1 comments about Hindu Gods & Goddesses 2008 Calendar.

1. This calendar is very beautiful. I only wish the colors were more vibrant however the details are truly lovely. Also, the description of each picture is a nice bonus. They make a very nice gift for oneself and others.

No comments about The Spirituality of Art.

No comments about The Iconography of the Mouth of Hell: Eighth-Century Britain to the Fifteenth Century.

1 comments about The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco.

1. Ever learn to draw a kitty by making a stack of three circles, progressively smaller from top to bottom? If so, would you conclude that everywhere you see three circles (a pawn shop, for example) there is occult symbolism of a secret feline cult? That's the kind of argument that underlies one of the basic premises of this slender volume: Andean paintings of the Virgin Mary show Her dressed in a stiff, voluminous cloak that creates the impression of a triangle, a cone; mountains are somewhat conical; inhabitants of the Andes worshipped mountains: therefore, pictures of the Virgin are actually secret objects of pagan idolatry.

   There may be merit to the premise, but it is not demonstrated in this book except by a single (remarkable) painting that shows the Virgin's features actually emerging from Cerro Potosi. But does this prove the author's premise, or is it a reference to the hill's proverbial status as a source of limitless riches? It would be useful to see more overt examples that support the author's point of view, but this one picture and an anecdote are all the proof that's given. Curiously, many of the full-page illustrations show pre-columbian pieces (especially featherwork) that could easily be referenced at thumbnail scale, leaving room for a broader assortment of examples of the main topic. This monograph could also profit from a deeper inquiry into the dressing of religious statues in the Catholic tradition. (Many of the Virgin paintings actually portray statues that were objects of devotion, rather than the person of the Virgin. The cult of the Infant of Prague is one of the few examples of dressed-up statues familiar, at least to Catholics, in the United States.)

   I found the price rather high ..., since there is not much in the text to make it an object of study and reference; and the illustrations, while attractive, cannot be described as sumptuous.

1 comments about Images and Relics: Theological Perceptions and Visual Images in Sixteenth-Century Europe (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology).

1. This is precisely the book I've been waiting for, for years. There are many books available on the general subject of the art of Northern Germany, but this book "gets it." It understands that during the Lutheran Reformation, it was not "art for arts sake" but art for the sake of the meaning of the Reformation.
   
   If you are interested in the theological meaning and relevancy of the art of the times to the Reformation themes of the time, you'll enjoy this book very much.

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

No comments about The Lost Painting.

5 comments about The Illustrated Torah.

1. I love the illustrations and seeing how the Torah follows the scriptures. I am sure a Jewish famil would love this illustrated copy. I as a gentile have enjoyed it so much seeing the truths of the old testament presented in picture and story format.
   
   A must have for your complete library of faith.



2. I like this book, even though naive art isn't my normal cup of tea. I was surprised to see another reviewer complain about 'graven images' since painted isn't the same as graven. Graven means carved, sculpted. These are daubed. Quite different?



3. I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it but I don't. It is large which makes it a good coffee table book. Then again, it is so large that it doesn't fit on any of my shelves (even sideways). I like that it is illustrated but the illustrations aren't that good - and some are downright confusing. I bought it because it had like 4 or 5 stars but now wish I would have chosen something else. Everyone comes to Judaism with a different perception so this may be great for someone else. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it BUUUT I also wouldn't want to steer someone away from it.



4. Thou shalt not make any graven image



5. The essential foundation of Judaism is the Torah, known also as the Five Books Of Moses. Included are sidrot and haftarot "weekly readings" and the whole is augmented with Michael Meron's spectacular paintings to showcase quotations drawn from the Hebrew text of the Torah and haftarot portions. The excerpts of the sidrot and its haftarot are taken from the Jewish Publication Society translation. Dr. Ellen Frankel (noted author, scholar, and editor-in-chief of the JPS) provides a brief but informative explanatory essay introduction. The Illustrated Torah is a highly recommended, superbly presented, very welcome addition to personal and synagogue library collections.

No comments about A Masterpiece Reconstructed: The Hours of Louis XII.

No comments about The cross as symbol & ornament;: Collected, drawn, and described by Johannes Troyer.