The Story of Painting: The Essential Guide to the History of Western Art - Hardcover

Beckett, Wendy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1564586154 ISBN 13: 9781564586155

Publisher: Dk Pub, 1997

Synopsis

"The story of painting is one that is immensely rich in meaning, yet its value is all too often hidden from us by the complexities of historians. We must forget the densities of 'history' and simply surrender to the wonder of the story." --Sister Wendy Beckett

Sister Wendy's Story of Painting in 450 masterpieces--reproduced in full color--chronicles the developments and movements in painting over the past 800 years from Gothic to Renaissance, Romanticism to Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism to Modernism. Each movement is introduced by visual timelines that provide an instant overview of the important artists and paintings of that era. As she discusses various schools and movements as well as the work of dozens of individuals artists, Sister Wendy not only tackles the technical topics of perspective, color, and symbolism, she delves into the spiritual, political, and personal aspects of each painting, making art come alive for even the most novice admirer. Sister Wendy analyzes more than 30 of the world's most famous paintings, using enlarged details to explain techniques and reveal symbolism in works that include Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Rembrandt's The Jewish Bride, Monet's The Waterlily Pond, and Van Gogh's Self-Portrait. Sister Wendy's Story of Painting is an accessible overview of a subject often thought to be overwhelming and complex.

About this title

Review

For those who've enjoyed the original, the good news is that the new edition of The Story of Painting has grown by more than 300 pages of photographs--magnified close-ups of details from nearly half the 450 paintings in the book. Fauvist paint strokes become mighty slabs; sparkling light on a Dutch still life is revealed as a series of tiny dots; the cheeks of a young man in an Italian Renaissance portrait betray a touch of five o'clock shadow. This kind of close looking is seductive, and it's an important part of Sister Wendy's direct, unpretentious approach to art.

As a history of painting, Sister Wendy's book has its strong points (works with religious or spiritual themes and those that lend themselves to psychological interpretation) as well as its lapses (a very skimpy discussion of Cubism and inadequate treatment of works from the late 20th century). Even the title is a bit of a misnomer. The painting in question is purely Western; there is nothing here about Indian or Persian miniatures, or the great tradition of Chinese landscapes.

But what Sister Wendy alone offers are vivid, personal interpretations that come from a deep well of emotional sympathy with works of art. Who else would notice the way the bagpiper in The Wedding Feast by Pieter Breughel "stares at the porridge with the longing of the truly hungry"? Who else would point out how Venus--the "older woman" pleading with "virile" Adonis not to go off to war in Titian's "Venus and Adonis"--shows us "her superb back and buttocks, beguilingly rounded, full of promise." Rather than portraying Western art as the dutiful production of "masterpieces," she revels in the physicality of paint and the variety of human experience these works represent. --Cathy Curtis

About the Author

Sister Wendy Beckett is a member of the Notre Dame order, a teaching order of nuns. She studied for her degree in English at St. Anne's College, Oxford where she graduated with highest honors. After teaching in South Africa, she returned to England in 1970 to live a fully contemplative life under the protection of a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, where she lives in seclusion to this day. A lifelong art lover and recognized art historian, Sister Wendy began serious study of the subject in 1980. She writes for many art magazines and her wildly popular BBC television series, Sister Wendy's Odyssey, Sister Wendy's Grand Tour, and Sister Wendy's Story of Painting are seen on PBS.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dk Pub
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1564586154
• ISBN 13: 9781564586155
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400