4 comments about Cecilia Beaux: American Figure Painter.

1. A number of years ago I enrolled into an art history course at my local community college, Women in Art. I was suprised, awed and sorry never to have known about some of the women artists when studying art at a university. Shadwoed by the likes of John Singer Sargent, Cecila Beaux can hold her own. Many female artists did not have the same advantages as their male counterparts. But Ms. Beaux built up her own cliental making her own name in the art of portraiture. This is a nice book depicitng the lifestylies of Americana during the age of innocence. A must have for any coffee table. Nice instruction on another American female artisits almost lost in history.



2. Though thorough, the many author's perspectives were not pleasing. Beautiful work by an amazing artist and the reproductions were acceptable but not thrilling.



3. I think that this book shows a lot of Cecilia's work very well. The essays are very nice to read too.



4. While Cecilia Beaux is often overlooked, she was a great American figure painter, close to, if not quite in the same league, as John Singer Sargent. This book has good representation of her work, the more well know, and the lesser. A must have of anyone who is a fan of this period and style of art.

5 comments about Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797.

1. All around Venice (or Venezia as the Italians call it), you see a profound Muslim influence. In the archways above doors, in the windows of canal architecture, on the rooftops the weaving of these two sensibilities is undeniable. We saw this book at an exhibit at the Doge's Palace in Venezia at the end of summer, 2007. This book is a translation of the book that was published to accompany the exhibit. It is a more than faithful capturing of both the content and spirit of the exhibit.
   
   Particularly today, it is important, as well as healthy, to sustain appreciation of these ancestral collaborations because they are weaving of the fabric of our contemporary cultures. In the book and the exhibit, it is easy to feel the curiosity and respect each of these cultures has for the other. They are drawn to one another's differences rather than being repelled by them.
   
   Although the cover artwork of the English language version differs from the other language versions of the exhibit publication, the content is either parallel or the same - something I could not verify since I am limited to speaking primarily English (more and more, feeling this is a handicap in today's global culture). This particular book, I'm told, accompanied the same exhibit when it was in New York. I don't know how well it was received there - but in Venice, it was magical!
   
   I highly recommend this book and would hope that somewhere in the world, there would be a place for the marriage of these cultures to find a more permanent home. The expression of the cultures working together, dancing and weaving their way through the marketplace of ideas, theology, and trade is something that should not be lost. This book teaches us that we have much to learn from cultures different from our own - whichever culture this may be. This curiosity should not close down with the end of an exhibit's run.



2. What a dissapointment of a book when the subject has such visual and aesthetic potential. My gripe is mainly with the imagery - paintings are almost invariably reproduced in a size between postage stamp and post-card, when what one would like are full-page reproductions, with details to illustrate the costume and artifacts of the islamic world which began to turn up in Venesian art in this period. Buy it if you want an informative text, but definately not if you want a visual feast.



3. For centuries The Most Serene Republic of Venice was the the western terminus of the fabled Silk Road. The city's warehouses were the repository of every luxury that Persia, India, China, Siam, the Levant, Byzantium, and the Ottomans had to offer. This book is a wonderful companion to the Met's glittering exhibition of art, illuminated manuscripts and decorative objects, which give a sense of Venice's singular place in the history of the Mediterranean. Viva San Marco!



4. This book is excelent. This book is the catalog of the exhibiton that
   is on tne Metropolitan Museum of New York.



5. This book is the catalogue for a traveling exhibition held at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in 2006 and at the Met in New York in 2007. It is a very complete study of the influence of the islamic world on the Republic of Venice, encompassing all forms of art, painting, architecture, ceramics, textiles, engravings, books, and even religious artefacts (mosque lamps for example). All these works of art are the results of intense cultural and economic exchange between both worlds and the catalogue emphasizes this very well. A scholarly publication well served by wonderful illustrations. A very detailed checklist of all the works in the exhibition (medium, dimensions, location) makes this book a definite reference on the subject.

No comments about Karl Bodmer's North American Prints.

No comments about Mortality Immortality?: The Legacy of 20th-Century Art (Getty Conservation Institute).

3 comments about A Is for Artist: A Getty Museum Alphabet.

1. Several of the paintings in this book show naked men and women. It's a great idea, but I am shocked that they could not find more appropriate paintings for use in a children's book.



2. As you would imagine, this is a lovely book. The paper is nice, the colorwork is great. And it is a sweet way to introduce (or reinforce) the beauty and diversity of the alphabet. The endpages show an upper- and lowercase alphabet and each letter pair is associated with a word. Aa with Artist, Bb with Bumblebee, etc. Once inside, you'll find facing 8-inch square pages for each letter -- on one side beautiful large letters ("U is for umbrella") and on the other a full-page color plate of a detail from one of the Museum's artworks (an umbrella from Degas's 'Waiting'). Small print on the text page gives you the artist's name, nationality and lifespan, and the work's title and date. The book ends with small representations of the entire works from which details were taken. The three features -- letter pairs with word, word with painting detail, and letter with full picture -- complement each other in a way that also makes this a book ripe for play. This is the kind of resource I would like to see more of from this country's artistic community -- educational, thoughtful and fun. Thanks, Getty!



3. The illustrations in this book are beyond wonderful.(Duh) Because, of course , they are reproductions of masterpieces. The alphabet letters are huge and displayed on a large negative space.Is also fun for the child to "find" the thing being represented by the letter. Very educational and a joy not to always have to look at the simplistic primary color illustrations in many of the childrens books. My 2yr. old grandchild loves this book and I purchased 3 others for my other granchildren of various ages. It is humorous ,elegant and charming. The"grape", "skull" and "umbrella" are favorites!!!

5 comments about Sandro Botticelli: The Drawings for Dante's Divine Comedy.

1. i heard of this drawings thru a brief documentary on Dante's Divine Comedy,and managed to track down a book about this subject, finally consulted Amazon to get it .Frankly when i saw the relatively modest price tag ,i did not imagine that in fact the book is not only a first class Art book worth( in an ideal world a bit less insane that the present one)much more than some 40 euros ,with a magisterially commented analysis ,and a magnificent one at that,for each of these trascendental drawings.Moreover the riproduction of the drawings is excellent,and the close examination of each of them with a magnifying lens can only leave a passionate of both Dante and of Great Painting simply speechless.Congratulations to authors,editors and everybody who made this available, from a humble old lover of Dante,of Painting and Music , those things that can stiil distinguish us from the "bestie', the "bruti" ,sincerely,guido zargani



2. SANDRO BOTTICELLI'S DANTE'S DIVINE COMEDY IS NO MORE BETTER.
   MERCI FOR THE AUTEUR-EDITION .



3. This book brought Dante to life in a way for which I was unprepared. From the moment I saw Boticelli's depictions of the damned I was sure he must have had an "inside" look into what Dnate was writing about. A wonderful coffee-table book that will get your guests to talking.



4. As a former museum photographer, I can speak to the fine reproductions in this volume. The complexity of reproducing drawings of such fine detail in print is quite difficult if not impossible. One would expect to find this quality at a much greater price. This volume is not only a master work of techical ability, but the history revealed in the essays is astounding. I actually could not put it down. As a painter working with the subject matter, it provided an invaluable resource.



5. This is an extraordinary book. It's like finding a rare and beautiful volume in an antiquarian bookstore. The book consists of almost a hundred drawings by Botticelli, made around 1500 to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy of 1300.

   The drawings are marvelous. The devils and monsters are rather tame by modern standards but the thousands of individual characters are beautifully drawn and are easily recognizable as Botticelli's work even to the untrained eye. Botticelli illustrates each canto like a modern day story board or sequence of drawings in a cartoon strip. The action follows all of the events described in each canto. I pored over the drawings every evening for a month. I used a recent translation of the Inferno as my guide to this section. Opposite each drawing is a short but comprehensive summary of the canto together with a description of the drawing. The summary was sufficient to carry me through the Purgatorio and Paradiso sections and the descriptions were extremely helpful and never pedantic.

   The book is superbly produced with informative essays and excellent photographs of paintings by Botticelli to illustrate his style. Even the dust cover is well-made and robust. It is illustrated with a scene of Dante and Virgil crossing a bridge over a pit of burning souls (the evil counselors). The hard cover of the book is embossed with the flames from the same scene, making it a very attractive volume.

   Most of the drawings, which were intended to be colored, are unfinished, but this adds to the interest since it's possible to see how the artist worked. In some, the drawings are so dense and complex that you might need a magnifying glass to see them. On each such occasion the producers of the book have provided an enlargement of the drawing on the following page, anticipating the reader's needs. A particularly fine example of the complex drawing is the illustration for canto X of the Purgatorio. The scene shows marble reliefs on the walls of the mountain terrace illustrating example of humility. There are three tableaux of such detail and intensity that each could represent a sketch for a fresco on the wall of a cathedral and yet the complete drawing is on a piece of sheepskin parchment measuring about 14 x 16 inches.

1 comments about Great Smaller Museums of Europe.

1. A nicely done survey of notable smaller art museums in Europe: James Stourton, an expert in his field, gives enough material on the history and collection of each institution he has selected to satisfy without overwhelming the reader.
   
   This book, and the pictures it contains, should inspire many a person to tour Europe just to visit the whole collection of museums covered in this most entertaining work.

5 comments about Clown Paintings.

1. This is scary stuff and should be kept out of the hands of innocents. It is corruptive, corrosive and full of "CLOWN PAINTINGS", people. Clowns I tell you, clowns!
   
   Need I say more?
   
   I'm off in my jalopy now, away and away and away from those dastardly, red-nosed purveyors of horror.
   
   L.A.E.



2. I am a clown lover. Clowns have always amazed me and grabbed my attention. I love them not because they are funny or clumsy, but by their beauty, pureness, and happiness/sadness contrast. And this is what this book shows, the esthetic and humane sides of the art of clowning. Lovely colorful crying/laughing clowns!
   
   'Clown Paintings' is a very extensive and interesting collection of clown paintings. Diane Keaton is crazy about clowns and many of the paintings are from her private collection. The book also presents a very rich collection of personal beliefs (short texts) about clowns from various famous authors, directors, writers...
   
   The quality of the printing is very very good, the hardcover is really wonderful (without the paper covering), and the price is insignificant for such a piece of art.



3. I love this book. I'm always looking for clown or circus books. As a Clown lover, I share the same passion as Diane Keaton. This book is a great addition to my personal Clown collection. It feels like this book was published just for me. Being a Clown myself and a Clown artist of fine paintings and sculptures,(www.clownartist.com), I appreciate the works by the different artists and what they communicated. These Clowns evoke a myriad of emotional feelings.
   I agree with Diane Keaton about how much we have in common with a clown. We have all felt the emotions that we see on a Clowns face.....CLOWN'S EYES SEE TRUST AND ACCEPTANCE. A WORLD OF FRIENDSHIP...GIVEN AND RECEIVED. A CLOWN'S VIEW IS DIRECT...LIFE IS SIMPLE, UNENCUMBERED...SOMETHING HURTS, HE CRIES, SOMETHING PLEASES HIM, HE LAUGHTS, SOMETHING PUZZLES HIM, HE FROWNS, SOMETHING TOUCHES HIM, HE RESPONDS. LIFE CAN BE THAT SIMPLE...FOR A MOMENT.



4. With Clown Paintings (2002), idiosyncratic actor, author, and director Diane Keaton has produced the kind of offbeat creative work that is sorely lacking in American culture today. Clown Paintings is just what is appears to be: a slim compendium of presumably amatuer clown paintings which were happily discovered at swap meets, jumble sales, bargain bins, and thrift stores. What makes Clown Paintings surprising is that Keaton treats the sixty - six paintings as oddball if serious pieces of work, and pointedly avoids treating them as banal, ironic objects of kitsch or high or low camp. Created roughly over a period of thirty years, all of the paintings were made by unknown artists, and many are unsigned, further obscuring their etiology.

   Keaton and Los Angeles gallery owner Robert Berman each contribute a brief but fascinating essay. Keaton, a well - known comedian herself, perceives clowns as perpetually bright - eyed innocents and eternally hopeful beings that are easily wounded but fundamentally incapable of learning from negative experience or their own mistakes. Noting that clowns were acceptable enough subjects for Picasso, Beckmann, and Matisse, Keaton believes that clowns images "expose the human experience at its most transcendent on one hand, and on the other, its most tragic." Berman, who thinks "one clown painting alone may look like a silly indulgence," dreams "of a gallery full of clowns, floor to ceiling, walls of clowns - so powerful that the viewers would be overwhelmed."

   Keaton has asked a broad range of mostly - American comedians to comment on the subject, including Woody Allen, Don Knotts, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Ben Stiller, Chevy Chase, Sandra Bernhard, and Jerry Lewis. Not surprisingly, most of those solicited find both clowns and their painted images appalling, frightening, repulsive, or subtle metaphors for psychopathology. With few exceptions, these short commentaries are insightful and touching rather than merely glib or clever. Based on the written selections, it appears clowns are rarely if ever a neutral subject. Like garden gnomes, clowns seem to be "loved by millions, and loathed by millions more."

   What Clown Paintings only barely touches upon is the clown as an archetypal trickster figure, a psychopomp, a mythical straddler of at least two conflicting states, a figure perpetually at the crossroads, a subversive, borderland creature who manifests in dreams, childhood memories, literature, popular entertainment, consumerism, world history, and in the gray area of symbol and metaphor. Clowns are and have been everywhere and nowhere at once throughout history, like witches. As with all numinous images, they both reveal and conceal simultaneously. Are clowns predominantly good or predominantly evil? Trustworthy or innately figures of suspicion? Well - intended or conspicuously devious? Social outcasts or masters of their fates? Where does the man end, and the clown artifice begin? Are clowns partially transvestite figures? Or gussied - up memento moris? Like glamorized, inverted modern Medusas, clowns and clown images are capable of eliciting at least a brief fit of paralysis in their audience or viewer.

   Despite their apparent obviousness and bluntness, these paintings, which underscore several American traditions, proudly maintain their mystery, even when their dignity seems to be faltering. Regardless of the viewer's discipline or angle of approach, their secrets remain inscrutable and thus safe forever. Curious readers willing to give these pieces their time will be adequately rewarded, for, ultimately, Clown Paintings is an eccentric, funhouse - mirror meditation on the strangeness of being human.




5. This book has changed my life for the better! For many years I have had a fear of clowns, in itself an emotional wall put up to deal with my inability to embrace the inner child. My girlfriend on the other hand loves clowns and has been begging me to come to terms with my emotional problems. I used to hide behind the hunstmans rifle in a misplaced attempt to deal with my emotional shortcomings but now things are getting better, and in no small part thanks to this book.

   Diane Keaton is familiar to all as a talented Hollywood actress but few will know that she is also a patron of the arts. This book showcases her collection of clown paintings and they are accompanied by the comments and stories from many famous celebrities. The pictures distressed me at first but somehow the warm words of Diane Keaton and the humourous comments of the celebs made me keep coming back. Before long I recognised these paintings for what they truly are, an insight into the very essence of the clown. I see that often behind the greasepaint and oversized shoes there often lies a fragile and passionate soul. In particular a picture in the book entitled 'Let Down' moved me and provided my breakthru moment. It features a clown with his unicycle backstage, just about ready to enter the big top. But his wheel is flat and he cannot go on. A small tear gently rolls down his cheek, making the white and red makeup run a little, as he casts a heartfelt glance at his clown comrades running into the arena. A beautiful, poignant picture which the famous director Alan Smithee summed up as 'moving beyond belief'.

   Buy this book and you will not regret it. Beautiful pictures appreciated by beautiful people.

No comments about Chemical Principles of Textile Conservation (Butterworth - Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology) (Butterworth - Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology).

5 comments about Success in the Arts: What It Takes to Make It in Creative Fields.

1. This is a witty, easy-to-read book, with practical advice for those trying to break into the arts. It's well worth the investment.



2. I ordered this book, through an art email that offered bonuses if i bought the book - turns out, i got to listen to the authour on the radio talk on some website and repeating everything i had already heard in the book! I also got to download an ebook with a few helpful bits of advice on GRAPHIC DESIGN, which of course is what the author teaches. tough luck if you are a budding actress or a singer - how is that going to help you in your auditions!!
   
   although i get the impression that the author is probably a really nice guy, i have to say i dont buy books just to LIKE SOMEBODY, i buy them to feed me KNOWLEDGE and to further myself in my profession! which this book does NOT deliver.
   
   The book was basically written using other famous people's QUOTES that the author obviously has found over the years. as facinating as it is to re-read lots of OTHER PEOPLES quotes on how to be motivated and stay positive, i found that the author uses quotes from others, in nearly every paragraph! Im sure you will agree that a quote from Thomas Edison is always nice and learning 'HOW TO CATCH A MONKEY' is a very enlightening story BUT!!! - THAT IS NOT GOING TO GET YOUR ART SOLD , OR GET YOUR NAME IN SHINEY LIGHTS ON BROADWAY, is it?? this books title is SUCCESS IN THE ARTS - Written by someone i have never heard of ! (however i guess if you are a GRAPHIC DESIGNER and have spent years in the advertising industry, you COULD fool alot of people to buy your book, by giving it a GREAT TITLE and a nice ATTRACTIVE cover, SO theoritically you could eventually be SUCCESSFUL IN THE ARTS - dont you think??? )
   
   if you are the type of person who has drive, ambition, heart and soul (oh and dont forget that little thing called TALENT btw) in your craft you will be successful, without even reading this book - and if you are the type of person who DID NOT KNOW THAT, - then maybe you might not make it anyway, regardless of buying this book!
   
   This book would have been far better value for money if it actually listed a network of people to contact in the arts - (as he indeed tells you to have one, yet does not offer any kind of direction or contact list to help you begin your 'success in the arts'!!!)
   
   Although im sure the author of this book is a 'very nice man and teacher' and now 'author' - i would like to offer some practical advice back - less of the philisophical and more of the PRACTICAL, maybe the way to go with the NEXT book!
   
   i have never felt more MOTIVATED to write a review on my book until today! sorry its not a good one ! (oh and the 2 stars are because i think the author sounds like a very nice guy! otherwise i would give it 1 star)



3. What a great mentor Michael Shumate would be for anyone planning a career in the arts! It is quite clear that he has good advice developed over a long and successful career. I especially liked the part about "the Grand Poo-Bah": a bit whimsical, but it gets the point across with humor. If he can't be your mentor in person, then his book is next best. He is always clear, down-to-earth, and honest. You can read the book in an afternoon. It's a great investment for anyone in the target audience.



4. This short and very readable book is drawn from the author's experiences teaching art in college. Although mildly motivational, it lacks the pretense of many motivational books. It concentrates mainly on the ideas and attitudes will help an aspiring artist actually to become an artist and includes a few excellent quotes. Shumate addresses all practitioners of the arts, including visual artists, actors, writers, and musicians. There is a lot of good common sense in this book, which is necessary these days because common sense is in such short supply. Shumate urges people to work hard at their art, and to practice virtue and eschew the tendency to feel sorry for oneself, or to focus too heavily on oneself. In this day and age, this is sound advice because in many places, schools train prima donnas, not achievers. The one thing I missed, and a major reason I bought the book, was information on how to locate people who are in a position to advance the artist's career, and how to find resources likely to lead to such people. Obviously, Shumate has been successful in accomplishing this, and I hoped he would share his secrets. Though I had pretty much learned many of the things he discusses by the time I read the book, I did get some valuable ideas from it just the same. One should never be too proud to learn from experienced people. But the question for which I sought an answer was, where does the artist go from here? I sincerely hope that Shumate will write a "sequel" that includes this information.



5. Michael Shumate gives extremely insightful and relevant advice in a sometimes confusing career path. Unfortunately, being successful in the arts isn't as straightforward as some other professions (go to the right school, maintain a good GPA, get a solid internship). He suggests that if you have two of these three traits, you MIGHT make it:
   -talent
   -smarts
   -passion
   I've personally seen the road to a successful career in the arts littered with people lacking a few of these traits (yes, even very talented people). Definitely worth a read if you or someone you know is considering a career in the arts.