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Portraits: John Berger on Artists
One of the world’s most celebrated art writers, John Berger takes us through centuries of art in this distinctive history that will enlighten and inspire. In Portraits, Berger connects art and history in revolutionary ways, from the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet caves to Randa Mdah’s work about contemporary Palestine. In his penetrating and singular prose, Berger presents entirely new ways of thinking about art history, and artists both canonized and obscure, from Rembrandt to Henry Moore, Jackson Pollock to Picasso. Throughout, Berger maintains the essential connection between politics, art and the wider study of culture. A beautifully illustrated walk through many centuries of visual culture from one of the contemporary world's most incisive critical voices.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2015
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3829 people want to read
About the author
John Berger
241 books2,619 followersJohn Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a college text.
Later he was self exiled to continental Europe, living between the french Alps in summer and the suburbs of Paris in winter. Since then, his production has increased considerably, including a variety of genres, from novel to social essay, or poetry. One of the most common themes that appears on his books is the dialectics established between modernity and memory and loss,
Another of his most remarkable works has been the trilogy titled Into Their Labours, that includes the books Pig Earth (1979), Once In Europa (1983) Lilac And Flag (1990). With those books, Berger makes a meditation about the way of the peasant, that changes one poverty for another in the city. This theme is also observed in his novel King, but there his focus is more in the rural diaspora and the bitter side of the urban way of life.
Later he was self exiled to continental Europe, living between the french Alps in summer and the suburbs of Paris in winter. Since then, his production has increased considerably, including a variety of genres, from novel to social essay, or poetry. One of the most common themes that appears on his books is the dialectics established between modernity and memory and loss,
Another of his most remarkable works has been the trilogy titled Into Their Labours, that includes the books Pig Earth (1979), Once In Europa (1983) Lilac And Flag (1990). With those books, Berger makes a meditation about the way of the peasant, that changes one poverty for another in the city. This theme is also observed in his novel King, but there his focus is more in the rural diaspora and the bitter side of the urban way of life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
July 11, 2018
An artist's work constitutes his relationship with his fellow men.
Short Review: Intellectual masturbation
Long Review:
We live, at the moment, in a culture that is so obsessed with short-term advantages that it has already forgotten the future.
While I understand the argument against creating another coffee table book, the lack of visual reference for works being discussed means either the reader is required to have a fairly broad knowledge of art or the formalist, mannera, and color arguments are difficult to comprehend. The anti-materialist stance that drives the essentialism of Berger's arguments about artist intent is intentional. Based on an oeuvre of critiques through the years, some of the observations are stronger than others.
A set of philosophical arguments from existentialism to Marxism using art as a backdrop. A better title would be intersections. This is not an entry level book; it leaves out fundamental concepts necessary to understand the historical framework and how what Berger is saying is a twist rather than the traditional focus.
There are several ways to critique art. One can discuss form and color, historical relevance, audience reception, and artist intent. Berger does none of that here. This book is a series of essays discussing the present or near past in terms of art works that predate the events by centuries. He is making artists prophets.
At first, I found this intriguing. The arguments are interesting and well composed, and if Berger had made the case that the events are repeating rather than insinuating soothsaying, then I could agree. Several of these arguments as presented are anachronistic.
In the preface, Berger states that all the illustrations are in black and white to lend a critical credibility and not pander to the wealthy's toys. I find this extremely misguided. Even if printing does not reproduce the tones correctly, color is an intrinsic component of many works of art, to ignore or belittle it is to fail to understand it's importance. You wouldn't understand the cover image's lack of the use of gold as placing it in the terrestrial not ethereal realm. You ignore meaning. This decision is an anathema.
The introduction gives a background on Berger, presumably an unbiased view of the author for validation. It is especially focused on placing Berger as one of the people and not an elitist, if anything the vibe is hyper anti-elitist. He left the path of visual arts to pursue the written one. He's an author, thus the focus is about the words, not the art.
He's using portraits to tell stories about the time, their lives, not the pictures themselves. More a thematic overview of the artists' intents; some are brief snippets of observation, a connection seen and admired.
Leap from Early Christian, 4th century AD to 15th century, skipping Medieval art completely. The process of revelation is circle and pounce. Berger likes to divert, add the background peppered with unmade points and then unveil the connections. Very dramatic presentation.
Berger's focus and points are not always what I'd emphasize, but they are a different interpretation. Mantegna's "Bridal Room" with all of the various trees intermixed throughout the room isn't Mantegna's ignoring a hierarchy of importance that man places on the species of tree, but a nod to the Garden of Eden and all the fruit trees are fertility symbols appropriate to the location with its marital bed. The interpretation of feet and heads on the other hand, great.
The introduction was clear about Berger's Marxist leanings and the argument surrounding Bosch is an interesting intersection if thirty years out of date.
Breughel, indifference rather than realism.
Bellini, proposes the transition of Madonna and Child artworks due to man's breaking free of ignorance taking center stage during the Renaissance as discoveries are made, but Berger never states the obvious, which is the humanizing trend in art as a whole. By 1500, Martin Luther is just around the corner. Also, Berger never comments that most art done at that time was contracted. The contracts were often very detailed, even down to the quantity and quality of materials to be used.
Berger's observations of Durer were much more main stream, the Apocalyptic cults, egoism and the Protestant schism.
The penis worship in the section about Michelangelo is hysterical. The languid display of male genitalia in various works and the majesty that can spring from those loins, which gave birth to everything. Of course, not mentioning his homosexuality leaves out a significant element. Berger briefly mentioned the sibyls looking like cross dressers, but in reality it is all his women; his models were young stone masons.
Titian, Berger concludes that the mannera evident is due to confidence, not failing eye sight. Those brushstrokes, chicken or egg? His failure to mention the symbolism of dogs while arguing nudity and impotence of man, the thoughts of an old man.
Even the proposition that all flesh is feminine even male is dilettante.
I think Occam's Razor is lacking in Berger's arguments. They are interesting, perhaps relevant tidbits, but they are not the primary focus or main theme of the paintings discussed. The book demands, due to the lack of images, a familiarity with the works discussed. Ironically elitist for a book filled with arguments against hierarchy and privilege.
Berger's observations on Franz Hal's work as reactionary to the seventeenth century capitalism and the embrace of the bourse system in the Netherlands is compelling.
[Velazquez] treated all appearances as being equivalent of reflections in a mirror, thus his "optical verisimilitude" so early adopted. The argument of Spanish art in general as responsive to the geography of its origin is compelling.
Discussion about Degas focus on the mechanics and exertion of movement, a frozen moment where the subject's effort is highlighted is intriguing.
Paradoxical argument about Leger and socialism, freeing from capitalism yet specifying that Leger fetishized, always referred to his subjects as "objects". Then the comparison to Rousseau whom he thoroughly inviscerates,
The irony of Berger is that he makes this beautiful argument about Henry Moore and the presence of woman, the tactical quality of his work and the first sculpture he discusses is Moore's Falling Warrior and he fails to see the female in the form: the hips and buttocks of childbearing, falling back with no shield.
Berger's critique of Pollack and Krasner during their years together as a conversation is fascinating. Frankly, since my familiarity and knowledge is lacking in art after modernism, I found these essays to be intriguing and too brief. Undoubtedly, since I was aware of what I was missing in the earlier essays, I wonder what I am missing in these.
I don't know if it is irony or just depressing that all the postmodern artist essays revolve around dying: suicide, illness, and withering away. Even the format is shortened, almost as if obituaries themselves. I'm sure this has more to do with the original publication arena rather than the works, but it is an odd synchronicity.
Some arguments are stronger than others and those with more source material have arguments that are more aligned with the artist rather than an abstract concept. Additionally, some of the essays were published on a specific day and referencing an event, but the lack of date publishing date puts one at a disadvantage. There is an acknowledgment section that has these details, but I would have preferred the date of the original publication be present under the artist name for easier reference.
This book is filled with interesting arguments. I don't agree with all of them, but they are diverting intellectual masturbation. This is a cocktail party where the participants have a grasp of the material, and now play in the fringes. Beyond the norm and speculate. There is a beauty in the flawed and the far flung. As I stated, this is not an entry level book, but for those who are curious it is philosophically entertaining.
~Uncorrected copy provided by Netgalley~
Short Review: Intellectual masturbation
Long Review:
We live, at the moment, in a culture that is so obsessed with short-term advantages that it has already forgotten the future.
While I understand the argument against creating another coffee table book, the lack of visual reference for works being discussed means either the reader is required to have a fairly broad knowledge of art or the formalist, mannera, and color arguments are difficult to comprehend. The anti-materialist stance that drives the essentialism of Berger's arguments about artist intent is intentional. Based on an oeuvre of critiques through the years, some of the observations are stronger than others.
A set of philosophical arguments from existentialism to Marxism using art as a backdrop. A better title would be intersections. This is not an entry level book; it leaves out fundamental concepts necessary to understand the historical framework and how what Berger is saying is a twist rather than the traditional focus.
There are several ways to critique art. One can discuss form and color, historical relevance, audience reception, and artist intent. Berger does none of that here. This book is a series of essays discussing the present or near past in terms of art works that predate the events by centuries. He is making artists prophets.
At first, I found this intriguing. The arguments are interesting and well composed, and if Berger had made the case that the events are repeating rather than insinuating soothsaying, then I could agree. Several of these arguments as presented are anachronistic.
In the preface, Berger states that all the illustrations are in black and white to lend a critical credibility and not pander to the wealthy's toys. I find this extremely misguided. Even if printing does not reproduce the tones correctly, color is an intrinsic component of many works of art, to ignore or belittle it is to fail to understand it's importance. You wouldn't understand the cover image's lack of the use of gold as placing it in the terrestrial not ethereal realm. You ignore meaning. This decision is an anathema.
The introduction gives a background on Berger, presumably an unbiased view of the author for validation. It is especially focused on placing Berger as one of the people and not an elitist, if anything the vibe is hyper anti-elitist. He left the path of visual arts to pursue the written one. He's an author, thus the focus is about the words, not the art.
He's using portraits to tell stories about the time, their lives, not the pictures themselves. More a thematic overview of the artists' intents; some are brief snippets of observation, a connection seen and admired.
Leap from Early Christian, 4th century AD to 15th century, skipping Medieval art completely. The process of revelation is circle and pounce. Berger likes to divert, add the background peppered with unmade points and then unveil the connections. Very dramatic presentation.
Berger's focus and points are not always what I'd emphasize, but they are a different interpretation. Mantegna's "Bridal Room" with all of the various trees intermixed throughout the room isn't Mantegna's ignoring a hierarchy of importance that man places on the species of tree, but a nod to the Garden of Eden and all the fruit trees are fertility symbols appropriate to the location with its marital bed. The interpretation of feet and heads on the other hand, great.
The introduction was clear about Berger's Marxist leanings and the argument surrounding Bosch is an interesting intersection if thirty years out of date.
Breughel, indifference rather than realism.
Bellini, proposes the transition of Madonna and Child artworks due to man's breaking free of ignorance taking center stage during the Renaissance as discoveries are made, but Berger never states the obvious, which is the humanizing trend in art as a whole. By 1500, Martin Luther is just around the corner. Also, Berger never comments that most art done at that time was contracted. The contracts were often very detailed, even down to the quantity and quality of materials to be used.
Berger's observations of Durer were much more main stream, the Apocalyptic cults, egoism and the Protestant schism.
The penis worship in the section about Michelangelo is hysterical. The languid display of male genitalia in various works and the majesty that can spring from those loins, which gave birth to everything. Of course, not mentioning his homosexuality leaves out a significant element. Berger briefly mentioned the sibyls looking like cross dressers, but in reality it is all his women; his models were young stone masons.
Titian, Berger concludes that the mannera evident is due to confidence, not failing eye sight. Those brushstrokes, chicken or egg? His failure to mention the symbolism of dogs while arguing nudity and impotence of man, the thoughts of an old man.
Finally, the act of painting, continually repeating like fornication, becomes a body.
Even the proposition that all flesh is feminine even male is dilettante.
I think Occam's Razor is lacking in Berger's arguments. They are interesting, perhaps relevant tidbits, but they are not the primary focus or main theme of the paintings discussed. The book demands, due to the lack of images, a familiarity with the works discussed. Ironically elitist for a book filled with arguments against hierarchy and privilege.
Berger's observations on Franz Hal's work as reactionary to the seventeenth century capitalism and the embrace of the bourse system in the Netherlands is compelling.
[Velazquez] treated all appearances as being equivalent of reflections in a mirror, thus his "optical verisimilitude" so early adopted. The argument of Spanish art in general as responsive to the geography of its origin is compelling.
Discussion about Degas focus on the mechanics and exertion of movement, a frozen moment where the subject's effort is highlighted is intriguing.
Paradoxical argument about Leger and socialism, freeing from capitalism yet specifying that Leger fetishized, always referred to his subjects as "objects". Then the comparison to Rousseau whom he thoroughly inviscerates,
He made an art of visual wonder out of the visual scraps sold to and foisted upon the petty bourgeoisie.Yet, their shared sense of optimism of modernity rather than alienation is a fine observation.
The irony of Berger is that he makes this beautiful argument about Henry Moore and the presence of woman, the tactical quality of his work and the first sculpture he discusses is Moore's Falling Warrior and he fails to see the female in the form: the hips and buttocks of childbearing, falling back with no shield.
Berger's critique of Pollack and Krasner during their years together as a conversation is fascinating. Frankly, since my familiarity and knowledge is lacking in art after modernism, I found these essays to be intriguing and too brief. Undoubtedly, since I was aware of what I was missing in the earlier essays, I wonder what I am missing in these.
I don't know if it is irony or just depressing that all the postmodern artist essays revolve around dying: suicide, illness, and withering away. Even the format is shortened, almost as if obituaries themselves. I'm sure this has more to do with the original publication arena rather than the works, but it is an odd synchronicity.
Some arguments are stronger than others and those with more source material have arguments that are more aligned with the artist rather than an abstract concept. Additionally, some of the essays were published on a specific day and referencing an event, but the lack of date publishing date puts one at a disadvantage. There is an acknowledgment section that has these details, but I would have preferred the date of the original publication be present under the artist name for easier reference.
This book is filled with interesting arguments. I don't agree with all of them, but they are diverting intellectual masturbation. This is a cocktail party where the participants have a grasp of the material, and now play in the fringes. Beyond the norm and speculate. There is a beauty in the flawed and the far flung. As I stated, this is not an entry level book, but for those who are curious it is philosophically entertaining.
~Uncorrected copy provided by Netgalley~
August 12, 2018
John Berger Portreler kitabında resim olarak portrelerden bahsetmiyor, çoğunluğu ressam ve daha az kısmı heykel sanatçısı olan 70’in üstündeki sanatçının kişiliği, sanatı ve düş dünyalarıyla ilgili “sanatçı portreler”ini anlatıyor. Bunu yaparken tabii ki bu sanatçıların eserlerini esas alıyor, bazen sanat eleştirisi, bazen politik eleştiri bazen felsefi eleştiri silahlarını kullanıyor.
Olağanüstü entellektüel birikimini ( bazen yerine denk gelmese de) okuyucuyla paylaşıyor. Hemen hemen hepsi 20. yüzyılda yaşamış veya halen sağ olan 32 sanatçı hakkında hiçbir bilgim yoktu. Bu konudaki eleştirimi aşağıda aktaracağım. Bu arada İspanyol heykeltraş Juan Munoz ile ilgili yaklaşık on sayfanın nerdeyse dokuzunun büyük usta Nazım Hikmet ile ilgili bilgi ve şiirlerle dolu olması şaşırtıcı ve sevindiriciydi.
Aslında beş yıldızlık bir çalışma belki ama benim elim dört yıldızdan fazlasına gitmedi. Neden mi ? Yazar açıklamasında kalıcı olması, unutulmaması, hep hatırlanması için resimleri özellikle siyah- beyaz seçtiğini belirtiyor. Bence bu fahiş bir hata olmuş, çünkü resimler bu haliyle çok yanıltıcı, niteliklerini yitirmiş, büyüleri bozulmuş resimlikten çıkıp birer obje haline gelmişler. Canlılık, kontrast, uyum hiç bir şey belli değil. Bırakın empresyonistleri, başta Matisse, Goya, Guttuso olmak üzere tüm sanatçıları katletmiş bu seçimiyle John Berger.
Bir diğer eleştirim Hieronymus Bosch gibi muhteşem bir ressam hiç yer almazken, Pieter Brugel gibi bir başka muhteşem ressam da iki satırla geçiştirilmiş. Vermeer, A. Warholl, S. Dali de yoklar arasında. Buna karşın çoğu arkadaşı olan ve internette saptayabildiğim kadarıyla hiç önemi olmayan sanatçılar kitapta yer almış. Bizden sadece Abidin Dino var (o da arkadaş), halbuki böyle bir çalışmada Neşe Erdok, Fikret Otyam, Nuri İyem olmalıydı diye düşünüyorum.
Kitaba başlarsanız normal okuma sürenizi iki ile çarpın çünkü sıklıkla bazı eserleri renkli görmek için internete göz atmanız şart. Jean Francois Millet’i tanımam da bu kitap sayesinde oldu.
Olağanüstü entellektüel birikimini ( bazen yerine denk gelmese de) okuyucuyla paylaşıyor. Hemen hemen hepsi 20. yüzyılda yaşamış veya halen sağ olan 32 sanatçı hakkında hiçbir bilgim yoktu. Bu konudaki eleştirimi aşağıda aktaracağım. Bu arada İspanyol heykeltraş Juan Munoz ile ilgili yaklaşık on sayfanın nerdeyse dokuzunun büyük usta Nazım Hikmet ile ilgili bilgi ve şiirlerle dolu olması şaşırtıcı ve sevindiriciydi.
Aslında beş yıldızlık bir çalışma belki ama benim elim dört yıldızdan fazlasına gitmedi. Neden mi ? Yazar açıklamasında kalıcı olması, unutulmaması, hep hatırlanması için resimleri özellikle siyah- beyaz seçtiğini belirtiyor. Bence bu fahiş bir hata olmuş, çünkü resimler bu haliyle çok yanıltıcı, niteliklerini yitirmiş, büyüleri bozulmuş resimlikten çıkıp birer obje haline gelmişler. Canlılık, kontrast, uyum hiç bir şey belli değil. Bırakın empresyonistleri, başta Matisse, Goya, Guttuso olmak üzere tüm sanatçıları katletmiş bu seçimiyle John Berger.
Bir diğer eleştirim Hieronymus Bosch gibi muhteşem bir ressam hiç yer almazken, Pieter Brugel gibi bir başka muhteşem ressam da iki satırla geçiştirilmiş. Vermeer, A. Warholl, S. Dali de yoklar arasında. Buna karşın çoğu arkadaşı olan ve internette saptayabildiğim kadarıyla hiç önemi olmayan sanatçılar kitapta yer almış. Bizden sadece Abidin Dino var (o da arkadaş), halbuki böyle bir çalışmada Neşe Erdok, Fikret Otyam, Nuri İyem olmalıydı diye düşünüyorum.
Kitaba başlarsanız normal okuma sürenizi iki ile çarpın çünkü sıklıkla bazı eserleri renkli görmek için internete göz atmanız şart. Jean Francois Millet’i tanımam da bu kitap sayesinde oldu.
February 14, 2017
I began reading this book while the author was still alive, and finished it after his death. That has inescapably lent the experience a transcendent dimension, quite aside from the content of the book, which I also feel to be, in a sense, transcendent.
In 'Portraits', John Berger appears like a modern-day Vasari – an infinitely cleverer and more perceptive Vasari, not content to write the biographical synopses, the lives, of the artists, but rather tackling the life of the art, or perhaps the life of the artist through the art.
This is a five-star book; I have little doubt about that. Few art historians, or indeed any writers, write with such panache and feeling as John Berger does/did. He is/was the master not only of showing us how to see and how to feel a work of art, but also of conveying all that seeing and feeling to others.
In ‘On the Art of Reading and Writing’ (an essay from 1985) the Swedish writer, critic, and literary scholar Olof Lagercrantz wrote: ‘Rainbows, rockets, slivers of mirror and arrows are important for a good text. I mean by that connections between different times, places, consciousnesses and aims that point backwards and forwards. As the tale moves along, its kernel must lie still while everything around it is in motion.’ I don’t know if John Berger was aware of or had read Olof Lagercrantz, but ‘Portraits’ is one long and brilliant illustration of Lagercrantz’s idea.
My favourite piece may be the one on Holbein the younger, which starts off with the author in pursuit of his dead Christ and ending up in a museum where it is not to be found and instead writing about a handful of other paintings there, including a late Rothko, but with everything infused with the absent Holbein. It's as an absolute masterstroke of art-historical writing!
If I shall indulge in a (very little) criticism of a book I enjoyed thoroughly it must be to mention that the texts are arranged chronologically according to the birth date of the painters rather than chronologically according to the year of composition. This invariably creates a somewhat unsettling and disorienting experience for the reader. Berger’s voice and perspective did of course change as he went through life, so this organization of the material means that one finds oneself towards the end of the book reading some texts which he apparently wrote early on in his career, texts with what seem like half-formed views compared to chapters earlier in the book, which were composed later. I’m not sure what the solution to this would have been. After all, by arranging the texts by year of composition rather than the way they are now, the book would have lost its essential structure and in a sense it’s raison d’être. Perhaps one option might have been for Tom Overton to not have included some of the weaker, more fragmentary pieces, in some cases featuring artists known, it seems, almost to Berger alone. The book is certainly big enough to afford some cutting. But this is small-fry as far as criticism goes.
One of the things I enjoyed most about ‘Portraits’ was its sparcity of illustrations. This may seem like an odd thing to say and I certainly don’t in general prefer art books with few or poorly reproduced illustrations. In this case, however, reading it with the internet as a necessary on-off companion made it all the more interesting, choosing to look up some images treated, but also choosing, critically, to not look up others, but to let the text stand in for them. Or, in some cases, looking them up and being disappointed with what I found. This is one of the perils of good writing on art and music: the descriptions often intrigue and not seldom create an anticipation not realized when encountering the thing described.
A very good art writer (and seer and thinker) like Berger easily lends art, any art, a resonance, a meaning, a significance, and a beauty far more profound than anything you are able to infuse it with yourself, especially on a first viewing. It is therefore a privilege to see these works and artists through his deep-seeing, dowsing eyes and to be reminded that one of the points of art or indeed of any human creation is the chain of thoughts, feelings and reactions it can set off – the part it plays in the never-ending human conversation on all-things.
In 'Portraits', John Berger appears like a modern-day Vasari – an infinitely cleverer and more perceptive Vasari, not content to write the biographical synopses, the lives, of the artists, but rather tackling the life of the art, or perhaps the life of the artist through the art.
This is a five-star book; I have little doubt about that. Few art historians, or indeed any writers, write with such panache and feeling as John Berger does/did. He is/was the master not only of showing us how to see and how to feel a work of art, but also of conveying all that seeing and feeling to others.
In ‘On the Art of Reading and Writing’ (an essay from 1985) the Swedish writer, critic, and literary scholar Olof Lagercrantz wrote: ‘Rainbows, rockets, slivers of mirror and arrows are important for a good text. I mean by that connections between different times, places, consciousnesses and aims that point backwards and forwards. As the tale moves along, its kernel must lie still while everything around it is in motion.’ I don’t know if John Berger was aware of or had read Olof Lagercrantz, but ‘Portraits’ is one long and brilliant illustration of Lagercrantz’s idea.
My favourite piece may be the one on Holbein the younger, which starts off with the author in pursuit of his dead Christ and ending up in a museum where it is not to be found and instead writing about a handful of other paintings there, including a late Rothko, but with everything infused with the absent Holbein. It's as an absolute masterstroke of art-historical writing!
If I shall indulge in a (very little) criticism of a book I enjoyed thoroughly it must be to mention that the texts are arranged chronologically according to the birth date of the painters rather than chronologically according to the year of composition. This invariably creates a somewhat unsettling and disorienting experience for the reader. Berger’s voice and perspective did of course change as he went through life, so this organization of the material means that one finds oneself towards the end of the book reading some texts which he apparently wrote early on in his career, texts with what seem like half-formed views compared to chapters earlier in the book, which were composed later. I’m not sure what the solution to this would have been. After all, by arranging the texts by year of composition rather than the way they are now, the book would have lost its essential structure and in a sense it’s raison d’être. Perhaps one option might have been for Tom Overton to not have included some of the weaker, more fragmentary pieces, in some cases featuring artists known, it seems, almost to Berger alone. The book is certainly big enough to afford some cutting. But this is small-fry as far as criticism goes.
One of the things I enjoyed most about ‘Portraits’ was its sparcity of illustrations. This may seem like an odd thing to say and I certainly don’t in general prefer art books with few or poorly reproduced illustrations. In this case, however, reading it with the internet as a necessary on-off companion made it all the more interesting, choosing to look up some images treated, but also choosing, critically, to not look up others, but to let the text stand in for them. Or, in some cases, looking them up and being disappointed with what I found. This is one of the perils of good writing on art and music: the descriptions often intrigue and not seldom create an anticipation not realized when encountering the thing described.
A very good art writer (and seer and thinker) like Berger easily lends art, any art, a resonance, a meaning, a significance, and a beauty far more profound than anything you are able to infuse it with yourself, especially on a first viewing. It is therefore a privilege to see these works and artists through his deep-seeing, dowsing eyes and to be reminded that one of the points of art or indeed of any human creation is the chain of thoughts, feelings and reactions it can set off – the part it plays in the never-ending human conversation on all-things.
July 25, 2015
Disclaimer: ARC read via Netgalley, courtesy of Verso. Book is being released October 27. 2015.
It was my friend who introduced me to John Berger. When I say introduce, I mean in the way every reader does; in this case, by reading Ways of seeing (which is a very thoughtful, read it). Since then I enjoy reading Berger. I may not always agree with him, but I always learn something new or learn to look at something, anything, a new way.
Portraits is a collection of Berger’s writing on artists, and by extension art. It is arranged in chronological order by artist, so we start in the Stone Age with the paintings on Chauvet Cave and ending with Randa Mdah, who if you are like me and have no idea who she is, she was born in 1983. The chapter about her work is mediation, among other things, on the Israel and Palestinian conflict.
And that is what makes this book interesting as well as what makes Berger so accessible and so wonderful for a reader like me. I enjoy art, and I love going to museums, but I am not, in any way shape or form, an art historian or critic. I love the work of Parrish for his color and his illustration, Toulouse Lautrec is awesome because of his horses, the same with Stubbs but with the addition of dogs. One of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery in Washington DC is of the New Kirk in Amsterdam. I like it because the artist has a sense of humor – there is a dog taking a piss in the corner. I love Whistler, but not his mother – his etchings are where it is at. Well, those and the Peacock Room.
In short, I do not think (and most likely I am wrong) that Berger would condemn me, as some have, when I say something like my favorite painting in Montreal’s art museum is “We Were the First that Ever Burst the Silent Sea” by John Macallan Swan because it is of polar bears. Because I see something new and different every time I look at, and it brings me peace.
Berger understands that for each person art is in some ways different. This is way the essays about artists are constructed in different ways. Many times, it is about a response to that art, a personal response. Therefore, when writing about Antonello de Messina, Berger recounts a story about a guard, or when writing about Mantega, it becomes a conversation with his daughter. There is something charming about these, and despite the personal nation and structure of these chapters, there is so much packed into them.
It’s also hard not to like a book where Berger can say that Michelango’s Sibyls are really men in drag (he’s right). There is a beautiful section on Monet that will make readers weep. His comments on Goya and flesh are startling, but when you think about them and study a few paintings by Goya, it’s hard not to agree with Berger, whom himself finds that aspect hard to put into words.
The book is also about discovery, for he does either introduce artists that one hasn’t heard of or (and) new ways of looking at things. His decision to not include color reproductions of the art seems strange at first (especially when dealing with say Matisse), but makes sense as the book goes on (especially with Matisse). Perhaps some readers will wonder what about choices, in particular those that are left out – but if this is a personal museum, it really doesn’t matter. Quite frankly, I like having my horizons broadened by the inclusion of less well known artists.
In short, if you are even a little bit interested in art, read this. It is at once the view of critic/historian but written with the view of the everyday viewer. The “no nothing”. Loved it.
It was my friend who introduced me to John Berger. When I say introduce, I mean in the way every reader does; in this case, by reading Ways of seeing (which is a very thoughtful, read it). Since then I enjoy reading Berger. I may not always agree with him, but I always learn something new or learn to look at something, anything, a new way.
Portraits is a collection of Berger’s writing on artists, and by extension art. It is arranged in chronological order by artist, so we start in the Stone Age with the paintings on Chauvet Cave and ending with Randa Mdah, who if you are like me and have no idea who she is, she was born in 1983. The chapter about her work is mediation, among other things, on the Israel and Palestinian conflict.
And that is what makes this book interesting as well as what makes Berger so accessible and so wonderful for a reader like me. I enjoy art, and I love going to museums, but I am not, in any way shape or form, an art historian or critic. I love the work of Parrish for his color and his illustration, Toulouse Lautrec is awesome because of his horses, the same with Stubbs but with the addition of dogs. One of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery in Washington DC is of the New Kirk in Amsterdam. I like it because the artist has a sense of humor – there is a dog taking a piss in the corner. I love Whistler, but not his mother – his etchings are where it is at. Well, those and the Peacock Room.
In short, I do not think (and most likely I am wrong) that Berger would condemn me, as some have, when I say something like my favorite painting in Montreal’s art museum is “We Were the First that Ever Burst the Silent Sea” by John Macallan Swan because it is of polar bears. Because I see something new and different every time I look at, and it brings me peace.
Berger understands that for each person art is in some ways different. This is way the essays about artists are constructed in different ways. Many times, it is about a response to that art, a personal response. Therefore, when writing about Antonello de Messina, Berger recounts a story about a guard, or when writing about Mantega, it becomes a conversation with his daughter. There is something charming about these, and despite the personal nation and structure of these chapters, there is so much packed into them.
It’s also hard not to like a book where Berger can say that Michelango’s Sibyls are really men in drag (he’s right). There is a beautiful section on Monet that will make readers weep. His comments on Goya and flesh are startling, but when you think about them and study a few paintings by Goya, it’s hard not to agree with Berger, whom himself finds that aspect hard to put into words.
The book is also about discovery, for he does either introduce artists that one hasn’t heard of or (and) new ways of looking at things. His decision to not include color reproductions of the art seems strange at first (especially when dealing with say Matisse), but makes sense as the book goes on (especially with Matisse). Perhaps some readers will wonder what about choices, in particular those that are left out – but if this is a personal museum, it really doesn’t matter. Quite frankly, I like having my horizons broadened by the inclusion of less well known artists.
In short, if you are even a little bit interested in art, read this. It is at once the view of critic/historian but written with the view of the everyday viewer. The “no nothing”. Loved it.
December 23, 2016
Portraits: John Berger on Artists is an exploration of centuries of art through the eyes and penetrating prose of the art critic, John Berger. Beginning with the paintings in the Chauvet Cave (c. 30,000 years BCE) through to the early 21st Century with the work of Randa Mdah, Berger situates the artist and his/her art in a historical context while simultaneously making us re-see already familiar works of art in a totally new way.
The book is poorly illustrated, its black and white photos blurred and of little help. However, most of the art referred to in the text is easily accessible on the Internet in full, blazing color.
In all, Berger discusses 74 artists and their works. Some of his essays are stronger than others, but all offer new insights. And some of these insights are breathtaking. Berger has an uncanny ability to take something initially appearing as tangential in a painting and make it his focus. He does this, for example, with the hand prints in the Chauvet Cave; the opaque window in Carvaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew; the eyes in Diego Velazquez’ Aesop. He draws our attention to a detail in a painting that was always there but that somehow we had overlooked.
Berger interacts with art in a deeply personal way, humanizing it for us and for himself. His chapter on Rembrandt forges an intimate connection with the artist and his work to such a degree that we begin to see the famous paintings in a new light. And this is true not just of Rembrandt but of many of the artists Berger discusses.
In his analyses of artists and their art, Berger reveals much about himself, his approach to art, and his politics. He doesn’t withhold his opinions. And he doesn’t hesitate to go sauntering off in an entirely new direction, describing a chance encounter with something or someone that fascinates him. For example, in the chapter on Willem Drost, Berger is captivated by the image and words of an elderly, diminutive tour guide who tosses off her expert knowledge of the paintings in a unique, almost cavalier manner. As she completes the guided tour and abruptly exits the gallery, Berger muses on the possible contents of the Marks and Spencer bag she carries.
Finally, what makes Portraits so impressive is Berger’s penetrating prose and his ability to juxtapose seemingly disparate entities in his discussion. For example, he describes Yvonne Barlow’s paintings as having a musical sense of composition— “Chopinesque.” In a letter to Leon Kossoff, he claims an art studio is “like a stomach. A place of digestion, transformation, and excretion.” Cy Twombly is referred to as “the painterly master of verbal silence.” And Berger assures us he “listens” to the paintings of Liane Birnberg. Such juxtapositions startle. They force one to pause and re-think everything one thought one knew about art.
In the end, Berger’s Portraits is not simply a discussion about art. It is about the role art and the artist have played and continue to play in our lives. It is about art speaking to us on an intimate level. And by looking at art through the lens of this intense, perceptive art critic, we learn about the heart and soul of John Berger, about artists and their art, and about life.
The book is poorly illustrated, its black and white photos blurred and of little help. However, most of the art referred to in the text is easily accessible on the Internet in full, blazing color.
In all, Berger discusses 74 artists and their works. Some of his essays are stronger than others, but all offer new insights. And some of these insights are breathtaking. Berger has an uncanny ability to take something initially appearing as tangential in a painting and make it his focus. He does this, for example, with the hand prints in the Chauvet Cave; the opaque window in Carvaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew; the eyes in Diego Velazquez’ Aesop. He draws our attention to a detail in a painting that was always there but that somehow we had overlooked.
Berger interacts with art in a deeply personal way, humanizing it for us and for himself. His chapter on Rembrandt forges an intimate connection with the artist and his work to such a degree that we begin to see the famous paintings in a new light. And this is true not just of Rembrandt but of many of the artists Berger discusses.
In his analyses of artists and their art, Berger reveals much about himself, his approach to art, and his politics. He doesn’t withhold his opinions. And he doesn’t hesitate to go sauntering off in an entirely new direction, describing a chance encounter with something or someone that fascinates him. For example, in the chapter on Willem Drost, Berger is captivated by the image and words of an elderly, diminutive tour guide who tosses off her expert knowledge of the paintings in a unique, almost cavalier manner. As she completes the guided tour and abruptly exits the gallery, Berger muses on the possible contents of the Marks and Spencer bag she carries.
Finally, what makes Portraits so impressive is Berger’s penetrating prose and his ability to juxtapose seemingly disparate entities in his discussion. For example, he describes Yvonne Barlow’s paintings as having a musical sense of composition— “Chopinesque.” In a letter to Leon Kossoff, he claims an art studio is “like a stomach. A place of digestion, transformation, and excretion.” Cy Twombly is referred to as “the painterly master of verbal silence.” And Berger assures us he “listens” to the paintings of Liane Birnberg. Such juxtapositions startle. They force one to pause and re-think everything one thought one knew about art.
In the end, Berger’s Portraits is not simply a discussion about art. It is about the role art and the artist have played and continue to play in our lives. It is about art speaking to us on an intimate level. And by looking at art through the lens of this intense, perceptive art critic, we learn about the heart and soul of John Berger, about artists and their art, and about life.
July 30, 2019
"Sanat eleştirmeni olarak anılmaktan oldum olası nefret etmişimdir" diyor John Berger Portreler'in önsözünde. Bu kitap boyunca da -bence- klasik eleştirilere yer vermiyor zaten. "...bir sanatçının gözlemde bulunması sadece gözlerini kullanmaktan ibaret değildir; dürüstlüğünün, gördüğünü anlamlandırmak için kendi kendisiyle mücadelesinin sonucudur" diyen Berger o mücadele süreçlerine de yer veriyor kimi zaman. Pek çok ressamı, resmi, heykeli üzerine adeta öykü tadında yazılarla bir nevi tanıtıyor okuyuca. Okurken sanatın dalları arasında nasıl bağlantılar olduğunu, sanatın etrafta yaşanan hadiselerden nasıl kopartılamayacağını da net bir şekilde okumak mümkün.
Resimle aranız nasıl bilemiyorum, ben bu konuda çok bilgili olduğumu iddia edemem; ancak kitabı çok büyük bir keyifle okuduğumu, pek çok yerde durup ilgili ressamın resimlerini incelediğimi, pek çok yeni isimle tanıştığımı rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim. Bunların haricinde bu kitapla birlikte Berger ile de tanıştım, biraz geç oldu; ama yine de "geç olsun, güç olmasın" diyorlar, öyle değil mi?
Resimle aranız nasıl bilemiyorum, ben bu konuda çok bilgili olduğumu iddia edemem; ancak kitabı çok büyük bir keyifle okuduğumu, pek çok yerde durup ilgili ressamın resimlerini incelediğimi, pek çok yeni isimle tanıştığımı rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim. Bunların haricinde bu kitapla birlikte Berger ile de tanıştım, biraz geç oldu; ama yine de "geç olsun, güç olmasın" diyorlar, öyle değil mi?
May 11, 2020
Şu zamana kadar okuduğum en kaliteli sanat kitaplarından birinin yorumu ile geldim. John Berger karakteri, sanat yorumculuğu ve kalemi ile bizlere o kadar kaliteli bir kitap bırakmış ki hayran olmamak elimde değil. Daha öncesinde yazardan Manzaralar ve Görme Biçimlerini okumuştum. Bu iki kitabı çok beğendiğim için Portreler’i de çok seveceğimi düşünüyordum.
Kitap, Berger’in sanatçılar ve eserleri üzerine eleştirileri ve yorumlarını içeriyor. M.Ö yaklaşık 3000 yılından başlıyor ve 1983’e kadar bir çok sanatçının eserlerini, sanata bakış açılarını inceliyor. Kitaptaki eserler ve sanatçıların sıralaması kronolojik olduğu için sanat tarihi kitabı gibi olduğunuda düşünebiliriz.
Berger’in Manzaralar kitabında olduğu gibi bu kitapta da hikaye anlatıcılığı fazlasıyla öne çıkmış. Yer yer sanat eserlerinin ya da sanatçıların hikayelerini bize aktarırken günüzmüzden ya da tarihi olaylardan bağlamlar kurarak okuyucuya anlaşılması daha kolay ve daha akılda kalıcı metinler hazırlamış. Benim için bu okumayı en keyifli kılan özelliklerden biri bu idi.
Kitabı neredeyse bir aylık bir süre içinde zamana yararak okudum, okumak isteyenlerede aynı şekilde okumalarını öneririm. Bir oturuşta okuyayarak tüketilecek bir kitap olduğunu düşünmüyorum. Ben okuduğum her bölümden sonra sanatçılar hakkında araştırma yaparak daha çok bilgi edinmeye ve okuduklarımı daha iyi kavramaya çalıştım.
Kitabı merak eden herkese öneririm. Sadece sanat kitabı okuması olduğunu düşünmeden de okuyarak hayata dair birçok detayı kitapta yakayalayabilirsiniz.
January 24, 2021
"Bir sanat eleştirmeni ve yazarı olarak Berger’ın Portreler kitabı uzun ömründe ortaya koymaya çalıştığı sanat kavrayışının yansıması olarak bir yanıyla alternatif sanat tarihi okuması sunuyor." (1)
500 sayfa, 74 sanatçı. sanat tarihine dair en ufak bilgim yoktu bu kitaba başlarken. aklımda canlanan şey, sanatçılar, çizdikleri resimler, üzerine konuşmalar "ne anlatmak istedi" tadında temel sohbetlerdi, bu tabii tamamen benim ilgisizliğimden ötürü. kitapla beraber, durumun aslında hiç böyle olmadığını, resimlerin aslında "okunduğunu" gördüm. Berger, okuyor resimleri. bunu yaparken mekanları, kişileri, ressamın özel hayatını bir bir inceliyor, bazen ressamın ışık seçimlerini konu alırken bazen de sadece ressamın özel hayatının yansımalarını ele alıyor. benim kadar ilgisiz birine dahi üç yüz sayfayı zevkle okuttu çünkü Berger okurları sahiden bilir ki Berger okuduğunuzda onun kendi bakış açılarını, hayata dair düşündüklerini de okursunuz ki Berger çok zeki ve etkileyici biridir.
ve fakat kalan iki yüz sayfayı okumama kararı aldım çok net bir sebep söylemem mümkün olmasa da bazı bahaneler sunabilirim, resme uzun vadede ilgi beslemeyeceğimi hissedebiliyorum, ressamların resimlerini gördüğümde "aa, ne hoş" demekten öteye geçmem gerektiğini kitap bana gösterse de uzun vadede bunun için çaba sarf edeceğimi düşünmüyorum. resim ve aslında sanat okumalarının temel mantalitesini aldığımı düşündüğüm için de şimdilik rafa kaldırmakta sakınca görmüyorum.
benim şahsi deneyimimi kenara bırakacak olursak, MÖ. 30,000'e kadar gidip her resmin mekanını, ressamın duygularını, hislerini, yaşantılarını anlamak ve bu dille aktarmak sahiden büyüleyici idi. aslında bu bir deneyim tasarımı. sanat tarihi dendiğinde, akla gelenler yok bu kitapta. Berger, kendi hayat tecrübesiyle sanatçıları ve sanatçıların dünyaya bakışını yorumladığını muazzam bir deneyim sunuyor okuruna.
resimlerin renkli olmaması yorucu bir kısım oldu kendi adıma, Berger renkli olmamasını kendi istiyor ve şöyle diyor: "bu eserlerin gösterdiklerinin, günümüz tüketim dünyasında parlak renkli röprodüksiyonlarla parası bol olanlar için tasarlanan kataloglarda lüks eşya kategorisine indirgenmek istenmesidir. oysa siyah beyaz röprodüksiyonlar sadece hatırlanmak içindir." hiç de haksız gelmedi bana :)
çok güzel şeyler kattı bana, kalan sayfalar için tekrar döneceğime eminim. :)
Buseciğime de güzel hediyesi için çokça minnet sunuyorum...
(1): https://hidireliguzel.wordpress.com/2...
500 sayfa, 74 sanatçı. sanat tarihine dair en ufak bilgim yoktu bu kitaba başlarken. aklımda canlanan şey, sanatçılar, çizdikleri resimler, üzerine konuşmalar "ne anlatmak istedi" tadında temel sohbetlerdi, bu tabii tamamen benim ilgisizliğimden ötürü. kitapla beraber, durumun aslında hiç böyle olmadığını, resimlerin aslında "okunduğunu" gördüm. Berger, okuyor resimleri. bunu yaparken mekanları, kişileri, ressamın özel hayatını bir bir inceliyor, bazen ressamın ışık seçimlerini konu alırken bazen de sadece ressamın özel hayatının yansımalarını ele alıyor. benim kadar ilgisiz birine dahi üç yüz sayfayı zevkle okuttu çünkü Berger okurları sahiden bilir ki Berger okuduğunuzda onun kendi bakış açılarını, hayata dair düşündüklerini de okursunuz ki Berger çok zeki ve etkileyici biridir.
ve fakat kalan iki yüz sayfayı okumama kararı aldım çok net bir sebep söylemem mümkün olmasa da bazı bahaneler sunabilirim, resme uzun vadede ilgi beslemeyeceğimi hissedebiliyorum, ressamların resimlerini gördüğümde "aa, ne hoş" demekten öteye geçmem gerektiğini kitap bana gösterse de uzun vadede bunun için çaba sarf edeceğimi düşünmüyorum. resim ve aslında sanat okumalarının temel mantalitesini aldığımı düşündüğüm için de şimdilik rafa kaldırmakta sakınca görmüyorum.
benim şahsi deneyimimi kenara bırakacak olursak, MÖ. 30,000'e kadar gidip her resmin mekanını, ressamın duygularını, hislerini, yaşantılarını anlamak ve bu dille aktarmak sahiden büyüleyici idi. aslında bu bir deneyim tasarımı. sanat tarihi dendiğinde, akla gelenler yok bu kitapta. Berger, kendi hayat tecrübesiyle sanatçıları ve sanatçıların dünyaya bakışını yorumladığını muazzam bir deneyim sunuyor okuruna.
resimlerin renkli olmaması yorucu bir kısım oldu kendi adıma, Berger renkli olmamasını kendi istiyor ve şöyle diyor: "bu eserlerin gösterdiklerinin, günümüz tüketim dünyasında parlak renkli röprodüksiyonlarla parası bol olanlar için tasarlanan kataloglarda lüks eşya kategorisine indirgenmek istenmesidir. oysa siyah beyaz röprodüksiyonlar sadece hatırlanmak içindir." hiç de haksız gelmedi bana :)
çok güzel şeyler kattı bana, kalan sayfalar için tekrar döneceğime eminim. :)
Buseciğime de güzel hediyesi için çokça minnet sunuyorum...
(1): https://hidireliguzel.wordpress.com/2...
August 20, 2019
Fayum'da mezarlara konulmak için tasarlanan, gelecekte açığa çıkacağı ve sergileneceği düşünülmemiş portrelerin kimliği meçhul ressamlarından Kathe Kollowitz'e, Rembrandt'tan Abidin Dino'ya, 74 ressam/ heykeltraş/ enstalasyon sanatçısı hakkında John Berger'in farklı dergiler ve kitaplar için yazdığı yazıların bir derlemesi... Sanat eleştirmeni olarak anılmak istemiyor John Berger, sanat üzerine bireysel düşüncelerini bütün samimiyetiyle aktarıyor. Resmin, şiiirin, fotoğrafın ve heykelin sözlerle anlatılamayan alanına dokunmayı başarabilen ender yazarlardan John Berger.
August 17, 2024
Hey, John Berger
What did you write, John Berger
Hey, John Berger
What did you write, John Berger
Berger on Berger on Berger on Berger
Watch out for I will be teaching excerpts from this books
What did you write, John Berger
Hey, John Berger
What did you write, John Berger
Berger on Berger on Berger on Berger
Watch out for I will be teaching excerpts from this books
January 2, 2019
Berger'ın Görme Biçimleri'nden, Bento'nun Eskiz Defteri'nden, Picasso'nun Başarısı ve Başarısızlığı'ndan aşina olduğumuz dili yaklaşık 60 yıla yayılmış ressam, heykeltıraş ve performans sanatçılarına dair çözümlemelerinde yeniden vücut buluyor. Özellikle Feyyum portreleri, Yaşlı Pieter Brueghel, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Goya, Courbet, Léger, Giacometti'ye dair çözümlemeleri hem çağının sanatını ve sanatçısını hem de tarihsel akış ile birlikte toplumsal mücadeleler alanı ve kültür-sanatı birlikte kavramak için eşsiz nitelikte. En dokunaklı çözümlemelerden biri, hatta belki de en içten olanı ise Juan Muñoz'a dair kaleme aldıklarının Nâzım'a bir mektup yazar şeklinde gerçekleştiriyor olması. Sanatçıların işleriyle birlikte okunası...
September 18, 2018
“Cehennem içeriden geçersiz ilan edildiğinde, cehennemliği son bulur.”
http://www.edebiyathaber.net/john-ber...
http://www.edebiyathaber.net/john-ber...
September 25, 2018
2000 yıllık bir bienalde gezinmek gibiydi Portreler'i okumak. O bienalde keyifle gezinirken, insan kendisini Dante gibi hissediyor ; John Berger'in Vergiliusvari rehberliğinde.
December 26, 2023
John Berger nereye gidersem gideyim çıkınımda, çantamda, bavulumda götüreceğim yazarlarımdan. Kendisiyle sosyoloji okurken tanışmıştım seneler önce. On yılı geçmiş. Görme Biçimleri kadar enfes bir çalışma bu da. Romanlarını okuma fırsatım olmadı ama sanatsal ve toplumsal değerlendirme yazılarını derlediği kitaplarını topladım adım adım yudum yudum okuyor yutuyorum kendisini. Doyum olmuyor tabi ki. Bu kitabı da sanat tarihi, özellikle de resim sanatı tarihi içindeki önemli portrelerden isimlerden söz ettigi, onlarla kendince hasbihal ettiği yazılarından oluşuyor. Mağara duvar resimlerinden günümüze gelen bir kronoloji içinde belirli isimler nezdinde sanatsal ve toplumsal yorumları. John Berger kesinlikle tanışılması gereken bir yazar, düşünür, her ne kadar kendi sevmedigini söylese de sanat eleştirmeni:) ve bence sosyal bilimci de. Ne yazık ki 2017 yılında Zygmunt Bauman'la bir hafta arayla kaybettik.
June 26, 2025
There’s a lot of variety to this collection and some essays definitely stuck with me more than others, but overall the selection was very strong. The essays were (for the most part) less about the artists themselves and more about the associations Berger has with their work. My fav essay was by far the one on Caravaggio, and this part in particular lives rent free in my mind:
“When you are away, you are nevertheless present for me. This presence is multiform: it consists of countless images, passages, meanings, things known, landmarks, yet the whole remains marked by your absence, in that it is diffuse. It is as if your person becomes a place, your contours horizons. I live in you then like living in a country. You are everywhere. Yet in that country I can never meet you face to face.”
😭😭😭😭😭😭
“When you are away, you are nevertheless present for me. This presence is multiform: it consists of countless images, passages, meanings, things known, landmarks, yet the whole remains marked by your absence, in that it is diffuse. It is as if your person becomes a place, your contours horizons. I live in you then like living in a country. You are everywhere. Yet in that country I can never meet you face to face.”
😭😭😭😭😭😭
May 28, 2024
Sorry B, this collection is much weaker than Landscapes. Lets ignore the annoying lack of reference images beyond black and white thumbnails and focus on the writing.
First the wildly varied form and content of the chapters. Goya’s ends with an utterly bizarre dialogue. Titian is described via a set of postcards written between father and daughter. In one case the chapter is Berger recounting being kicked out of the Tate while doing a master study. The editor could have been more judicious with which excerpts to leave on the cutting room floor.
Beyond the stinkers there is the more general confusion of not knowing which version of Berger shows up for any given artist. To create this collection snippets were pulled from disparate dates and sources. There’s John the draftsman, who mainly comments on classical art, John the historical materialist who makes more of an appearance in modern art, John the artist’s friend—contemporary—and John the undergrad essayist: ubiquitous.
I find he’s generally at his strongest as a draftsman, this makes the first half of the book easy to recommend. These are also the longest chapters detailing well known works by old masters. Highlights include Velasquez, Della Francesca, Hans Holbein, Grunewald.
Things take a turn with materialist John. He likes to bang on about postmodernism, neoliberalism, globalisation, and the broken promises of the 20th century. This would be great if it didnt repeat every 5 pages with a different artist. In Landscapes these ideas are fleshed out and given room to breath.
Undergrad John makes a pretty sweeping statement and runs with em. These often concern what he decides is the artist’s main theme E.g. Titian’s canvases are like animal hides, Michelangelo is obsessed with male birth, Monet is about memory, Van Gogh is about work. Some of these passages are great (Van Gogh, Monet) and form the most memorable and well observed portraits. Others feel belaboured or arbitrary, and ultimately come down to observations (the quality of light, colour, depth) that are hard to appreciate as mere descriptions. Often it feels that his observations supplant research in a kind of vibes based scholarship.
Artists friend and biographer John I can abide and makes for revealing and loving portraits of unknown (to me) artists. Many of them are written for exiles, prisoners, and the recently deceased, offering the humanity and lived experience that buttress Berger’s worldview.
Landscapes still retains the humanity of artist friend John, the panoramic and critical scope of history John, the thematic clarity of undergrad John. The only thing it lacks are the tenderly observed details of craft, but get a large format picture book from the library and just enjoy those works for yourself.
First the wildly varied form and content of the chapters. Goya’s ends with an utterly bizarre dialogue. Titian is described via a set of postcards written between father and daughter. In one case the chapter is Berger recounting being kicked out of the Tate while doing a master study. The editor could have been more judicious with which excerpts to leave on the cutting room floor.
Beyond the stinkers there is the more general confusion of not knowing which version of Berger shows up for any given artist. To create this collection snippets were pulled from disparate dates and sources. There’s John the draftsman, who mainly comments on classical art, John the historical materialist who makes more of an appearance in modern art, John the artist’s friend—contemporary—and John the undergrad essayist: ubiquitous.
I find he’s generally at his strongest as a draftsman, this makes the first half of the book easy to recommend. These are also the longest chapters detailing well known works by old masters. Highlights include Velasquez, Della Francesca, Hans Holbein, Grunewald.
Things take a turn with materialist John. He likes to bang on about postmodernism, neoliberalism, globalisation, and the broken promises of the 20th century. This would be great if it didnt repeat every 5 pages with a different artist. In Landscapes these ideas are fleshed out and given room to breath.
Undergrad John makes a pretty sweeping statement and runs with em. These often concern what he decides is the artist’s main theme E.g. Titian’s canvases are like animal hides, Michelangelo is obsessed with male birth, Monet is about memory, Van Gogh is about work. Some of these passages are great (Van Gogh, Monet) and form the most memorable and well observed portraits. Others feel belaboured or arbitrary, and ultimately come down to observations (the quality of light, colour, depth) that are hard to appreciate as mere descriptions. Often it feels that his observations supplant research in a kind of vibes based scholarship.
Artists friend and biographer John I can abide and makes for revealing and loving portraits of unknown (to me) artists. Many of them are written for exiles, prisoners, and the recently deceased, offering the humanity and lived experience that buttress Berger’s worldview.
Landscapes still retains the humanity of artist friend John, the panoramic and critical scope of history John, the thematic clarity of undergrad John. The only thing it lacks are the tenderly observed details of craft, but get a large format picture book from the library and just enjoy those works for yourself.
abandoned
October 16, 2022This book offers a very personal and intrusive point of view towards art, and I mean that in the best sense possible. The book resembles a reference book, like an encyclopedia, but with longer articles and without any pretense to objectivity. We are left with very personal responses felt by John Berger as he engaged with a series of artists and art works. The book's first entry is for the "The Chalet Cave Painters (c. 30,000 BC). About them, Berger writes:
"What makes their age astounding is the sensitivity of perception they reveal. The thrust of an animal's neck or the set of its mouth or the energy of its haunches were observed and recreated with a nervousness and control comparable to what we find in the works of a Far Lippo Lippi, a Velazquez, or a Brancusi. Apparently art did not begin clumsily....The difference between then and now concerns not finesse but space: the space in which their images exist as images and were imagined. It is here - because the difference is so great - that we have to find a new way of talking....Nothing is framed in them; more important, nothing meets. Because the animals run and are seen in profile (which is essentially the view of a poorly armed hunter seeking a target) they sometimes give the impression that they're going to meet. But look more carefully: they cross without meeting. Their space has absolutely nothing in common with that of a page. When experts pretend that they can see here the beginnings of perspective, they are falling into a deep, anachronistic trap. Pictorial systems of perspective are architectural and urban - depending upon the window and the door. Nomadic perceptive is about coexistence, not about distance."
"What makes their age astounding is the sensitivity of perception they reveal. The thrust of an animal's neck or the set of its mouth or the energy of its haunches were observed and recreated with a nervousness and control comparable to what we find in the works of a Far Lippo Lippi, a Velazquez, or a Brancusi. Apparently art did not begin clumsily....The difference between then and now concerns not finesse but space: the space in which their images exist as images and were imagined. It is here - because the difference is so great - that we have to find a new way of talking....Nothing is framed in them; more important, nothing meets. Because the animals run and are seen in profile (which is essentially the view of a poorly armed hunter seeking a target) they sometimes give the impression that they're going to meet. But look more carefully: they cross without meeting. Their space has absolutely nothing in common with that of a page. When experts pretend that they can see here the beginnings of perspective, they are falling into a deep, anachronistic trap. Pictorial systems of perspective are architectural and urban - depending upon the window and the door. Nomadic perceptive is about coexistence, not about distance."
June 21, 2023
I will start by saying this may be the best book I’ve ever read, not just of art books. The book is a compilation of pieces, letters, reviews, etc. written by the late John Berger that were donated to the National Archives of the UK at his passing a few years ago. Artists stretched from cave painters 30,000 years ago to contemporary artists that are still alive and producing today.
Although I very much enjoyed reading about the various famous and less famous artists, what really stood out to me was just how outstanding of a writer John Berger was. Golly. I’ve never read such insightful, yet relatable writings on art and artists. One notion Berger states many times is that it’s impossible to write about art, but if there is a reference point for writing about art, I think he’s that reference point. Not just descriptions of art are mentioned, but deeper questions around art, the artist, and various other important aspects of creating art are touched upon. No other book has altered my perspective on a topic I enjoy as much as this book has. I very much highly recommend this book for fans of art and anyone who has the slightest interest in art, as it will expose you to thought experiments through Berger’s writing that apply mostly to life, but somewhat to art.
Although I very much enjoyed reading about the various famous and less famous artists, what really stood out to me was just how outstanding of a writer John Berger was. Golly. I’ve never read such insightful, yet relatable writings on art and artists. One notion Berger states many times is that it’s impossible to write about art, but if there is a reference point for writing about art, I think he’s that reference point. Not just descriptions of art are mentioned, but deeper questions around art, the artist, and various other important aspects of creating art are touched upon. No other book has altered my perspective on a topic I enjoy as much as this book has. I very much highly recommend this book for fans of art and anyone who has the slightest interest in art, as it will expose you to thought experiments through Berger’s writing that apply mostly to life, but somewhat to art.
December 31, 2018
Reading on these artists makes for a nice learning experience about how art relates to society. There is a nice accompaniment of poetry to mediate on. It feels like a good book to explore on retreat or before a trip to the gallery.
These are 1970’s essays and feel a bit of different than what we are used to reading today. It’s a bit Eurocentric read. In some of the essays, be prepared for a more personal and inefficient read then you might expect . At times, this book reads like an art school student journal. His argument with a museum security guard felt a bit of dramatic and probably didn’t need to entombed alongside the ancient paintings. I would recommend his other work, such as ways of seeing’s work as a starting point .
September 6, 2019
- Söyle bana umutlarımızdan ne kaldı?
+ Umutlarımızdan artakalan büyük bir hayal kırıklığı ki, yeni umutların doğmasına yol açacak. Pek çok yeni umudun
+ Umutlarımızdan artakalan büyük bir hayal kırıklığı ki, yeni umutların doğmasına yol açacak. Pek çok yeni umudun
August 30, 2019
Alternately brilliant and incredibly uninteresting - maybe if I were a Berger fan I'd like the essays that are more about him than about the artist listed. But he definitely introduced me to amazing artists I never knew before so there - decent book.
June 27, 2021
En çok müzeye gitme isteğimi körükledi diyebilirim. Bir de resim yapmak. Evet her gün bir şeyler çizebilir insan, anlamı veya anlamsız. Nihayetinde yapanın içindeki anlam ile görenin içindeki anlam arasındaki mesafe belirliyor sanatı.
July 24, 2018
Portreler, John Berger’in alternatif sanat yazılarını sevenler için bulunmaz bir nimet. Kitap, kronolojik sıraya göre mağara resimleri ile başlayıp Randa Mdah’a kadar olan süreç içinden yazarın seçtiği 74 sanat/ressam/heykeltraşa dair birkaç sayfadan oluşan yazılarının derlemesinden oluşuyor. Bu 74 sanatçının içinde bildiğim isimler dışında bilmediğim birçok sanatçı ile de tanışma fırsatı buldum. Berger’in sade ve akademiden uzak dili, onun kitaplarını herkes için anlaşılabilir hale getiriyor. Okurken yazarın gözlem yeteneğine tekrar tekrar hayran kaldım.
Yazarın, bir tablo veya sanatçı üzerine hatıralarının, deneyimlerinin ve düşlediklerinin, bilinen bilgiler ile harmanlanması kitabın kişisel sanat düşünceleri üzerine yoğunlaşan edebi bir haz kazanmasını sağlıyor.
Kitabın içinde, bahsedilen eserlerden bazılarının siyah beyaz resimleri bulunmakta. Berger bu seçimin kasıtlı olarak yapıldığını, bunun nedeninin ise piyasadaki, günümüz tüketim dünyasına uyan renkli röprodüksiyonların “parası bol olanlar için tasarlanan kataloglar ile lüks eşya kategorisine indirgenmesi” yani “masa kitabı” olarak nitelendirilen bir süs objesi haline getirilmesi olduğunu, siyah beyaz baskıların ise sadece hatırlanmak için olduğunu dile getirmiş. Bu seçimi göz önüne alırsak kitapta okuduğumuz ressamların eserleri, internet üzerinden canlı renklerle takip edilebilir, en azından ben öyle yaptım. Renkli katalog baskılara karşı mıyım? Hayır değilim bence hepsi çok göz alıcı ve ilham verici. Sanırım ben bu ilhamı alamayıp bunları “masa kitabı” haline getiren zihniyete karşıyım. Tabii bir de fiyatlarına.
Kitabın içinde bir de öyle özel bir bölüm var ki, o da Juan Munoz ile bağdaştırdığı Nazım Hikmet’e yazdığı o güzel mektuplar… “Manzaralar” adıyla yayımlanacak olan ikinci cildi heyecanla bekliyorum.
Yazarın, bir tablo veya sanatçı üzerine hatıralarının, deneyimlerinin ve düşlediklerinin, bilinen bilgiler ile harmanlanması kitabın kişisel sanat düşünceleri üzerine yoğunlaşan edebi bir haz kazanmasını sağlıyor.
Kitabın içinde, bahsedilen eserlerden bazılarının siyah beyaz resimleri bulunmakta. Berger bu seçimin kasıtlı olarak yapıldığını, bunun nedeninin ise piyasadaki, günümüz tüketim dünyasına uyan renkli röprodüksiyonların “parası bol olanlar için tasarlanan kataloglar ile lüks eşya kategorisine indirgenmesi” yani “masa kitabı” olarak nitelendirilen bir süs objesi haline getirilmesi olduğunu, siyah beyaz baskıların ise sadece hatırlanmak için olduğunu dile getirmiş. Bu seçimi göz önüne alırsak kitapta okuduğumuz ressamların eserleri, internet üzerinden canlı renklerle takip edilebilir, en azından ben öyle yaptım. Renkli katalog baskılara karşı mıyım? Hayır değilim bence hepsi çok göz alıcı ve ilham verici. Sanırım ben bu ilhamı alamayıp bunları “masa kitabı” haline getiren zihniyete karşıyım. Tabii bir de fiyatlarına.
Kitabın içinde bir de öyle özel bir bölüm var ki, o da Juan Munoz ile bağdaştırdığı Nazım Hikmet’e yazdığı o güzel mektuplar… “Manzaralar” adıyla yayımlanacak olan ikinci cildi heyecanla bekliyorum.
October 2, 2015
PORTRAITS is admittedly a dense piece of writing. In over five hundred pages, art critic and storyteller John Berger takes us through thousands of years of art history, closely examining such diverse talents as ancient cave painters, classic greats, and modern masters. Berger covers the expected artists (Rembrandt, Cezanne, Monet, van Gogh, and Picasso), as well as many I had never heard of (Basquiat, Broughton, Hambling, and Noel). In all, there are 74 artists explored in this book, and Berger is intimately connected with every one of them. This isn’t so much a volume of art history as it is a journey into Berger’s soul as he waxes poetic about color, texture, and the many ways art communicates. As Tom Overton writes in the introduction, “this book constructs a history of art that is not about distinction, but about connection; not just between artists, but between artists and us.”
I was surprised at how much of this book reads as a series of stories, stories about Berger’s own life as well as the world of the artists he explores. And Berger’s view of art and artists is uniquely his own. Of ancient cave paintings in Chauvet, he writes, “Deep in the cave, which meant deep in the earth, there was everything: wind, water, fire, faraway places, the dead, thunder, pain, paths, animals, light, the unborn … they were there in the rock to be called to.” Of Goya, he writes, “Goya’s genius as a graphic artist was that of a commentator . . . he was much more interested in events than states of mind.” Of Cezanne’s use of the color black, he writes, “It’s a black like no other in painting.” And of Pollack, he writes: “The suicide of an art is a strange idea.” These are enigmatic comments that Berger explores through intense analysis, personal vignettes, and clever anecdotes. Reading this, I felt I knew Berger – and I felt I knew the artists he was revealing to us.
My only complaint is the quality of the pictures in this book. All of the paintings are reproduced in black-and-white, which I at first assumed was because the book I was reading was an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARCs are presented as “uncorrected proofs,” which seldom include color illustrations). But Berger is clear in his preface that the decision to use black-and-white illustrations was intentional. As he puts it, “This is because glossy colour reproductions in the consumerist world of today tend to reduce what they show to items in a luxury brochure for millionaires. Whereas black and white reproductions are simple memoranda.” The illustrations in this book are really superfluous, since they are difficult to see and do little to compliment Berger’s expert prose. It’s easy enough to go online to take a closer look at the works Berger references, but I wonder why the black-and-white illustrations are included at all.
But for readers interested in art, art history, or the stories behind the creative spirit, PORTRAITS is a wonderful book. Just be aware that this is not one of those coffee table art books with gorgeous glossy color prints – it’s not “a luxury brochure for millionaires.” No, it’s an intellectual, very personal, and often very spiritual look at creativity and human expression. I highly recommend it.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this book for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
I was surprised at how much of this book reads as a series of stories, stories about Berger’s own life as well as the world of the artists he explores. And Berger’s view of art and artists is uniquely his own. Of ancient cave paintings in Chauvet, he writes, “Deep in the cave, which meant deep in the earth, there was everything: wind, water, fire, faraway places, the dead, thunder, pain, paths, animals, light, the unborn … they were there in the rock to be called to.” Of Goya, he writes, “Goya’s genius as a graphic artist was that of a commentator . . . he was much more interested in events than states of mind.” Of Cezanne’s use of the color black, he writes, “It’s a black like no other in painting.” And of Pollack, he writes: “The suicide of an art is a strange idea.” These are enigmatic comments that Berger explores through intense analysis, personal vignettes, and clever anecdotes. Reading this, I felt I knew Berger – and I felt I knew the artists he was revealing to us.
My only complaint is the quality of the pictures in this book. All of the paintings are reproduced in black-and-white, which I at first assumed was because the book I was reading was an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARCs are presented as “uncorrected proofs,” which seldom include color illustrations). But Berger is clear in his preface that the decision to use black-and-white illustrations was intentional. As he puts it, “This is because glossy colour reproductions in the consumerist world of today tend to reduce what they show to items in a luxury brochure for millionaires. Whereas black and white reproductions are simple memoranda.” The illustrations in this book are really superfluous, since they are difficult to see and do little to compliment Berger’s expert prose. It’s easy enough to go online to take a closer look at the works Berger references, but I wonder why the black-and-white illustrations are included at all.
But for readers interested in art, art history, or the stories behind the creative spirit, PORTRAITS is a wonderful book. Just be aware that this is not one of those coffee table art books with gorgeous glossy color prints – it’s not “a luxury brochure for millionaires.” No, it’s an intellectual, very personal, and often very spiritual look at creativity and human expression. I highly recommend it.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this book for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
May 28, 2022
Finally I am done with this doorstop of a book. At points, it was slog. But who am I to argue with Zadie Smith, whose cover blurb says "Among the greatest books on art I've ever read"
I bought it thinking it was a book specifically about portrait painters, and the essay on those who painted the Fayum portraits is indeed groundbreaking on that art, but the book is far more expansive. This is a collection of material published elsewhere and it was too long. After the chapter, about midway, on Henri Matisse, I began to lose steam. The chapters are arranged in order of birth of the artists, and after Picasso they were less well known, and sadly often far less interesting (NOT true of all, but for me, many).
Highly recommended: the chapter on Piero della Francesca
I actually bought this book. Glad I did, a lot to reread and think about. Berger doesn't write about "history" he writes about his personal and direct interactions with works of art. He's usually very readable and concrete (occasionally he goes off on vague flights of fancy that I actually find make me feel embarrassed for him). But usually, he is down to earth, which makes me think he really understands how practical artists are. They can wish they could do whatever they dream, but they can only do what they can do. I got curious about his own work, didn't find it easy to track down on a quick Google search (I'm sure there are books) but I did find some drawings of flowers, and they are very, very good.
At some point he says something vaguely dismissive of Chardin, and I had just been thinking to myself, why isn't there a chapter on Chardin, who I consider to be one of the greatest of painters. I guess Berger couldn't understand everything!
I bought it thinking it was a book specifically about portrait painters, and the essay on those who painted the Fayum portraits is indeed groundbreaking on that art, but the book is far more expansive. This is a collection of material published elsewhere and it was too long. After the chapter, about midway, on Henri Matisse, I began to lose steam. The chapters are arranged in order of birth of the artists, and after Picasso they were less well known, and sadly often far less interesting (NOT true of all, but for me, many).
Highly recommended: the chapter on Piero della Francesca
I actually bought this book. Glad I did, a lot to reread and think about. Berger doesn't write about "history" he writes about his personal and direct interactions with works of art. He's usually very readable and concrete (occasionally he goes off on vague flights of fancy that I actually find make me feel embarrassed for him). But usually, he is down to earth, which makes me think he really understands how practical artists are. They can wish they could do whatever they dream, but they can only do what they can do. I got curious about his own work, didn't find it easy to track down on a quick Google search (I'm sure there are books) but I did find some drawings of flowers, and they are very, very good.
At some point he says something vaguely dismissive of Chardin, and I had just been thinking to myself, why isn't there a chapter on Chardin, who I consider to be one of the greatest of painters. I guess Berger couldn't understand everything!
September 16, 2025
An assembly of essays and reviews published over sixty years, this book offers both panoramic and close-up appraisals of the works of painters and a few sculptors. In nearly always lucid prose, it presents ‘portraits’ of more than seventy artists, most of them in the Western canon, and of at least a couple of dozen late 20th century painters I (as an unschooled onlooker, but frequent museum-goer) had never heard of. Berger discusses his subjects’ methods and styles amidst reigning and emerging traditions, and often the social and political settings that shaped them and evoked their compassion or indignation. His assessments are often pungent, even withering, such as about Francis Bacon, whose art he compares to that of Walt Disney, but never merely dismissive. In a few essays Berger refers obliquely to his work as an art critic, explaining how he came to re-assess artists, or how he drew on their lives to create his fictions, such as his 1958 novel A Painter of Our Time. Though it lacks an index and footnotes, Portraits is masterfully edited and easy to consult as a reference work. As others point out, the book is sparsely, and sometimes poorly illustrated. Yet I had no difficulty whatever summoning up on the Internet full-colour pictures of almost every work of art referred to in the text.
Post-scriptum: A fine review of Portraits, 'The Many Faces of John Berger' by Ratik Asokan, appears in The New Republic published online on 29 December 2015: https://newrepublic.com/article/12667...
Post-scriptum: A fine review of Portraits, 'The Many Faces of John Berger' by Ratik Asokan, appears in The New Republic published online on 29 December 2015: https://newrepublic.com/article/12667...
June 24, 2021
Since this book is called 'portraits' I bought it in the hope that it would introduce me to many noteworthy artists and their works. But the book doesn't really do that. Rather, it provides snippets of John Berger's personal feelings, often only tangentially related to the artist that makes up the chapter's title. About halfway through I thought that maybe this book is a portrait of John Berger himself. But it fails at that, too, as too many chapters read like convoluted and confused nonsense, resembling a parody of art criticism rather than art criticism itself.
The back cover specifies the genre as 'Art history/Politics', but there is no politics here in relation to the artists under discussion, only occasional vague references to Berger's dislike for capitalism. That's not enough to make this a political book.
Hence, in my opinion this book fails because it doesn't do one thing well. It is a collection of ramblings resembling diary entries, more than half of which discuss very recent artists that betray the more classic impression conveyed by the cover.
There are very good chapters in here, like the one about the Fayum portraits, about Rembrandt or about Frida Kahlo. But it is also conspicuous that women are severely underrepresented and that, even when they are discussed, their chapters are shorter or end up talking a lot about their male partners or random male poets. Add to this bad print quality (or in many cases complete lack) of the images and you have a thoroughly unsatisfying work.
The back cover specifies the genre as 'Art history/Politics', but there is no politics here in relation to the artists under discussion, only occasional vague references to Berger's dislike for capitalism. That's not enough to make this a political book.
Hence, in my opinion this book fails because it doesn't do one thing well. It is a collection of ramblings resembling diary entries, more than half of which discuss very recent artists that betray the more classic impression conveyed by the cover.
There are very good chapters in here, like the one about the Fayum portraits, about Rembrandt or about Frida Kahlo. But it is also conspicuous that women are severely underrepresented and that, even when they are discussed, their chapters are shorter or end up talking a lot about their male partners or random male poets. Add to this bad print quality (or in many cases complete lack) of the images and you have a thoroughly unsatisfying work.
December 7, 2017
Short essays contemplating artists from the Chauvet cave painters to Basquiat.
Berger is generous with unforgettable anecdotes and remarkable observations, some of which you'll take issue with, sure, but all of which show what it means to engage with art.
Here are some quotes that stuck with me--in decreasing order of bleakness (or, should you prefer, increasing order of silliness)--half of which reference livestock directly or a product thereof:
Suggestion: read this book over 74 sittings, one for each subject, like you were working for an artist who asked you to come back 74 times to try slightly different poses. I mean, you could do it in a day, or in ambitious chunks over several days, but there would likely be suffering.
Berger is generous with unforgettable anecdotes and remarkable observations, some of which you'll take issue with, sure, but all of which show what it means to engage with art.
Here are some quotes that stuck with me--in decreasing order of bleakness (or, should you prefer, increasing order of silliness)--half of which reference livestock directly or a product thereof:
"What I did not know when I was very young was that nothing can take the past away: the past grows gradually around one, like a placenta for dying."
"...all light is welcome that reveals the forms of one's friends."
"Everyone has their own way of speaking with cows."
"What was once pork has become a firmament!"
Suggestion: read this book over 74 sittings, one for each subject, like you were working for an artist who asked you to come back 74 times to try slightly different poses. I mean, you could do it in a day, or in ambitious chunks over several days, but there would likely be suffering.
August 12, 2019
John Berger was a well-known art critic that wrote many columns about art and seemed to dabble in painting and poetry himself. In this collection of essays, we learn about his views of many artists from prehistory until the 1990s/2000s. The essays are in chronological order of the subjects, but not in the order he wrote them. Sometimes the writing is uneven, in, say, an epistolary form of discussion with his daughter, and I admit to skimming over the later sections of artists that I didn't know. The book could really do with more artwork, particularly for the lesser-known artists that he discusses. I found his insights valuable, if sometimes overshadowed by his left/extreme-left worldview. A good read in terms of a survey of art history in the view of this one well-traveled art critic.
May 21, 2025
This is such a great book – even if the title is slightly misleading - these are his portraits of artists, rather than artists who do portraits. Not all of the artists discussed here did portraits. Think Jackson Pollock. But what he says about the artists who did do portraits is often so interesting and profound I think he might have changed how I will look at them in the future. There is a lovely bit where he talks about Rembrandt, someone who did lots and lots of portraits, often self-portraits. He discusses how hard it is to do a self-portrait. As he says, even with mirrors, we rarely truly get to see ourselves as others see us. This isn’t just because of the way that mirrors invert our faces – and a portrait isn’t a portrait if it does not include the face, something I read ages ago talked about this, said we would find it deeply odd if a mother said, this is a photo of my son, and then showed us a photo of his torso and legs – this might well be the majority of his body, but we would struggle to think of it as a photo of him without his face. When we approach a mirror we shift our features to match how we want to be seen – and this rearrangement blocks our access to how others see us. He speculates that Rembrandt might have started his self-portraits using two mirrors, but once he had the basic outline done, he would cover the mirror and work from memory. I’m not entirely sure how this might have helped – but I do know that I’m friends with a couple of people who are literally painters and both liked this quote from the book – there is perhaps a deeper truth I probably don’t yet fully understand.
He would often say something about an artist – or rather one of their works – that stopped me in my tracks. I knew nothing about Fernand Léger, but will be on the look out for more of his work. A friend asked me what he had to say about Andy Warhol, which I hadn’t thought about while reading this and then realised he had literally nothing to say about him. At one point he refers to Goya as the first 20th century painter, and given he died in 1828, that's something of a big statement. The section on Caravaggio is also fascinating – not least for his discussion on his depictions of the underclass (as he points out, there is no word for this class of people that is not derogatory). He also talks of the dialectic of desire in his works – where our desire shifts from wanting to possess, to touch, to control and then towards our wanting to be desired by the object of our desire. I’ve been becoming a bit obsessed with the whole question of desire – sexual desire, obviously, but also desire more generally, since capitalism is a system premised on desire. In this context the desire to be desired is deeply interesting. Much of desire under capitalism is thwarted desire – which is, of course, the reason desire is able to continue, that its object can never be fully realised or possessed and so we go on desiring it. The desire to be desired puts a twist on this that is really worth thinking more about. And yet, as we have seen with plastic surgery and so much else, the desire to be desired has its negative connotations that can be sold to us too. All the same, the desire to be desired forces out attention out of ourselves and towards the outside world - and given the problem we have with mirrors, this is a paradoxical shift in attention in all senses.
Berger seems mostly interested in painters as drawers. It is not that he doesn’t discuss colour or tone or texture, but he is fascinated by line and truth and compassion – and I guess these shape his vision and then how he looks and encourages us to look at art. I think, like any skill, learning to look can be taught – and like any skill, developing it is easier if you are being instructed by an expert who is prepared to ‘stoop’ (as my mate Browning liked to say) to educated us. I’ve learned so much from this book. Highly recommended.
He would often say something about an artist – or rather one of their works – that stopped me in my tracks. I knew nothing about Fernand Léger, but will be on the look out for more of his work. A friend asked me what he had to say about Andy Warhol, which I hadn’t thought about while reading this and then realised he had literally nothing to say about him. At one point he refers to Goya as the first 20th century painter, and given he died in 1828, that's something of a big statement. The section on Caravaggio is also fascinating – not least for his discussion on his depictions of the underclass (as he points out, there is no word for this class of people that is not derogatory). He also talks of the dialectic of desire in his works – where our desire shifts from wanting to possess, to touch, to control and then towards our wanting to be desired by the object of our desire. I’ve been becoming a bit obsessed with the whole question of desire – sexual desire, obviously, but also desire more generally, since capitalism is a system premised on desire. In this context the desire to be desired is deeply interesting. Much of desire under capitalism is thwarted desire – which is, of course, the reason desire is able to continue, that its object can never be fully realised or possessed and so we go on desiring it. The desire to be desired puts a twist on this that is really worth thinking more about. And yet, as we have seen with plastic surgery and so much else, the desire to be desired has its negative connotations that can be sold to us too. All the same, the desire to be desired forces out attention out of ourselves and towards the outside world - and given the problem we have with mirrors, this is a paradoxical shift in attention in all senses.
Berger seems mostly interested in painters as drawers. It is not that he doesn’t discuss colour or tone or texture, but he is fascinated by line and truth and compassion – and I guess these shape his vision and then how he looks and encourages us to look at art. I think, like any skill, learning to look can be taught – and like any skill, developing it is easier if you are being instructed by an expert who is prepared to ‘stoop’ (as my mate Browning liked to say) to educated us. I’ve learned so much from this book. Highly recommended.
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