Kunst

Eyewitness Companions

by Robert Cumming, Riina Jürgens (Translator), Tiina Kanarbik (Translator)

Põhjalik, rikkalikult illustreeritud teatmeteos on mõeldud kunstisõbrale heaks kaaslaseks ning praktiliseks abistajaks Lääne kunsti avastamisel ja hindamisel kunstimuuseumides ja galeriides. Põnevad interpretatsioonid ja täpsed selgitused avavad kuulsate teoste peidetud tähendused ja sümbolid. Raamat sisaldab fakte ja ülevaateid tuntumatest autoritest läbi sajandite Fra Angelicost Zurbaráni, da Vincist Damien Hirstini. Tuuakse väljapaistvaid näiteid eri žanritest – kuidas need meistriteosed on loodud ja kus neid näha saab. Lisaks sisaldab teos ülevaated kunstivooludest ja eri stiilidest alates antiigist kuni kontseptuaalse kunstini.
Raamatu autor Robert Cumming – populaarne kunstiraamatute autor ja kunstikriitik on kunstigaleriides töötades tähele pannud, et ikka ja jälle küsivad näituste külastajad nelja põhilist küsimust:
1. Mida ma peaksin vaatama? Mis on Picasso, Rembrandti, Raffaeli, Turneri jt iseärasused?
2. Mis pildil toimub? Kes on Herakles? Mis on „Tarkade kummardamine“? Kas see suur punane ruut tähendab midagi?
3. Palju pilt maksab? Kas ma vaatan tuhandeid või miljoneid maksvat teost?
4. On see ka hea töö? Ja – tellisehunniku või tegemata voodi ees seistes – kas mind lollitatakse?
Käesolevas raamatus ongi Robert Cumming püüdnud vastata neile neljale küsimusele, ta osutab tunnusjoontele, mis on kunstimaailma oluliste teoste vaatamise juhtnööriks, räägib kunstiteoste rekordhindadest ja sisendab lugejale julgust uskuda seda, mida ta näeb, mitte seda, mida talle öeldakse.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Art History

512 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2005

About the author

Having swapped a promising career in law for the art world, Robert Cumming first worked as a lecturer at the Tate Gallery. He then set up The Christie’s Fine Arts Course which developed into Christie’s Education with centres and partnerships worldwide. In 2005, Robert was appointed Professor of Art History at Boston University, Massachusetts. He has published many books devoted to the delights to be found in looking at works of art which have been translated into over 24 languages, sold over one million copies, and been awarded prestigious literary prizes. The Slow Looking series is the culmination of Robert’s work and life within the art world.

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been in Vienna a few times recently and have been taking advantage of the city’s remarkable collection of museums and galleries. As much as I’ve been enjoying the individual works exhibited for their own isolated merit, a lot of art’s joy comes from having a developed understanding of the ongoing conversation that bounces down through the generations. I’ve been sensing that I lack the required knowledge foundation to properly achieve this more cerebral level of appreciation, often finding myself surrounded by masterpieces, feeling a bit dense, and not quite sure how one genius relates to the next while worrying that I don’t know my Klimt from my Schiele nor my Bruegel from my Rubens. It’s a sensation that feels a bit like navigating the trenches in a first-person shooter while lacking the objective clarity of the General looking down at a map of the front from above.

A well-organised factbook comes in especially handy when you want to clear up this kind of mental fog, and so, if I were scoring books on the sole basis of their usefulness these Eyewitness Companions would be 5 stars all the way to the bank. I own several of them (the others on classical music and opera); flicking through their colourful pages, stopping whenever something springs out, is a brilliant way of slowly cataloguing entire fields of study into organised columns inside the mind.

I’m going to continue using this book, it has already massively improved my poor knowledge of the general canon of visual art and of where the major artists sit in relation to the canon’s centre.

[Alina Manevskaya]

Hello! Just a small note: on p. 20 it's written that Michelangelo lived in the 17th century. It's mistake! His actual years of life are 1475-1564.

[Gabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

(czytałum polskie tłumaczenie)
Zaskakująco słaba książka. Nie jest omówieniem sztuki, bardziej spisem opisów głównych artystów. Czasem pojawiają się krótkie dodatki na temat grup artystycznych/nurtów, ale zawsze są powierzchowne i nieco losowo wybierane jest czemu poświęcona zostanie dłuższa uwaga.
Dla mnie najważniejszym problemem, który utrudniał czytanie była duża subiektywność (i krytyczność) opisów artystów. Są używane słowa oceniające jak ładne, ciekawe, nudne. Nie podoba mi się też, że czasem pierwsze zdanie dotyczy charakteru artysty (niemal wyłącznie gdy jest to negatywna ocena).
Drugim problemem jest zbyt mała (moim zdaniem) liczba zdjęć (nie każdy omawiany autor ma przykład, a jeśli już to 1, maks 2) co utrudnia zrozumienie i tak niejasnych opisów.
Nie udało mi się też zrozumieć kolejności wymienianych autorów, co dodaje zamętu.
Myślę, że dużo bardziej wartościowe byłoby wyrzucenie nawet połowy artystów na rzecz dłuższych opisów i zdjęć.

Mimo to, w ramach przypomnienia dla kogoś, kto już nauczył się tego z lepszego źródła i tylko chce przypomnieć sobie informacje o wybranych nazwiskach to okej. Nie wyobrażam sobie czytać tej książki samej bez innych pomocy. Plus jest taki, że te bardzo rzadkie elementy które uzyskują całą stronę uwagi są naprawdę pomocne. Podobało mi się też omówienie technik na początku książki.

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book to prepare for upcoming trips to Europe, to find out a little about the artists' works I will see and to learn what I should look for in the artwork. This time my travels will not include my artist friend who is a valuable resource in art museums. What I found was some information but a lot of the author's opinions. He doesn't hold back on artists he does not care for. For example, his comment about Salvador Dali:

"Ultimately just a flashy showman with a big ego and a long moustache--like a singer who churns out popular arias in a spectacular way, but devoid of any real expression, meaning or freshness."

Yes, you may learn something from his short, often a single paragraph and sometimes a half-page. He lists a few of their better know works, the galleries where they can be seen, their life, and sometimes what one should look for in their works pointing out different artists' use of light, darkness, color, elongated bodies, brushstrokes, thick paint, etc.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here, the focus is art. The author, Robert Cumming, begins by noting the four questions that he is so often asked about are (page10): ""What should I look for. . . . What is going on? What is the story?. . .What is its value?. . .Is it any good?" He goes on to note that (page 11) "I have tried to capture that kind of involvement [that his readers enjoy with art:] and to address the four basic questions. . . ." The book begins, appropriately enough, with a discussion of what art is, and other interesting facets of the subject (record prices for artists' work, best art museums, etc.). Then, media and materials of art. This is followed by an historical organization of the history of art, from early art (3,000 BCE to 1300 CE) to contemporary art (1970-present).

Many have seen the art work associated with Tutankhamen's burial; this is one example from the era of early art. Within that larger category are displays of art work from ancient Egypt, the early Aegean world, classical Greece, and so on. Other eras of interest: Gothic and early Renaissance, Baroque era, romantic art, modernism, and contemporary art. Within each of these eras a selected group of artists is singled out, information about them presented, and examples of their work displayed.

Some of my favorite artists are included in this encyclopedia coverage, such as van Eyck and da Vinci (I still remember the thrill I got when I entered the gallery at the Louvre and saw for the first time his Mona Lisa). One of the nice features of this book is represented by the discussion of da Vinci, where Cumming speaks in an understandable way of the artist's life, his techniques, what to look for in his works, and so on. Many other artists are represented, from Brueghel to Rubens to Rembrandt to Delacroix to Courbet to Monet to Rodin to Chagall to Pollock to Kiefer to Lichtenstein to. . . .

All in all, a nice little book to curl up with when you want to just enjoy the fruits of the human artistic imagination.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to weed this from the library I work in because it had fallen to pieces, which is often a good sign! So I've been reading bits of it here and there, and rescued it from being shipped away to book purgatory.

And it's excellent! A companion guide that is actually... companionable! It's light-hearted and appealing, and gives concise information and ideas about the art and artists it covers. it's really very good.

[Lucie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of major artworks and artists.