No comments about Images of the Mother of God: Perceptions of the Theotokos in Byzantium.

No comments about Nauvoo Temple: A Story of Faith.

2 comments about Sister Wendy's Nativity.

1. Once again, Sister Wendy has produced a delightful book on art and religion. This one mostly deals with the birth of Jesus, but it touches upon the later events in his life as well. The paintings are tiny, from mostly anonymous artists from the late medieval period. When blown up to book size, these tiny paintings can look rather crude. But Sister Wendy zooms in on them with her spiritual microscope, and with her trademark contemplative style, draws forth from these miniatures profound spiritual revelations--meanings the artists probably never intended. At least not consciously. She then extends the "message" of the paintings into meditations on what their significance is to contemporary religious thought and life's contemporary moral dilemmas. You marvel at her perceptiveness.As another reviewer pointed out, there are some editing problems in the book. In a few instances, the paintings and their associated commentaries don't quite match up. But this flaw won't detract from your enjoyment of the book.I'm one atheist who is always happy to plunk down money for a new Sister Wendy book. And this one is certainly no exception. You'll want to re-read it during every Xmas season.



2. I am a great admirer of Sister Wendy and highly recommend her A Child's Book of Prayer in Art as a five star book.

   In this book, however, there are several instances where the painting details of which she is speaking don't appear in the book. On page 42 she states, "A desperate angel in the lower margin semaphores to them;..." This angel is not included. On page 91 the painting has apparently been printed backward or the text on the facing page reveals that neither Sister Wendy nor her proof rereaders can tell left from right. On page 62 the description seems not to be of the illumination opposite. The text states, "Even sadder is the figure on the left, seen moving away from the group into the loneliness of remorse. Judas,..." No one appears to be moving away and Judas is pictured as kissing Jesus. It is all annoying enough to make the book not worth the price, even with the Amazon discount.

   The concept of the book is worthy; it covers the story of Jesus from Adam through Pentecost to Heaven using mostly previously unpublished pictures from the Vatican Libraries to celebrate the onset of the third Christian millenium. The purchase of A Child's Book of Prayer in Art would be a more apt celebration. Those seeking to explore the wonder of Jesus's birth with Sister Wendy would be better off with Sister Wendy's Story of Christmas.

2 comments about Life Of Buddha.

1. I am not a Buddhist but I love this book. It's nothing less than a beautiful work of art.
   
   --Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God
   
   I also recommend:
   
   Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide



2. DGV continues to publish some of the most beautiful, affordably priced illustrated books around. The cover illustration here is not misleading--each of the 88 pages here is devoted to Satogawa, whose work relies on the dramatic and surprising use of color, as well as the concomitant sensations of motion and stillness, centeredness and disturbance. There's even something of a nod to Jacques Louis David in the depiction of King Bimbisaara's suicide. The colors and poses are at once traditional and postmodern, drawing as much on the thangka as the comic book. The text is terse and didn't receive much in the way of editing, but it really doesn't matter here. This is all about the illustration, and Satogawa's work doesn't disappoint.

No comments about How Noah Saved The Animals: Scenes from the Old Testament (Adventures in Art).

No comments about Ritual Art and Knowledge: Aesthetic Theory and Zoroastrian Ritual (Studies in Comparative Religion).

No comments about Picturing Performance: The Iconography of the Performing Arts in Concept and Practice.

No comments about Rembrandt: The Old Testament.

2 comments about Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography.

1. Bunce's Dictionary is a welcome reference work, whose line drawings have been frequently copied on the Internet. The book defines and comments on many iconographic elements (hand positions, body positions, attributes, etc.) found in Buddhist and Hindu art, with particular attention to alternate spellings and bibliographic references.
   
   While some mention is made of the deities which might display an attribute, such information in the Dictionary is rather sketchy. If you want to play "name that god," the book you want is Bunce's "Encyclopedia of Hindu Deities," not Bunce's "Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography." The two books complement each other, and do not overlap.
   
   Bunce's definitions gave me food for thought. According to Bunce, for example, the well-known prayer mudra should really be called "namaskara mudra" rather than "anjali mudra;" in another example, he defines the Buddha's "urna" as a mole on the forehead, rather than as a tuft of hair on the forehead.
   
   The book is recommended for scholars and serious students, especially in combination with the same author's "Encyclopedia of Hindu Deities."



2. Fredrick W. Bunce has compiled a vast amount of Buddhist and Hindu symbols in an easy to use, concise work. The illustrations are very well done and compliment the text beautifully. Included in the Introduction is an overview of iconographic history as well as some of the precepts of the Buddhist and Hindu religions. The User's Guide thoroughly explains the format of the text in such a way as to comfortably familiarize the new reader to this dictionary. This is a well-written reference work that should be kept on hand.

No comments about The Treasury of Saint Francis of Assisi: Masterpieces from the Museo Della Basilica of San Francesca.