Reading Pictures: A History of Love and Hate
by Alberto Manguel
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Description
This book looks at the work of great artists--from the intensely familiar to the undiscovered--and examines the stories behind them, tracing the passage of life into art. For example, Pablo Picasso torments his mistress Dora Maar and then paints brilliant studies of her grief-crumpled face; these evolve into the weeping woman in his great indictment of fascism, Guernica. The author untangles what this story, and countless others, shows us of our twin impulses toward creation and destruction.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Some of his examples were completely fascinating, while others seemed like basics from an Art History class. Worth reading for the good parts due to some of his impressive examples. Found myself quickly leafing through many of the chapters until something struck my attention. Art History was my major, so maybe better-appreciated by one who hasn't already been exposed to a lot of it.
A look at art, humanity, and history through a careful reading of paintings, photography, sculpture, and architecture. Remarkable, wonderful, and insightful.
4 stars oc
4 stars oc
good discussion of not the usual art.
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Author Information
127+ Works 16,330 Members
Alberto Manguel is a Canadian writer, translator, editor, and critic. Born in Buenos Aires, he has since resided in Israel, Argentina, Europe, the South Pacific, and Canada.
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Kunstlezen. Over het kijken naar beeldende kunst
- Original title
- Reading Pictures. A History of Love and Hate
- Original publication date
- 2000
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 433
- Popularity
- 70,825
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.85)
- Languages
- 8 — Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 21
- ASINs
- 3
