Category Archives: Art

PARIS IN RUINS: LOVE, WAR, AND THE BIRTH OF IMPRESSIONISM

First, I must say that this is a beautifully designed book. Reading a physical copy of a book of such beauty does not compare to reading on a Kindle, though this book is available on Kindle.

Both my wife and I love Impressionism. I well remember a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. We have been there on many occasions. We went in different directions for a bit. When we reconnected, I found my wife enthralled before a Pissarro painting. Impressionism has many strange, but wonderful qualities that draw you in.

At the outset Smee clearly lays out his goals with the book: “The story focuses on the events of 1870-71 (famously dubbed ‘The Terrible Year’ by Victor Hugo). It’s premised on the conviction that we cannot see Impressionism clearly without grasping the impact of the tumultuous time on the movement’s leading artists.”

Smee has done yeomen’s work in giving a detailed and fascinating account of worn-torn France and the emergence of Impressionism. 

For both history and art lovers, this is a terrific read!

 

REMBRANDT IS IN THE WIND

BOOK OF THE YEAR TIE!

I am blessed to receive many amazing books from publishers.

Now almost five months into 2022, Russ Ramsey’s Rembrandt is in the Wind and Robert Gross’s, The Transcendentalists and Their World are my favorite reads of the year.

As I get older (64 now), I get more selective, yet I am happy to say that remarkable books continue to be published. If you are looking for beautiful reflections on art and the Christian life, this book is for you. Ramsey is a pastor, so he knows firsthand the troubles of a terribly broken world. He also faced his own death just shy of his fortieth birthday.

So yes, Ramsey well knows about pain and suffering. He reflects on it beautifully in this book, but he is hardly a cynic. Ramsey’s anchor is firmly placed in the truths of Scripture.

If you are looking for a careful curator of both soul and art, this book is highly recommended. I recommend it with great gusto!

 

DISCOVERING GOD THROUGH THE ARTS

 

If you are looking to learn more about various forms of art, but want a wise and gentle guide, then this book is for you.

Discovering God Through the Arts by Terry Glaspey recently won a Christianity Today book award.

Glaspey offers much clarity on how great art can aid our walk with Jesus. His book is full of compelling and attractive examples.

Glaspey also gives the reader a map of sorts for determining a reasonable plan for how to proceed.

Beautifully written with many well-selected pictures, this is a terrific book!

 

MONDAY IS FOR MORTALITY

Image result for holy trinity by masaccio
From Wikepedia:

(I once was what you are and what I am you also will be). This memento mori underlines that the painting was intended to serve as a lesson to the viewers. At the simplest level the imagery must have suggested to the 15th-century faithful that, since they all would die, only their faith in the Trinity and Christ’s sacrifice would allow them to overcome their transitory existences.

According to American art historian Mary McCarthy:

The fresco, with its terrible logic, is like a proof in philosophy or mathematics, God the Father, with His unrelenting eyes, being the axiom from which everything else irrevocably flows.

Source: McCarthy, Mary (August 22, 1959). “A City of Stone”. The New Yorker. New York: 48.