory of the archetypes that had been related to the initial fase of Pollock work.

Fascinating’s story of one the most troubled and talented painters in the history of Art. This book tells the story of Pollock from his early days in California to New York in the 1920s and 1930s completely ruined by the Great Depression and the failures of the Capitalist economy.

Love about this biography integrates part of the history of the US in the early XX century, from the internal migration of many people to the West and the Great Depression which helped shape Pollock’s life and art.
I was also impressed by how Pollock discovered his calling to be an artist. He decides to be an artist to compete with his oldest and more talented brother Charles.

Jobs was never known for his stellar computer engineering skills, so he became a world-class communicator and marketer to compensate. His incredible ability to speak with passion through storytelling changed the future of Apple.

He knew about brand -- in a very positive sense. He had an intuitive sense for marketing that was amazing," Gates added.

he understood the concept of brand. When Rose asked him what Jobs had that he wished he'd had, Gates replied: "His sense of design, that everything had to fit a certain aesthetic. The fact that he, with as little engineering background as he had, it shows that design can lead you in a good direction. And so phenomenal products came out of it."