Wednesday 5 September 2007

Simon Schama's Power of Art

I have only got part way through this book but already i am enthralled. Simon Schama takes you on the journey through the stories of eight different artists (Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko) closing in upon the turning points in their lives where they created some of the most powerful and unprecedented pieces of art that altered the course of art forever. Schama doesn't just analyse the paintings, he vivdly tells their stories, delves into their personalities, and captures the substance and spirit of the times they lived in from passionate Paris to the savagery of civil-war Spain.

If you thought you knew everything about the art of these artists, think again, Schama has taught me things i would never have deducted for myself.

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