Sister Wendy Beckett (1930–2018)

This small but provocative book by its diminutive yet unusual author -- an art-enthusiast who just happened to be a cloistered nun, and who achieved a well-deserved notoriety by leaving a hermitic convent to teach her artistic sensibility to the rest of us -- has a narrow but fascinating thesis: icons, the religious paintings, nee portals, into the spiritual realm, were nearly all destroyed during the early centuries of the ancient Church. One particular void in this ancient, artistic past show more were representations of Mary, the mother of Jesus; most extant works from posterity portray saints or popes. Sister Wendy, through her scholarship, tracked down eight surviving early [5th century +] icons of Mary, most in Rome, but a few in Sinai and Ukraine, and traveled to see them all. Part travelogue, part history, part art criticism, this little tome is wildly esoteric and a lot of fun! show less

"Sister Wendy Beckett's highly acclaimed insights into the work and psyche of Max Beckmann, one of the major Expressionist painters and graphic artists of the 20th century. The author sheds new light on the way the traumatic events in the artist's life were reflected in his painting and observes that "he painted himself as if thereby to find himself. If he could make visible...these lineaments, that expression, that visual record of his experience, then he might come to a deeper experience show more of what he was." By tracing the changing moods of Beckmann's painting throughout his life, Sister Wendy, with her uncanny and intimate skills of analysis, plots a fascinating series of peaks and troughs in his feeling of self-worth. She correlates these directly with events in his life, and reveals a number of hidden self-portraits. Much of Beckmann's work was dramatically influenced by the two world wars, and Sister Wendy shows how it was only the artist's last works, in America, that demonstrated he had finally reached fulfillment." show less

Wendy Beckett was a Catholic nun and an art historian. She became famous to the world as 'Sister Wendy' through a series of tv documentaries where she wanders around art galleries and discusses some of her favourite art works. Her insights are presented simply and with humane grace and understanding. Old masters that on first glance don't seem to speak to me have, after analysis from Siter Wendy, opened up insights into the human heart or the wider world that I would never have expected.

An excellent adn eclectic collection of art work with the always interesting and insightful critiques from Sister Wendy. I don't always agree with her opinions but her knowledge base and passion for art are phenomenal and always make me look closer at the art works and challenges me to rethink my original impressions which I enjoy.