Robert Tanitch reviews two Art books
Bosch in Detail by Till-Holger Borchert (Ludion)
A wonderful opportunity to look at Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Last Judgement, The Temptation of St Anthony and The Haywain in huge detail. And there is so much to see in this magnificently produced book.
Bosch is a great story-teller and 500 years on his virtuosity, much admired in his day (c1450-151), has lost none of its impact. He lived in an age when people really did believe in devils and damnation.
His vivid and forbidding vision of Hell with its Tree-Man, reptilian demons, hybrid monsters, bizarre landscapes, apocalyptic fires, its sinister musical instruments, its naked eroticism, is monumental in its fantastic, weird and traumatic horrors.
Art in Detail 100 Masterpieces by Susie Hodge (Thames & Hudson).
It is a fair assumption that you will already know these familiar Western masterpieces which range from the 14th century to the 20th century and include such artists as Botticelli, Da Vinci, Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, Turner, Renoir, Gauguin, etc, etc. But the question is how well do you know them?
Here is an excellent opportunity to renew acquaintance with Michelangelo, Brugel, Rubens, Vermeer, Seurat, Hockney, etc, etc and to look at the paintings in detail. As a primer to whet the appetite for Art, this beautiful and very accessible book is invaluable, a joy to dip into and instantly increase a greater understanding; and, as you would expect from Thames & Hudson, it is superbly produced and the price is a fantastic bargain.
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