What do you think?
Rate this book
Last Light: How Six Great Artists Made Old Age a Time of Triumph
One of the nation’s top art critics shows how six great artists made old age a time of triumph by producing some of the greatest work of their long careers—and, in some cases, changing the course of art history.
Ordinarily, we think of young artists as the bomb throwers. Monet and Renoir were still in their twenties when they embarked on what would soon be called Impressionism, as were Picasso and Braque when they ventured into Cubism. But your sixties and the decades that follow can be no less liberating if they too bring the confidence to attempt new things. Young artists may experiment because they have nothing to lose; older ones because they have nothing to fear. With their legacies secure, they’re free to reinvent themselves…sometimes with revolutionary results.
Titian’s late style offered a way for pigment itself—not just the things it depicted—to express feelings on the canvas, foreshadowing Rubens, Frans Hals, 19th-century Impressionists, and 20th-century Expressionists. Goya’s late work enlarged the psychological territory that artists could enter. Monet’s late waterlily paintings were eventually recognized as prophetic for the centerless, diaphanous space developed after World War II by abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Phillip Guston. In his seventies, Matisse began to produce some of the most joyful art of the 20th century, especially his famous cutouts that brought an ancient craft into the realm of High Modernism. Hopper, the ultimate realist, used old age on occasion to depart into the surreal. And Nevelson, the patron saint of late bloomers, pioneered a new kind of wall-sized wooden assemblages made from odds and ends she scavenged from the streets of Manhattan.
Though these six artists differed in many respects, they shared one a determination to go on creating, driven not by the bounding energies of youth but by the ticking clock that would inspire them to produce some of their greatest masterpieces.
Ordinarily, we think of young artists as the bomb throwers. Monet and Renoir were still in their twenties when they embarked on what would soon be called Impressionism, as were Picasso and Braque when they ventured into Cubism. But your sixties and the decades that follow can be no less liberating if they too bring the confidence to attempt new things. Young artists may experiment because they have nothing to lose; older ones because they have nothing to fear. With their legacies secure, they’re free to reinvent themselves…sometimes with revolutionary results.
Titian’s late style offered a way for pigment itself—not just the things it depicted—to express feelings on the canvas, foreshadowing Rubens, Frans Hals, 19th-century Impressionists, and 20th-century Expressionists. Goya’s late work enlarged the psychological territory that artists could enter. Monet’s late waterlily paintings were eventually recognized as prophetic for the centerless, diaphanous space developed after World War II by abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Phillip Guston. In his seventies, Matisse began to produce some of the most joyful art of the 20th century, especially his famous cutouts that brought an ancient craft into the realm of High Modernism. Hopper, the ultimate realist, used old age on occasion to depart into the surreal. And Nevelson, the patron saint of late bloomers, pioneered a new kind of wall-sized wooden assemblages made from odds and ends she scavenged from the streets of Manhattan.
Though these six artists differed in many respects, they shared one a determination to go on creating, driven not by the bounding energies of youth but by the ticking clock that would inspire them to produce some of their greatest masterpieces.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2022
30 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 26, 2023
Definitely for art nerds. As one closing in on old age (well, depends on how you define it, I guess), I have an interest in how one's art might change - for the better or worse - as age advances. Lacayo chooses six artists from the Renaissance to modern days: Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper, and Nevelson - and explores the work of their later years and how they forged new directions.
The chapters on Goya and Hopper are especially good as their biographies and personalities are interesting in and of themselves, and Lacayo's way of writing about images, colors, and the emotional impact of the paintings is vivid and skillful (especially Goya's Black Paintings). The sections on Monet and Matisse perhaps go on a bit long - with a rather single-minded focus on waterlilies and paper cutouts. However, the Monet chapter came closest to revealing the effects of old age itself and the accompanying physical deterioration on the art. Monet lived to be 86, suffered from significant visual impairment due to cataracts - and for the premier painter of light, this was a tragedy. Cataract removal surgery in 1923 was no picnic, but it restored enough of his vision to allow him to continue to work on his ponds and lilies. I confess to having less interest in Titian and Nevelson personally, so they didn't grab me as much.
As are so many art books these days, this one is marred by small, muddy, not-very-helpful reproductions of the artworks; I rather resent having to turn to the computer to get a decent look at them while reading the book (Luddite that I am, I dislike e-books).
Mostly enjoyable, well-written if perhaps a bit overly dense and long in places. Recommended for art collections and the nerds they attract. :-)
The chapters on Goya and Hopper are especially good as their biographies and personalities are interesting in and of themselves, and Lacayo's way of writing about images, colors, and the emotional impact of the paintings is vivid and skillful (especially Goya's Black Paintings). The sections on Monet and Matisse perhaps go on a bit long - with a rather single-minded focus on waterlilies and paper cutouts. However, the Monet chapter came closest to revealing the effects of old age itself and the accompanying physical deterioration on the art. Monet lived to be 86, suffered from significant visual impairment due to cataracts - and for the premier painter of light, this was a tragedy. Cataract removal surgery in 1923 was no picnic, but it restored enough of his vision to allow him to continue to work on his ponds and lilies. I confess to having less interest in Titian and Nevelson personally, so they didn't grab me as much.
As are so many art books these days, this one is marred by small, muddy, not-very-helpful reproductions of the artworks; I rather resent having to turn to the computer to get a decent look at them while reading the book (Luddite that I am, I dislike e-books).
Mostly enjoyable, well-written if perhaps a bit overly dense and long in places. Recommended for art collections and the nerds they attract. :-)
March 2, 2024
The author is wonderfully engaging.
I'm learning a lot about art in general (the patronage systems varied and were often more complex than I realized), about history (gosh, Ferdinand of Spain sounds like a certain orange-haired bully gunning for power right now), and of course about the art of the artists examined (Monet had his art hanging in the Louvre while he was still alive).
I only wish that there were more pictures. (Yay for the internet.)
Monet said "Other painters paint a bridge, a house, a boat. ... I want to paint the air in which the bridge, the house, the boat are to be found - the beauty of the air around them." He's also a talented humblebragger: "When I was full of daring..."
On Matisse: "By casting aside exact representation, he broke through to a new kind of beauty."
On Hopper: "... inactivity sometimes a byproduct of depression, sometimes a cause of it."
Hopper was one of the last realists of his time, and even in his case, "Sunlight and silence," composition and color, were more important than draftsmanship & reality. But the critics were saying that "Henceforth no painting of consequence would pretend to be a window. It would be a surface, and no real artist would violate what Greenberg would call 'the integrity of the picture plane.'"
Hopper's *The Mansard Roof* has "the heft of a mountain range and the majestic lightness of a rolling cloudbank."
I didn't get much out of the piece on Nevelson, I admit. Massive sculpture reduced to the printed page isn't illuminating. I don't believe I've ever seen one of her works irl, though they do look vaguely familiar.
I'm learning a lot about art in general (the patronage systems varied and were often more complex than I realized), about history (gosh, Ferdinand of Spain sounds like a certain orange-haired bully gunning for power right now), and of course about the art of the artists examined (Monet had his art hanging in the Louvre while he was still alive).
I only wish that there were more pictures. (Yay for the internet.)
Monet said "Other painters paint a bridge, a house, a boat. ... I want to paint the air in which the bridge, the house, the boat are to be found - the beauty of the air around them." He's also a talented humblebragger: "When I was full of daring..."
On Matisse: "By casting aside exact representation, he broke through to a new kind of beauty."
On Hopper: "... inactivity sometimes a byproduct of depression, sometimes a cause of it."
Hopper was one of the last realists of his time, and even in his case, "Sunlight and silence," composition and color, were more important than draftsmanship & reality. But the critics were saying that "Henceforth no painting of consequence would pretend to be a window. It would be a surface, and no real artist would violate what Greenberg would call 'the integrity of the picture plane.'"
Hopper's *The Mansard Roof* has "the heft of a mountain range and the majestic lightness of a rolling cloudbank."
I didn't get much out of the piece on Nevelson, I admit. Massive sculpture reduced to the printed page isn't illuminating. I don't believe I've ever seen one of her works irl, though they do look vaguely familiar.
July 8, 2024
Six artists who, in their twilight years, had to develop new ways of creating due, in most cases to physical disabilities. I was completely hooked and could hardly set the book aside. Titian to Nevelson (thankfully there was a female represented) bios which could have benefited from more examples of their art but overall, a successful presentation of all of them.
June 5, 2023
A few months ago I read a book called "From Strength to Strength" about how the brain changes with age so that though we don't become dumber, the kinds of things that we are good at change. Therefore, in order to flourish as we age, we need to let go of our old ways and play to the strengths of maturity. Our minds change from an innovating, driving, problem solving form of intelligence, to a different form where innovation and brute force solutions no longer come so easily but in which connection, community, communication and teaching skills grow stronger. Not everyone is able to make this transition, but those who do can continue to do fulfilling work long into old age.
In this book Mr. Lacayo gives us profiles of six great artists - Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper and Nevelson who produced great work in their later years, and in each case he shows how their mature work differed from what they did earlier in ways that seem to correspond to the brain changes noted above. So in each case the later work seems to move away from tight, controlled style to something that is looser and less realistic. Brush strokes become broader, perspective begins to defy conventional rules and details disappear. In Monet's case, Mr. Lacayo calls it a "deep dive into a zero gravity environment." It can't have been easy for them to make this transition, particularly when they had to simultaneously cope with growing physical infirmities, but still it has to be easier for an artist to do this than for a mathematician or engineer, for whom moving to a communitarian approach to their profession is fundamentally giving up what they do in order to do something that, though valuable and related, is entirely different.
There is definitely a lesson for all of us here in finding ways to continue to pratice our crafts and to be of service to others in the things that we do best as we age.
In this book Mr. Lacayo gives us profiles of six great artists - Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper and Nevelson who produced great work in their later years, and in each case he shows how their mature work differed from what they did earlier in ways that seem to correspond to the brain changes noted above. So in each case the later work seems to move away from tight, controlled style to something that is looser and less realistic. Brush strokes become broader, perspective begins to defy conventional rules and details disappear. In Monet's case, Mr. Lacayo calls it a "deep dive into a zero gravity environment." It can't have been easy for them to make this transition, particularly when they had to simultaneously cope with growing physical infirmities, but still it has to be easier for an artist to do this than for a mathematician or engineer, for whom moving to a communitarian approach to their profession is fundamentally giving up what they do in order to do something that, though valuable and related, is entirely different.
There is definitely a lesson for all of us here in finding ways to continue to pratice our crafts and to be of service to others in the things that we do best as we age.
December 1, 2022
Listened on Audible to the book Last Light by Richard Lacayo. He writes of six artists whose work flourished in their older years. He tells of Titian adopting a looser style than that used for his earlier much-acclaimed Renaissance works. And he seemed to appreciate the strokes for their tactile aesthetic alone. Then to Goya departing a troubled Spain to work and live to the end in France learning new techniques and painting his dark subjects, sometimes with a touch of humor. Manet’s long career flourished through and out the back end of the Impressionist movement. His wonderful water lilies paintings crowned his career, even struggling with with bad eyesight to finish them. An older Matisse designed a chapel and everything in it. Matisse in old age was physically disabled, but from bed created on with paper cutouts—now appreciated as an important part of his oeuvre. Edward Hopper soldiered on with his representational work to the end—even as the art world marched off in a non-objective direction. The power of his genius prevailed, and he was recognized and rewarded for his lonely paintings of impassive people looking at the light— imbued with a just-beyond-reach ambiguity. Louise Nevelson received recognition late, at sixty years old and parlayed it into ever-increasing recognition and international fame. And she loved playing the role of famous artist in New York. These six artist stories are well told, in each case with a recitation of high and low points of really interesting lives. The stories are captured in Richard Lacayo’s witty and intelligent prose narrated by Mark Sanderson—whose mellow voice is icing on the cake.
January 30, 2023
Last Light is a beautiful and perfect title for Richard Lacayo's well-researched, empathetic and inspiring take on the productive last years of six great artists. I'm not a student of art, but I have some appreciation from visits to art galleries and museums. I knew I had to read this book when I saw that Lacayo included Monet, one of my favorites (having visited Monet's home in Giverny, France.) I learned so much, not only about how to interpret some of the art produced but each artist's personal struggles, philosophies, lifetime influences, reviews positive and negative. Each artist battled health issues at the end, but Lacayo shares the unique ways each one found to continue to create with new and profound results. Matisse was nearly bedridden but used scissors to cut into colored paper and shape even grander pieces (with the help of assistants). Monet's cataracts forced him to paint in a new way.
Lacayo presents his research findings in a readable, lively, logical style that brings each artist to life, including their relationships and sexual proclivities. Each chapter includes reproductions of six or eight significant artworks that are discussed in the text. I would have liked to see more examples but understand printing limitations. My favorite chapter was on Monet, but also enjoyed Matisse and Hopper. The most eye-opening was about Louise Nevelson -- the only woman included. I knew nothing of this American woman's magnificent accomplishments as a sculptor, mostly achieved after age 60. Now that's inspiring.
Lacayo presents his research findings in a readable, lively, logical style that brings each artist to life, including their relationships and sexual proclivities. Each chapter includes reproductions of six or eight significant artworks that are discussed in the text. I would have liked to see more examples but understand printing limitations. My favorite chapter was on Monet, but also enjoyed Matisse and Hopper. The most eye-opening was about Louise Nevelson -- the only woman included. I knew nothing of this American woman's magnificent accomplishments as a sculptor, mostly achieved after age 60. Now that's inspiring.
November 19, 2025
enjoyed Lacayo's thoughts on Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper and Louise Nevelson including a few of each of their later works, as well select bibliography for each as well as well prepared index. Lacayo saw that all these artists did keep working long enough to express their final insights into life and art and their final works were daring. However, Lacayo put aside any attempt at finding a single rule uniting the last achievements of every artist and instead considered the differences of each of these artist's final decades.
Favourite lines: "But old age can be no less liberating, if it brings with the confidence to try new things" (6); Goya, ..is one of the key points of entry into art-which means, into our shared awareness-of a clear-eyed recognition that chaos and madness are inextricable elements of the human predicament" (68); "Monet had an acute awareness of time, the great discovery of old age" (178); "Matisse's paper cut-outs combined a profound distillation of form and a sophisticated application of color with a childlike sense of delight" (191); Matisse said "life is short..without problems it would go by too quickly" (223); "Sunlight and silence, as ever Hopper's constants" (275); "Nevelson was..the creator of a hybrid outgrowth that played minimalist rigor, its simplified forms and economy of means against the internal intricacies that were necessary to art as she understood it" (307);
Favourite lines: "But old age can be no less liberating, if it brings with the confidence to try new things" (6); Goya, ..is one of the key points of entry into art-which means, into our shared awareness-of a clear-eyed recognition that chaos and madness are inextricable elements of the human predicament" (68); "Monet had an acute awareness of time, the great discovery of old age" (178); "Matisse's paper cut-outs combined a profound distillation of form and a sophisticated application of color with a childlike sense of delight" (191); Matisse said "life is short..without problems it would go by too quickly" (223); "Sunlight and silence, as ever Hopper's constants" (275); "Nevelson was..the creator of a hybrid outgrowth that played minimalist rigor, its simplified forms and economy of means against the internal intricacies that were necessary to art as she understood it" (307);
November 5, 2023
The book devotes about 50 pages to each artist, and each of these chapters reads like a compelling mini-biography (you don’t have to know anything about the painters to appreciate them). In addition, they can be read front to back or dipped into at random; a generous helping of images, along with some lovely endpapers, help illustrate Lacayo’s points.
What ultimately makes this worth reading is the writing: Lacayo avoids the artspeak in favor of a tone that is erudite but personable. Goya, a Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries whose early years were marked by a lightness of subject, grew darker and more mystical as he aged, reflecting on the barbarities of war — inspired by the Peninsular War, whose purges he survived. “Goya’s late work was an incendiary device that didn’t explode until it landed in the lap of the 20th century,” Lacayo writes of the painter, “an era terrible enough to understand it.”
In many ways, longevity — in life and in the studio — enhanced the posterity of these artists. Some of Goya’s most masterful works, and his most remembered — the grotesque Black Paintings, his horror-filled etchings series “The Disasters of War” — were created in the last two decades of life / AE
What ultimately makes this worth reading is the writing: Lacayo avoids the artspeak in favor of a tone that is erudite but personable. Goya, a Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries whose early years were marked by a lightness of subject, grew darker and more mystical as he aged, reflecting on the barbarities of war — inspired by the Peninsular War, whose purges he survived. “Goya’s late work was an incendiary device that didn’t explode until it landed in the lap of the 20th century,” Lacayo writes of the painter, “an era terrible enough to understand it.”
In many ways, longevity — in life and in the studio — enhanced the posterity of these artists. Some of Goya’s most masterful works, and his most remembered — the grotesque Black Paintings, his horror-filled etchings series “The Disasters of War” — were created in the last two decades of life / AE
November 3, 2024
Art critic and author Lacayo examines the lives and masterpieces of six prominent masters from across the centuries: Titian, Goya, Matisse, Nevelson, (and two of my favorites) Monet and Hopper. Monet’s and Hopper’s paintings display a mastery of light throughout their careers. Both artists struggled in their later years but persevered and created wonderful masterpieces of scenes close to their own homes.
Titian, the Renaissance master, created some of his most startling and intricate paintings well into his 80s although he refused to finish some paintings for years. There is much Spanish history and biography in the Goya chapter as well as fine critiques of his bleak black paintings.
Moving to the artists of the 20th century, the author points to the paintings and distinctive paper cutouts of Matisse when in his 80s. After dabbling in a few of the arts, Nevelson was “discovered” as a sculpture when in her 60s; over the next two decades her imaginative works in wood, metal and steel would capture the attention and praise of the art world.
I suppose this book can be read and enjoyed on two levels: one purpose is to show how artists can continue to create in old age; the other objective is to inspire the reader to find his/her own passion in the golden years.
Titian, the Renaissance master, created some of his most startling and intricate paintings well into his 80s although he refused to finish some paintings for years. There is much Spanish history and biography in the Goya chapter as well as fine critiques of his bleak black paintings.
Moving to the artists of the 20th century, the author points to the paintings and distinctive paper cutouts of Matisse when in his 80s. After dabbling in a few of the arts, Nevelson was “discovered” as a sculpture when in her 60s; over the next two decades her imaginative works in wood, metal and steel would capture the attention and praise of the art world.
I suppose this book can be read and enjoyed on two levels: one purpose is to show how artists can continue to create in old age; the other objective is to inspire the reader to find his/her own passion in the golden years.
February 23, 2025
Horrible ( ! )
What is The theme of this book ?
Why are The few paintings displayed so peckishly ?
Why is The commentary so repellent to refer to The chosen work, & so reluctant to identify The bits that are being discussed ?
How often is so ‘significant portion’ simply Not present in The selected painting, & if it is there, why is it being kept a secret ?
Another annoying point is The tiny portion of information bound to each painting, is Not at all relevant to anything later considered ! Each work is Not divided by chapters, so that I’m left wondering ‘who was The Artist ?’
Should it be clearer, or at all clear ?
The commentary goes on an on, referring to other works that are kept hidden from us !
Tedious, confusing & irrelevant, but to what theme ?
What is The theme of this book ?
Why are The few paintings displayed so peckishly ?
Why is The commentary so repellent to refer to The chosen work, & so reluctant to identify The bits that are being discussed ?
How often is so ‘significant portion’ simply Not present in The selected painting, & if it is there, why is it being kept a secret ?
Another annoying point is The tiny portion of information bound to each painting, is Not at all relevant to anything later considered ! Each work is Not divided by chapters, so that I’m left wondering ‘who was The Artist ?’
Should it be clearer, or at all clear ?
The commentary goes on an on, referring to other works that are kept hidden from us !
Tedious, confusing & irrelevant, but to what theme ?
Read
May 1, 2025Rarely do I reread a book, but this one is so rich I had to. For art lovers, it is a fascinating and easily read dive into the lives of six true greats: Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper and Nevelson.
For individuals facing retirement or declinging physical ability, it inspires a rethinking of what may be possible. Easch of these artist did amazing work and made lasting contributions long after society would have understood them retiring from active work. Titian in his old age reinvested bush work and changes the course of western art. Soem of Matisse's most beautiful and challenging work comes from the 14 years he survived and a near invalid following surgery for abdominal cancer.
For individuals facing retirement or declinging physical ability, it inspires a rethinking of what may be possible. Easch of these artist did amazing work and made lasting contributions long after society would have understood them retiring from active work. Titian in his old age reinvested bush work and changes the course of western art. Soem of Matisse's most beautiful and challenging work comes from the 14 years he survived and a near invalid following surgery for abdominal cancer.
July 11, 2025
I didn't get past the first chapter on Titian before giving up due the atrocious quality of the reproductions. The biographical parts of the text seems to be pretty good, but when the author is referencing some aspect (brushwork technique for example) of one of the many reproductions the reader is left gazing at a small image of what mostly looks like mud, completely defeating the author's intention.
June 12, 2023
I think this is a book best done in hardback and not as an audio book. It was exhausting looking up on google the art work cited....but I did learn a great deal about Nevelson and Hopper than I had known before and also Titan's late life. I would recommend the book but not necessarily what you want in an audiobook.
May 8, 2024
Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Hopper and Nevelson.
On Monet: Water Lilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie.
“Other painters paint a bridge, a house, a boat,” Monet said in 1895. “I want to paint the air that surrounds the bridge, the house, the boat – the beauty of the light in which they exist.”
On Matisse: Jazz and The Cut-Outs books, La Gerbe, Blue Nudes, The Snail, Memory of Oceania, Polinesia, Sea, Chapel in Vence
On Hopper: „Rooms by the sea” 🌊 🪟 „Sun in the empty room” and the sun collection
On Monet: Water Lilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie.
“Other painters paint a bridge, a house, a boat,” Monet said in 1895. “I want to paint the air that surrounds the bridge, the house, the boat – the beauty of the light in which they exist.”
On Matisse: Jazz and The Cut-Outs books, La Gerbe, Blue Nudes, The Snail, Memory of Oceania, Polinesia, Sea, Chapel in Vence
On Hopper: „Rooms by the sea” 🌊 🪟 „Sun in the empty room” and the sun collection
June 7, 2024
An enjoyable read/listen with good, short biographies of six diverse artists. I had hoped for more focus and perhaps analysis on the older age aspects of their careers/lives.
I did not feel that I got a good sense of what made them survive and thrive in their old age or what lessons could be learned by the commonalities between these 6 artists in their late phase.
I did not feel that I got a good sense of what made them survive and thrive in their old age or what lessons could be learned by the commonalities between these 6 artists in their late phase.
January 14, 2025
I liked the history covered along with the art. I found the Goya section difficult but Spanish history is difficult. I don’t like reading detailed descriptions of art that isn’t included. It’s distracting to the reading looking things up. Overall a very good artist presentation. Lots of things there to learn
December 23, 2025
A great read. I highly recommend if you want to learn more about how 6 great artists used their limited time in this world. The audibook is equally fullfilling if you want something to listen to when you want to take a break and disappear into the world of art.
February 16, 2023
Great insight into the energy and drive that existed in these artists even late in their lives. Makes you realize and understand those things don't have to wither with age.
March 3, 2023
Great subject but too many in-depth descriptions and not enough art plates to examine .. would make a good art history course but. Just too hard to read
March 5, 2023
Textbook or research. Not for enjoyment.
August 7, 2023
Excellent look at artists who used their advanced age to continue their work and redefining the word "old" as antiquated and not applicable in their world.
May 4, 2024
Learning that Edward Hopper loved anal and beat his wife hits harder since my favorite painting is nighthawks
Also i didnt know matisse and nevelson were freaky like that 🤪🤪
Also i didnt know matisse and nevelson were freaky like that 🤪🤪
June 2, 2024
Inspiring, even if I’m not an artist. And a really interesting angle on some important art history.
October 5, 2024
I found it tremendously interesting to read about the challenges of aging and their impact their work and lives. Some great role models here (and not)
October 11, 2024
Listened to the audiobook. Wow! 6 famous artist are highlighted in their golden years.
January 14, 2025
As this book shows, there can be great art in old(er) age.
April 6, 2025
great book
Well written and an excellent view into the artist’s passion and drive. The author illustrates the artist’s drive to complete their life’s expressions.
Well written and an excellent view into the artist’s passion and drive. The author illustrates the artist’s drive to complete their life’s expressions.
December 7, 2025
An excellent, breezy treatise on late-life inspiration, funneled through the lives of six disparate artists, each of whom created towering achievements in their old age.
January 30, 2023
Analysis of late life productivity by Titian, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Edward Hopper and Louise Nevelson, a modern installationist and sculptor. I admit, tearfully, that I did not finish the Nevelson chapter. Sorry. Will google her as penance. Good book, illuminating.
April 18, 2023
A nice collection of short biographies. Although I am not sure that the central theme of this book – how some artists tackled old age – is well developed. I was particularly captivated by the description of Tiziano‘s brushwork as precursor of modernism and Hopper’s navigation of abstract expressionism, rather than their old age endeavors. The “last light” thread seemed to me loose and often imperceptible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews