What do you think?
Rate this book
The Spirit of Place: Nine Neo-Romantic Artists and Their Times
In the 1930s, Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, and John Piper—three little-known painters in England—began a movement in the world of art whose repercussions we can only now appreciate. The influence of the Neo-Romantics on the world of art is beyond Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud, David Kossoff, and Frank Auerbach all owe their renown to the great tradition of oil painting nurtured by Nash, Sutherland, and Piper. Malcom Yorke argues that the Neo-Romantics themselves traced their inspiration to the English Romanticism of William Blake and Samuel Palmer.
376 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 23, 2017
I just read (in 2017) the 1988 edition of this book.
This almost 30 year gap between publication and today gives interesting perspectives on the changing fashions in the art world. For example, Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon are discussed in the text (as bit part players really since neither of them could ever be classified as "Neo-Romantic"). Both are considered as major players in the art world at the time, but certainly not as the two mega-figures they're now seen to be.
Conversely the text considers Graham Sutherland to be a key figure both as a Neo-Romantic but also as a titanic figure in painting generally. Sutherland may or may not be that figure in artistic terms, but he certainly isn't anywhere near as 'fashionable' (i.e. expensive!) as Bacon and Freud nowadays.
The book in general focuses to a large extent on oil painters so there is very little mention of the Neo-Romantic water-colourists / Muralists like Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden. That seems a shame to me, as when I think of "Neo-Romantic" art, Ravilious and Bawden are really the two figures who spring to mind. It may again be a sign of changing fashions. Perhaps, in 1988, Ravilious was not as revered as he is now.
Anyway, a very interesting book, especially in terms of the detailed biographies of Sutherland, Paul Nash and John Piper (the three main figures discussed).
This almost 30 year gap between publication and today gives interesting perspectives on the changing fashions in the art world. For example, Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon are discussed in the text (as bit part players really since neither of them could ever be classified as "Neo-Romantic"). Both are considered as major players in the art world at the time, but certainly not as the two mega-figures they're now seen to be.
Conversely the text considers Graham Sutherland to be a key figure both as a Neo-Romantic but also as a titanic figure in painting generally. Sutherland may or may not be that figure in artistic terms, but he certainly isn't anywhere near as 'fashionable' (i.e. expensive!) as Bacon and Freud nowadays.
The book in general focuses to a large extent on oil painters so there is very little mention of the Neo-Romantic water-colourists / Muralists like Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden. That seems a shame to me, as when I think of "Neo-Romantic" art, Ravilious and Bawden are really the two figures who spring to mind. It may again be a sign of changing fashions. Perhaps, in 1988, Ravilious was not as revered as he is now.
Anyway, a very interesting book, especially in terms of the detailed biographies of Sutherland, Paul Nash and John Piper (the three main figures discussed).
Displaying 1 of 1 review