Artistic Greatness: A Comparative Exploration of Michelangelo, Beethoven, & Monet [Paperback]

Thomas McBurney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1880090783 | ISBN-13: 978-1880090787 | Edition: 1

Why are some artists and musicians held up as Great while others are merely considered good? Artistic Greatness examines the intimate details of the lives of three of the world s greatest artistic geniuses to provide an answer. What did these men have in common? Part history, part biography, and part sociological chronicle, Artistic Greatness is a work of art in itself.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas R. McBurney has had an extensive arts education, including classes at the British Institute in Florence, research in France, Italy, and Austria plus numerous lectures, interviews and score of books. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a former Chairman of the U.S. Food Division of the Pillsbury Co. McBurnery is currently a management consultant, a member of several corporate boards and an active director of a number of major arts organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Galde Press, Inc.; 1 edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880090783
• ISBN-13: 978-1880090787
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Beethoven, Ludwig

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Book Offers a Broad Spectrum of Appeal, April 18, 2000

By 

Warren Oskey (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artistic Greatness: A Comparative Exploration of Michelangelo, Beethoven, & Monet (Paperback)

Throughout his book, McBurney provides excellent contextual and personal information on three of the world's greatest artists, chosen primarily for of their pivotal positions in their areas of expertise. Especially with Claude Monet, it is as if the author followed the artist throughout his life, reporting on the facts occurring simultaneously with his writing, as did Boswell with Samuel Johnson.

But more importantly, this book is not only for lovers of great art. It has relevance for every reader who has aspirations toward greatness. Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Monet are among the many great people around whom we would profit from modeling our own lives. Readers can place themselves in the position of the artist to find out how they compare and what is needed if they are to succeed, as these artists certainly did.

In reporting the salient facts of the lives of his chosen artists, McBurney displays a grasp of the qualities that make for artistic greatness that belie his credentials as a businessman. It became apparent to this reader that the essential characteristics that the author concludes to be the requisites of great artists apply to other, perhaps even all, areas of endeavor, including business, which is, after all, the 'business of America'. For example, just as with great artists, business leaders require the physical and emotional stamina necessary to overcome hurtles and obstacles that stand in their way. Read the book to discover other traits, how the artists under the author's scrutiny applied them, and how you might apply them to achieve success, and perhaps even greatness, in your life.