Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers

by David Trigg

A celebration of artworks featuring books and readers from throughout history, for the delight of art lovers and bibliophiles As every book tells a story, every book in art is part of an intriguing, engaging, and relatable image. Books are depicted as indicators of intellect in portraits, as symbols of piety in religious paintings, as subjects in still lifes, and as the raw material for contemporary installations. Reading Art spotlights artworks from museums and collections around the globe, creating a gorgeous, inspiring homage to both the written word and to its pivotal role in the visual world.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Books About Books, Art History, History, Art Design

352 pages, Hardcover

Published June 8, 2018

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love art, and I really miss going into Chicago to visit our art museum. I've been paging through this book for the past few weeks, and just love looking through so many pictures I had never encountered before. Books and art, how can that be a miss?

The first is a fresco, found when Pompeii was excavated, of a woman holding a stylus and wax tablet by an unknown artist. It is kept at the National Archeological Museum of Naples. There are many painiting within this collection, different people from different time periods, holding books, some with explanations,csome not. Of book shelves, and book sayings, some nudes, some saints, all gorgeous.

I never knew Renoir painted Monet, but he did and it's wonderful. A very thoughtful Monet, smoking a pipe, peering down at the book in front of him. My favorite book saying was from Kathleen Norris and says, " Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier." I agree. Oh, the wonder of books.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great selection of book/reader/reading- related art!

[Andrew H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looked promising, but the selection artworks were too predictable. Sixty-five of the selected paintings relate to religious figures reading the Bible. Of course, the Bible and reading have been twinned for centuries, but this does show a bias (and lack of imagination). Art and books have stretched well beyond this! Also, "Art" means painting rather than photography. There are a few photographs, but nothing from Kertesz's masterpiece "On Reading." So much more could have been made of this rich theme-- a missed opportunity.

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[Lệ Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featuring all kinds of art about the act of reading throughout history, Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers was love at first sight to me since I first saw it in a bookshop. The book came with a thorough preface, a well-curated chosen works (from gorgeous and well-known to disturbing and odd ones), pieces of art with similarities and differences that can be spotted in each spread alongside with quotes to group the works into themes. This is the book that I want to hold sacred and surely go back to it for references and writing later on.

[Caleb Loh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selection of artwork and explanatory text both get 4.5. But the sequencing is closer to 2.5. Each artwork on each page had some connection to the next but the arrangement was still very random

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of art featuring books throughout the centuries. My one wish is that the book was a little larger and easier to handle, and that the text was larger. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of historical and contemporary art--how artists view readers has not changed so much over the centuries! Some new favorites below.


Farmhouse Interior, Johanne Mathilde Dietrichson (1875)


A Young Lady Writing in a Hymnal, Giacomo Pacchiarotto (after 1500)


Reading by Lamplight, James Abbott McNeill Whistler (c. 1859)

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

許多跟書和閱讀有關的照片，雖然不一定有解說
但對於愛書人而言這本書可以照應出許多人的樣子。

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers consists of hundreds of pictures of artwork containing books: holy books, blank books, banned books, immoral books, books of knowledge, anonymous books, burned books, books of temptation, and pieces of books used in installations and the like.

Works of art comprise the main aspect of Reading Art, and the book includes basic information regarding the pieces like title, artist, date, medium, size, and location. There are more pictures than text. Every so often, Trigg includes a brief analysis of the artwork, interspersed with quotes about books. In differing eras, books in art have represented wealth, scholarliness, devotion, or the futility of knowledge and worldly goods.

The collection includes various races, religions, sexes, and time periods ranging from ancient Pompeii to 17th century Spain to 19th century Japan to contemporary America. The works depict saints, artists, children, scholars, nudes, students, and women, all with books or in the act of reading. As a woman myself, I especially enjoyed the many, many paintings of women reading.

If you are fond of art, art history, and reading books, I recommend taking a look at Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers.

[Amanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a healthy departure from my usual reading, and a reminder of both the importance of keeping up with a healthy dose of art, and of course books, in one’s life. This compilation of art throughout the ages focuses on literary themes – literary objects and the humans that create, consume, and influence others with them. Some really insightful ones that I learned about included early depictions of literacy like a fresco discovered during the excavation of Pompei, one that dates back to 55-79 AD! I appreciated the inclusion of modern art in the process, as well as the diversity of the artists and materials used (ish). Some of my favorites were the unknown artists of the 18th century Mughal School, which were South Asian miniature paintings with Islamic, Persian, and Indian influence. I appreciated the careful annotations that accompanied many of the paintings, and frankly wouldn’t have understood what I was looking at had I not had some context. The preface was thorough in mapping important movements in both literary history and art history (and how they diverge), which was really helpful going in. I really liked that Trigg repeated some of the important themes throughout the book (like the evolution of cultural reactions to female literacy and how that has been reflected in art over time). A nice book to look through slowly and cherish the centuries of difference, change, and opportunity granted through the printed word.

[Kim Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a reader who is trying to get into art and what a fantastic amalgamation of the two. Art from all across time. Very cool to see! I wish there was a museum for book art.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Art, Art for Book Lovers begins with a preface which celebrates a revolutionary yet everyday object: the book — and its reader. Readers, it tells us, were represented in art long before books as we now know them. And while much of art shows us how life has changed, artworks representing books show us moments of shared humanity that transcend culture and time.

The artworks are arranged not chronologically or by medium but by these connections. We see them curated by an idea or concept, such as the burning or censorship of books. So there is Marta Minujin's installation 'Parthenon of Books' sited in the very place where the Nazis burned books in 1933, along with Banned Book 3 by Liu Ye which references the Cultural Revolution with a girl reading, her face hidden, ready to spring away from a forbidden book.

Those of us who love books and reading as a stimulus for endless curiosity will find plenty of images which celebrate the pivotal role of books in disseminating knowledge and ideas. Books were crucial to the spread of Christianity and to the dissemination of information which brought us the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. There is Laurent's portrait of 'Gutenberg, Inventor of the Printing Press' and 'Dewattines the Bookbinder' by Debaene Alphonse-Jules, and there are author portraits such as Émile Zola and a still life titled 'The Writer's Table: a Precarious Moment'. There are many portraits of women reading, ranging from those exhorting women to read 'improving books' such as Bibles and Psalters, to those reading scandalous novels and erotica.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/03/08/r...

[Wsclai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book includes art pieces from different times that feature books or people reading. It is an interesting approach to look at books, their history and arts.

The most impressive pieces to me are those modern installations, which convey deep meaning and are visually striking.

The part about 'Burning books' carries a lot of truth.
"To many, the deliberate destruction of books is still a barbaric act. Books are, after all, symbols of a civilized society: its culture, values and beliefs. To destroy a book is to destroy a part of culture itself. But moreover, it seems that, form the vantage point of the 21st century, book destruction has become so closely linked with barbarity that it is akin to physical acts of violence. If there is one thing that can be learned from the history of censorship, however, it is that books - like the human spirit itself - can never be totally destroyed. Individual volumes may be incinerated, but literature endures. Even in the face of new digital technologies, hardbacks and paperbacks remain resilient. As long as books continue to be produced, artists will be exploring their place in society by shedding light on the many ways in which they reflect ourselves back to us.

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading and I love art, but the best art is about reading, so this was right up my alley. I absolutely loved the photos and the bits of text. My only quibbles were there could have been so much more - more text, more art, more books! I "do art" on Facebook and I've got a long list of artists who have readers and there are many good ones left out of this book. It favored the ancients and the modern and left out a lot from my favorite eras, so maybe they need another volume to give some of those delights their due?

[Marianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Contenu trop axé sur les oeuvres religieuses. La subjectivité est trop présente, l'analyse des oeuvres n'est faite que de suppositions, manque de travail de recherche. Le fait d'avoir à faire des allers-retours entre les descriptions et les oeuvres représentés rend la lecture laborieuse, vu le format du livre. Par contre les oeuvres contemporaines sont très intéressantes. Mais encore là, le travail de recherche aurait pu être approfondi.

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great compilation of works of art from ancient times to modern era. I appreciate the stories and messages that each work seeks to convey. Truly, books are the pinnacle of mankind. The book brought me on a journey on the trials and horrors humans have faced because of the books they love and produced. I enjoyed looking at the works of Wu QingSong.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not really sure about the intent of this book. When notes are provided about the paintings, it can be quite interesting, otherwise it is essentially just a collection of pictures that feature books, and seemingly in random order (rather than by subject or time period). It's something you could easy provide for yourself with a simple google image search.

[Kateri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book does not detail or leave insights to every piece or how they relate to the others or the time period. It is in essence a picture book with some selected information. The book does however provide clear pictures of art relating to books and reading from the Roman Era to today. I was not disappointed even though I thought there would be more information about the works included.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of images of artworks all related to books

The central idea of this book was quirky and some of the images (especially the ones "built from books") were very interesting, bit overall too many pieces were a bit dull.

[andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice variety of art pieces that features books, with analysis of select pieces.

[Lacona Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to combine their love of reading and their love and interest in art.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book of art that features books and book lovers. Interesting and worthwhile.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection.

[Pilar Seleme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art book for book lovers

[Elīna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vēl viena izcila dāvana grāmatmīlim. Grāmatas loma gleznās cauri laikiem. Ļoti labi apraksti un skaidrojumi. Kvalitatīvs saturs. Arī skaista grāmata pati par sevi. Var gan viegli pašķirstīt, gan ilgi lasīt. Ļoti daudz vēsturisku faktu par grāmatu nozīmi gleznās cauri laikiem - kāpēc sievietei rokās, kāpēc atvērta, kāpēc bez teksta utt. Daudz īpašu stāstu. Daudz ironijas un pasmieties arī var. Jo sevišķi par laiku, kad uzskatīja "that fiction could be morally dangerous to women. The disire to read for pleasure rather than for edification was frowned upon and there was a moral panic that doing so could corupt female readers in particular." Tad nu gleznās viņas tika attēlotas pārsvarā kailas, lasot grāmatas, un no stūriem uzglūn bibliotekāri velna izskatā. :)
Daudz par cēlumu, cilvēcību. Sevišķi atmiņā palicis stāsts par gleznu Buffoon with Books (Diego Velazquez) 1644 "[..] a dwarf employed at the Spanish court of King Philip IV. He was a jester whose physical deformity provided entertainment for the King and his court in moments of idleness. However, the painter depicts him not as a buffoon but as intelligent and learned character. While the oversized book in a painting may initially appear to be a humorous juxtaposition, he paints them with dignity and humanity, just as he did the royal family."

Daži izraksti:
"To fulfifil its function, a book must be activated by user: the cover must opened, the pages parted, the content reviewed, perhaps notes scribbled or words underlined."
"The books we own are like extensions of our personalities."

Vērts saglabāt: Crown by Wen Wu 2016, The Travelling Companions by Augustus Leopold Egg 1862, memoriāls Berlīnē Library by Micha Ullman.

P.S. Vienīgais mīnuss - varēja iekļaut vēl vairāk informācijas. Ņemot vērā gleznu apjomu, kas iekļautas grāmatā, gribētu lasīt skaidrojumu katrai no tām.

[Toni Kely-Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a curation of paintings, photographs and sculptures about books since ancient times to the present. The introduction was quite interesting and covered the history of reading and writing which was contained to the educated religious elite until the invention of the Gutenberg printing machine which enabled reading for the masses. The introduction also covered the moral panic about young women reading books, burning of books, etc.

However, there didn’t seem to be any themes or structure to how they were presented but a random selection of art. Also, some art was accompanied by explanatory text, but a lot weren’t and there didn’t seem to be any logic to that either but a random choice by the curator of the book! Also, this book was so small. It should have been a large coffee style book because the text was so tiny. I defy anyone to read it without reading glasses or holding it right under your nose if you are short-sighted!

[Maria Azpiroz · Rating 3 out of 5]

La idea de este libro es muy buena. Celebrar la lectura en imágenes e incluir pinturas, fotografías y esculturas que involucren la lectura o el libro de alguna manera. El problema es la edición. Tengo la idea de que un libro de arte tiene que tener una superioridad estética en sí mismo. El libro es tapa dura, las imágenes se aprecian correctamente pero la letra es diminuta y estéticamente fea. Además, las citas que el autor decidió incluir esporádicamente tampoco se ven bellas ni contribuyen a enriquecer el todo. Dudé si mi edición había sido de bolsillo y hay una edición de mayor tamaño pero creo que es la única tapa dura que hay. Algunas pinturas me han fascinado: The orange book de Tucker, Reading Girl de Hennig ,reading list de Nisebaum, Compartment C, Car 293 de Hopper, The New Novel de Homer. Solamente habría apreciado una mucho mejor edición.

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care what anybody says but a lot of the modern art is not art. It's as my daughter says it's fake art which she shortened to fart. The two in the book that bugged me was just two random piles of books that are in art galleries. We all know the art gallery people pretended to see the artist vision so they didn't look stupid or unsophisticated. One of those piles supposedly represented some garbage that you would never know unless the artist told you so it's obvious it was use to sell the piece. I think it is probably because I hate seeing perfectly good books destroyed or damaged to make "art." As for the other art in this book it was a mix of good, bad, and decent.

[Laura Spira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book full of pictures of books, of sculptures made from books, of people reading and of people just accompanied by books. Some of the pictures are very arresting, such as this by Wang Qingsong. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entr...

Some pictures are accompanied by explanatory text but not all. And the size of the font used for all the text in the book is so very small that I had to find a magnifying glass to read it. I do think that a publisher like Phaidon could have designed a more reader friendly volume.

[Meenakshisankar M · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of paintings associated with books and reading. Accompanied by an erudite introduction, the book features hundreds of paintings showing the act of reading, and the rich history associated with books and tablets and other forms of reading material. It was a joy to look at various historical personalities in the process of reading, or just looking at shelves full of books trying to choose something to read. Some paintings had detailed notes explaining the context and importance, which was appealing. The grouping of the paintings was interesting, with similar themes from across different time periods illustrating a powerful sense of narrative meaning.