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marginaliant's reviews
1060 reviews
Neoclassicism and Romanticism by Silvestra Bietoletti
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Like the others in this series, it's a wonderful introduction to the period without getting too bogged down in Art History rhetoric or value judgement. Unfortunately, if you're looking for a book that will engage in in-depth analysis, this isn't the book for you, but it's a nice way to cover lots of artists so you get a broad, sweeping understanding of the movements, their sub-categories, and several of the artists that participated in it.
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
5.0
This was a truly wonderful book, despite how long it took me to get through it. Berendt really makes reading this historical book read like fiction, smoothly gliding from one topic to another. And there are a lot of topics. Though the book is "centered" around the theme of the fire that consumed the Fenice Opera House in 1996, it branches out to discuss the happenings of prominent (and not so prominent) Venetian residents, from the battle over the estate of Ezra Pound to the man who discovered perfect recipe(s) for rat poison. It can be very involved in the politics and business of certain events (like the Save Venice Foundation debacle), though Berendt stays unbiased for much of it. What stuns me is how he manages to get all of these interviews with famous figures of Venice, he seems to be able to call up anyone and get an interview. He must be extraordinarily charismatic, I'd love to have coffee with him.
Anyway, if you're at all interested in Venice but want to read something other than Renaissance history, definitely get this book. Highly recommended.
Anyway, if you're at all interested in Venice but want to read something other than Renaissance history, definitely get this book. Highly recommended.
From Realism to Art Nouveau by Laura Lombardi
2.0
I didn't think this book was as well written as others in the same series, but that might just be because I don't like the impressionists. It's a good primer for the genres and has huge lists of paintings and sculpture to look at, so if you're interested in them this is a great place to start.
Medieval Art by Veronica Sekules
2.0
Ehh. I didn't really like this book. Certainly not the worst book I've read about Medieval Art, but still pretty bad. The writing was decent if bland and there were some pieces I hadn't seen before, but the organization was horrible. It went by topic without considering dates so all the information was jumbled and confused (especially when the pieces of later Medieval art contradicted the themes of early Medieval art.) And there were a few occasions when they show a close-up of a work of art next to the whole piece and the close-up is colored wrong and is a mirror image... it's just not well put together. So, you could do worse, but I'd skip it.
The Louvre: European Sculpture by Jean-René Gaborit
3.0
For what it is, this book is pretty good. It provides a catalog of sculpture from the Louvre with big, glossy pictures and the basic information about them. I powered through the scholarship written by Gaborit but you really don't have to bother if you have any art historical background. There's nothing ground-breakng there. Mostly I'm just using the book as a resource for my art blog, and for that purpose it does just fine.
Creepy-Ass Dolls by Stacey Brooks
1.0
Pictures of creepy looking dolls with "funny" captions of how they're all serial killers. Silly fun for a while, but nothing special.
Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe by
4.0
A really great source book if you're interested in Medieval history, and especially the pre-protestant religious beliefs. It's mostly primary sources, but the little introduction at the beginning of each chapter are great for contextualization and are pretty easy to understand. Would definitely recommend.