Full Description
Which of us, in the presence of a painting, has not felt that we lack the keys to decipher it? We feel an emotional response, but the work still seems to evade our understanding. Francoise Barbe-Gall combines a nuanced understanding of the way viewers respond to paintings with a rich knowledge of their context and circumstances of their creation. The result is like a tour of an extraordinary museum in the company of a gentle yet authoritative guide. A fascinating range of works are grouped in six thought-provoking chapters that examine our different responses to the ways in which paintings define reality. The author takes as her point of departure the impressions that we all feel when confronted by a canvas and takes us on a voyage of discovery fired by her own passionate enthusiasm for the subject. What is the painting's relationship with the real world? Has the artist idealized nature, or distorted it? Did they want to shock the viewer, or provide consolation? With a clear approach and straightforward yet subtle analysis, the meaning of each work slowly becomes clear.From Raphael's penetrating character study of Castiglione, through Hopper's cinematic take on the wee small hours of the morning, Barbe-Gall begins by covering a number of ostensibly realistic works, made from the stuff of everyday life. Going in quite the other direction, she then looks at the way paintings can express moments of heightened reality, from the perfection of Boticelli's Primavera to the arresting glance of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. She discusses paintings that distort the visible world (Parmigianino's Madonna with an improbably long neck, Dali's melting clocks) and those that sow confusion to make us pay closer attention to the real world (Cezanne's depiction of a forest glade, a mysterious fifteenth century altarpiece). Questions of history, style, iconography and composition are dealt in context of the paintings she discusses. Lavishly illustrated and featuring thirty-six fascinating works from Raphael to Rothko, Breughel to Bacon, this is also a magnificent art book.
Contents
Chapter 1 Observing a simple reality Discovering the essence of a character Raphael, Balthazar Castiglione Confronting the truth of emotions Caravaggio, The Death of the Virgin Guessing what remains unsaid Bartolomeo Bettera, Still Life with Two Lutes, a Virginal and Books on a Table Covered by a Carpet Feeling a sense of deja vu John Constable, Helmingham Dell Believing ourselves at the cinema Edward Hopper, Nighthawks Recognizing the substance of the world Antoni Tapies, Seven Chairs Chapter 2 Contemplating a sublimated world Assisting at a significant event Rogier van der Weyden, The Descent from the Cross Flirting with the idea of perfection Sando Botticelli, Primavera Feeling time stand still Jan Vermeer, The Head of a Young Girl, or Girl with a Pearl Earring Accepting that we cannot see everything Diego Velazquez, The Rokeby Venus Noticing the grace of the present Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Moulin de la Galette Witnessing the birth of light Pierre Soulages, Painting Chapter 3 Analysing distortions to the visible world Imagining the point of eternity Giotto di Bondone, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Discerning the troubles of history Il Parmigianino, The Madonna with the Long Neck Sensing a metamorphosis Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Mademoiselle Riviere Glimpsing primitive nature Henri Rousseau ('Le Douanier'), Child with Doll Adapting to circumstances Pablo Picasso, The Aubade Abandoning the evidence Salvador Dali, Persistence of Memory Chapter 4 Taking account of what appears confusing Making allowances for mystery Anonymous Provencal artist, The Boulbon Altarpiece Taking time to be wrong Pieter Bruegel, The Bearing of the Cross Appreciating a way of thinking Jean-Antoine Watteau, Embarkation for Cythera Measuring the difficulty of seeing Paul Cezanne, In the Park at Chateau Noir Welcoming a new freedom Vassily Kandinsky, With the Black Arch Feeling our way to reality Georges Braque, Woman with a Guitar Chapter 5 Getting over the shock of our first impression Considering the function of a painting Mathias Grunewald, The Crucifixion Seizing the grandeur of a ritual Rembrandt, The Flayed Ox Passing through the mirror Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes, Les Vieilles or Time Understanding the logic of a vision Paul Gauguin, Vision of the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) Seeing life unravel Edvard Munch, The Scream Gaining access to the opposite side of things Francis Bacon, Study of George Dyer in a Mirror Chapter 6 Abandoning ourselves to the gentleness of a painting Abandoning our fear of shadows Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne Seeing history in the making Nicolas Poussin, Rinaldo and Armida Forgetting the weight of the world Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Saint Thomas of Villanueva Distributing Alms Enjoying a lasting peace Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Three Apples, Two Chestnuts, Bowl and Silver Goble, or The Silver Goblet Welcoming the ephemeral Claude Monet, Water Lilies Learning to wait Mark Rothko, The Ochre
