Archive for category Subject: Art History
The Chronology of Pattern || Diana Newall & Christina Unwin
Posted by henry in Author: Christina Unwin, Author: Diana Newall, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Art and Design, Subject: Art History on August 17, 2011
Subtitled, “Pattern in art from lotus flower to flower power”, this is essentially a work of reference for the designer. The blurb assures us that it’s “a must on the reference shelves for all those working in the visual arts” and “useful for all artists who use patterns in their works”, which, I can’t help thinking, both generalises and limits it at the same time.
But no matter, it is what it is and there’s no denying that it’s a sumptuous book that’s had a lot of care in its production and both looks and feels marvellous.
The form of the book is chronological and covers artefacts of all kinds, flat, solid, paper, cloth, wood and more. The collection isn’t exhaustive and doesn’t set out to be; the authors’ objective is to provide a representative history of the use of pattern across forms and cultures and they do it admirably. Inevitably, everyone is going to have their own idea of what’s been omitted, but this is to miss the point. It’s about what Diana and Christina are telling you and the detail of their selection is as important as the point they’re trying to make.
Mysterious Wisdom: the life & work of Samuel Palmer || Rachel Campbell-Johnston
Posted by henry in Author: Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Art History, Subject: Samuel Palmer on June 10, 2011
Samuel Palmer was part of the first British art movement, the Ancients. The problem is that, heavily influenced by William Blake, both artistically and philosophically, they were a bit of a backwater in terms of what was going on elsewhere. If you want something that that fits more conventionally into the canon, you’ll have to scroll forward to the Norwich School.
For this reason, as well as his general character, which is best described as less than charismatic, Samuel Palmer has largely been overlooked. In this thorough book, however, Rachel Campbell-Johnston has redressed the balance completely and done Palmer justice. While not being blind to his limitations, she lays out his life and the course of his work with clarity and, I think it’s fair to say, affection. A biographer should not get too close to their subject but, when they’re as fragile as Palmer is – certainly in terms of what’s generally known about him – a more gentle approach is appropriate.
This is a site that mainly reviews books aimed at the practising amateur painter and I can’t honestly say that this book really fits into its remit. Nevertheless, the publisher sent it to me and it seemed curmudgeonly to ignore it. In fact, it’s an enjoyable and intriguing read, especially if you like neglected corners.
The Art Of The Printmaker 1500-1860 || Roger Baynton-Williams
Posted by henry in Author: Roger Baynton-Williams, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Art History on August 21, 2009
This sumptuous and quite modestly priced volume is going to delight anyone who has any interest in printmaking. If you’re more of a dilettante, then there’s a good mix of things you recognise and things that are new. If you’ve already developed an interest, then you’ll enjoy the well-selected collection of illustrations and the excellent coverage of both history and technique that accompanies it.
I think it’s fair to say that someone with an extensive knowledge of the history of printmaking isn’t going to find much here that they don’t know already, but this is not meant to be a definitive book. Rather, it’s an accessible guide that takes the reader beyond the primer stage and leads them to a greater understanding of the period covered (and that’s important because this is not something that attempts to look at contemporary printmaking, which is a whole subject in its own right). The very best compliment I can pay it is to say that, as what I believe to be its target audience, I absolutely love it. The quality of the reproduction, as you’d expect from Black’s, is stunning.
You can view the author’s own website here
Norfolk’s Hidden Landscapes – the golden age of rural England || The Paintings of Felix Bernasconi
Posted by henry in Author: Felix Bernasconi, Author: John Bridges, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Halsgrove, Publisher: Halstar, Subject: Art History, Subject: Landscape on November 14, 2008
No one could accuse Halsgrove of only cherry-picking the big names in art. If Felix Bernasconi is not a household name, the background to this collection gives a clue as to why: it was only after the artist’s death in 2001 that his friend and companion John Bridges rescued hundreds of paintings from certain destruction and set about conserving and cataloguing them. It’s probably not totally unfair to say that Bernasconi was not the greatest artist who has ever walked the earth, but he was competent and has a style which, while owing a lot to much of twentieth century watercolour, is clearly his own.
The world would be a poorer place if this collection had been allowed to disappear because it records a varied catalogue of intimate scenes, rather than famous views and grand vistas, that covers a period from about 1930 through to the end of the century. The paintings are for the most part unpopulated and do not form an obvious historical archive; in fact, it is hard, without dates, to say when any of them might have been painted and this accounts for much of their charm and their longevity. Most of them could date from yesterday and look as modern as anything that was, in fact, painted then.
Bernasconi is always going to be largely a footnote in the history of art, but it’s footnotes that give authority to history and his work has a charm that grows the more you look at it. We should be grateful to John Bridges for his conservation and to Simon Butler, Halsgrove’s Editorial Director, for recognising the importance of what most of us would have missed.
There’s an obvious regional appeal here, of course, but I don’t think that anyone interested in the byways of twentieth century painting would regret the purchase either.
Defining Moments in Art || general editor Mike Evans
Posted by henry in Author: Mike Evans, Publisher: Cassell, Subject: Art History on November 14, 2008
I have to admit that I’m struggling with this – indeed, in more ways than one because it’s not only a thick, heavy tome, but a paperback, which means that it doesn’t support itself and, if you want it to stay in one piece long enough to make use of it, you have to give it a lot of support.
I’m also struggling because so far I’ve failed to see the point of it. The idea seems sound at first: a survey of developments in art from 1860 to the present day, listing key events, artists, artworks and exhibitions in a chronological context that, I assume, is intended to show how art develops in relation to the events which are its background or to which it, itself, forms the background. It’s a noble aim and getting a “group of international art critics, journalists and curators” to contribute must have seemed like a sure-fire recipe for success. The alternative would, of course, be a strange mash-up that lacks an overall sense of cohesion; to continue the culinary metaphor: a dog’s dinner.
I think the format has a lot to do with the problem. If you have to wrestle a book into submission just to turn the pages, you’re never going to feel well disposed towards it and this is not a book that in any case makes you feel welcome at first glance. There are too many short pieces and too few illustrations – 250 in nearly 800 pages really isn’t a lot – and the type is small enough to appear indigestible. Make it about 10 inches square instead of 8, increase the type size and put a hardcover on it so that it sits comfortably in the lap and I think this could have been a wonderful source of serendipitous ideas and information to dip into of a winter evening. As it is, and I’m sorry to have to say this, it hurts the knees, wrists, eyes and brain, coming across as a rather Gradgrindian rehearsal of facts: And now, girl number forty, you know what the history of art is.
The World’s Most Influential Painters and the artists they inspired || David Gariff
Posted by henry in Author: David Gariff, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Art History on June 28, 2008
If you like serendipity, this is a fascinating book that leads you from one place to another, frequently unexpected and seemingly random. According to the cover blurb, it “provides a unique and accessible introduction to the history of art by examining the hidden connections between 50 extraordinary artists who have established or redefined movements and traditions”. Well, up to a point, Lord Copper.
If you were to take this as a primer in art history, I can’t help thinking you’d feel let down and rather confused. The idea of linking one artist to another by subject matter is indeed fascinating and can make you sit up: The Arnolfini Wedding and American Gothic do have echoes, as it happens, but are they intentional or only in the mind of the author? On the other hand, you probably wouldn’t have thought of it and it sets off a whole new chain of thought, which is great if you know your art history but, going back to where we started, as a beginner, you might feel led up the garden path.
More obvious connections exist: for example, Alison Watt’s 1990 Marat and the Fishes clearly references the David original, but equally, Munch’s The Scream might have been based on a Peruvian mummy in the Trocadero Museum in Paris, or it might not. This is where the serendipitous aspect comes in; some of these paintings reference works you’re unlikely to have thought of yourself and introduce things you may not even know about. It’s fun, even a bit educational, but probably only if you like that kind of thing. If what you want is a serious, time-line based history of art, there’s no doubt this is not a book for you. If you want a bit of fun, though, you’ll love it.
A&C Black 2008
£16.99
Henry Scott Tuke: Paintings From Cornwall || Catherine Wallace
Posted by henry in Author: Catherine Wallace, Publisher: Halsgrove, Subject: Art History on May 9, 2008
Henry Scott Tuke was one of the founding members of the Newlyn School and his importance in his own right as one of the foremost English Impressionists is only now coming to be recognised. Tuke was himself a Cornishman and knew the region from childhood, giving his paintings a quality of intimacy rather than grand design which sets him apart from some others in the movement. His landscapes tend to be small details rather than large vistas and there are also many paintings of ships and boats that would have formed an important part of his daily life.
It is for his depictions of the naked male that Tuke is perhaps most widely known and he has tended to become associated with gay culture, perhaps even a pioneer of it. However, as Catherine Wallace points out, this association was by no means automatic in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries and care needs to be taken when ascribing him to particular movement. Nevertheless, there is a sensuality to these works that makes them among his most vivid, although it is also fair to say that it is in his figurative work generally that he is at his best.
It is also fair to say that many people will not have heard of Tuke and that this is not a book for the general reader. However, it fills a gap in literature about the art scene in the South West and feeds into growing interest in the Newlyn and St Ives Schools in general and is welcome for that. Catherine Wallace has researched Tuke extensively and this is an authoritative work, taking the form largely of a catalogue raisonnée (of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society collection); that is to say in lay terms that some of the illustrations are quite small!
As a study of perhaps a minor, rather neglected, figure in the history of English art, this is a fine and well-executed work, well up to Halsgrove’s usual standard.
Halsgrove 2008
£34.99
Essential Art: The History of Western Art
Posted by henry in Author: Various, Publisher: Herbert Press, Subject: Art History on January 8, 2008
This book infringes Henry’s first rule of art books, namely, Will you please make them big enough that we can see the **** illustrations?!
However, rules are made to be broken or, at the very least, if you’re going to break them you’d better have a pretty good reason and, in spite of an initial reservation, this has much to recommend it.
First up, you’re not going to get quite such a comprehensive and copiously illustrated history of art for £12.99 anywhere else. It’s gobsmackingly good value for money and that alone has to silence any cavil; you simply can’t fail to get your money’s worth from it one way or another.
Use this as a desk reference and you’ll quickly get annoyed with it. It’s a fat little thing and you’re either going to have to break the spine or hurt your hands getting at the inside edges of the pages. This is not a book to set open on your knee and read from cover to cover, but I’d contend this is not its purpose. Although it’s billed as a paperback, in fact it has a semi-rigid cover that takes quite happily to being bent around a bit and isn’t going to get dog-eared in your pocket. This is where it starts to shine. Take it out with you on a gallery trip or on holiday and, suddenly, you’ve got a complete reference work that, in any other form, would tip you heavily into excess baggage. If you’re really into the history of art, then you’ll probably have an extensive library and, even then, this will complement it perfectly. If you’re more of a dilettante, then it might be just enough on its own. It has its limitations, of course, but they’re never ones you can’t live with.
The book’s 500 pages are divided historically from early and pre-history to post 1945 and pretty much follow the major schools and developments. Most general histories put all of modern art into one section, but that’s to be expected if they do the same with the Renaissance, frankly, and it does have the advantage of not getting into any currently-running controversies. Playing it safe is a quality to admire in a general book! Each section is colour-coded at the page edges and starts with a timeline, moving on to specific schools and artists, allowing the reader to focus in quickly. If you’re standing in a museum or a gallery, you don’t have to fumble around for long to get to the relevant pages.
The word “essential” is nowadays used to mean something you can’t be with out, but its original sense was of getting to the heart of the matter. This little book fulfils both.
Herbert Press 2007
£12.99
Modern Art 1900-1945: the age of the avant-gardes || Gabriele Crepaldi
Posted by henry in Author: Gabriele Crepaldi, Publisher: Collins, Subject: Art History on August 28, 2007
It’s a big subject and it’s a big book, so make sure you’ve got a solid coffee table! Yes, that’s what this is; the birth and development of modern art is a topic which can only really be hinted at in a single volume and not even touched without the generous proportions you have here. Serious students will undoubtedly be queuing up to complain about the omissions, but this really isn’t the point. Think of it as a primer for the non-specialist who just needs a place to start and it immediately makes a lot more sense. If it was a gallery (which, in a way it is), it would be the first exploratory visit.
Modern Art, of course, wasn’t a movement in itself and, although we often talk of schools, the truth is that development is largely organic. Yes, people working at the same time share ideas and approaches, but they also share influences, artistic, social and political as well as simple events. One bombing raid produced Picasso’s Guernica, which itself is a response in all those ways. It’s fair to say that art in the twentieth century was largely about ways of seeing, of moving away from straightforward representation and this gave us Cubism, Expressionism and Dadaism, for example. Within these movements, each individual artist had their own way of working, but there were definite theories that they were all exploring. It’s the role of this book, rather than this review, to explain them, but it’s also worth observing that schools of art existed long before the twentieth century and that each age has its own recognisable style which isn’t based on totally photographic representation but rather an agreed view of how the world should be seen.
Where all this is going is to say that it’s not enough just to divide things up into schools and movements; you also have to consider the individual artists: that categorisation brings its own very special pitfalls. The writer of this book recognises this and thus gives us chapters on the obvious movements (Cubism, Surrealism, Primitivism, for example) as well as some of the major figures (Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani et al) and also geographic centres (Italy and Germany between the wars, avant-garde movements in Russia), so that there isn’t a sense of artificial firebreaks being created, but rather of a constant flow of styles and ideas. Very sensibly and perceptively, he also looks at architecture, applied arts and design, photography and motion pictures, which all came under the influence of the avowed theories and movements and which have to be considered as part of the overall modern movement.
Like I said, this is a big book. There are 400 large format pages and it’s a heavy beast, something you’re going to notice when you look at it, as you will, for extended periods. It’s also something you have to take for what it is, not what you think it could or should be. I don’t mean that negatively: even in 400 pages you can only scratch the surface of modern art, but it makes an excellent fist of that and it’s both an excellent introduction as well as a useful one-volume survey. At £40 if not cheap, but 20 years ago books like it would have sold for half that so, in relative terms, they’ve got cheaper. If there is a reservation, it’s that the reproduction seems a little flat. It originates with the Italian publishing house of Mondadori who are renowned for their colour work, so I don’t know what’s going on. It might be the paper which is perhaps a little too absorbent of the ink. Am I being picky? Probably, but it’s worth noting.
Collins 2007
£40
100 Characters From Classical Mythology As Seen In Western Art || Malcolm Day
Posted by henry in Author: Malcolm Day, Publisher: Herbert Press, Subject: Art History on March 26, 2007
When this first landed on the mat, I wondered why the publisher had sent to me. Looking at it, I can answer that (it is an art book), but it begs another question: just who is it aimed at?
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the book. It’s a nice handy guide to classical figures with some useful reproductions of later paintings and sculptures thrown in and I can see it doing quite nicely in any museum shop. It feels good in the hand (a quality all too often overlooked, but one which influences the impulse purchaser more than is always recognised) and it rather neatly staples together two areas that people tend to go to museums and galleries to see. And a great deal of Old Master works do have classical themes.
The book is arranged as list of 100 classical characters, each of whom gets one or two pages of explanation of who they are and their place in mythology together with a painting and a quick family tree. It’s very neatly done, but I’m still not quite sure why it was done. There are other guides to classical mythology and there are more comprehensive and larger-format guides to the world’s great works of art. The blurb suggests that it’s “an ideal reference tool for art historians looking the further their understanding of the mythological background of much of Western art”, but the problem is that, in a relatively small format and at only 160 pages, it’s surely aimed much more at the casual reader than the specialist.
Like I said, it’ll probably do very well in museum and gallery shops and it’s as good a point to start as anywhere else and its quirky approach might appeal, too. Just not to me.
