Modern Art and the Death of a Culture [Paperback]

H. R. Rookmaaker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 1994

This disturbing but illuminating classic is a brilliant perspective on the cultural turmoil of the radical sixties and its impact on today's world, especially as reflected in the art of the time. Rookmaaker's enduring analysis looks at modern art in a broad historical, social, and philosophical context, laying bare the despair and nihilism that pervade our era. He also shows the role Christian artists can play in proclaiming truth through their work.

Rookmaaker's brilliant articulation of faith and scholarship is insightful and inspiring. The book moves freely and with a sense of urgency between the worlds of high culture, popular art and music, and Christian faith.

This reissue makes his foundational work available to a new generation.

"A landmark book in the story of contemporary Christians in the arts." --Os Guinness, author of The American Hour

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (July 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891077995
• ISBN-13: 978-0891077992
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #385,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

H. R. ROOKMAAKER (1922-1977) grew up in the Dutch East Indies. As a young man in wartime Holland, he was interned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets and became a Christian during that time. In 1948 a lifelong friendship with Francis Schaeffer began. In 1959 Rookmaaker published his doctoral thesis on the artist Gauguin, and in 1965 he was invited to the Chair of Art History at the Free University of Amsterdam. Rookmaaker was also highly respected as a jazz critic.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BOOK ON MODERN ART IN PRINT September 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Dr. Rookmaaker was the Professor of the History of Art at the Free University of Amsterdam. This book is his very interesting analysis of art and how it reflects the culture. Rookmaaker was of the opinion that artists were like canaries in a mine. They were (are) the early warning system. They show clearly where a society is headed. They are not (as many cultural conservatives falsely believe) the cause of societies problems, rather they are the earliest indicators of those problems. This book (first published in 1970) is more timely than ever. It (and Dr. Rookmaaker) were a huge influence on Dr. Francis Schaeffer (The entire "line of despair" idea in "The God Who is There" comes from Rookmaaker). I highly recommend this book.

41 of 47 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Careful reading required November 21, 2000

By Mark Grindell VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I used to really like this book. Finding it at the Dales Bible Week in Harrogate was a stroke of exceptional good fortune. Together with various texts by Schaffer and Guinness, I found a good deal of clear explanation for the kinds of encounters with literature I had had in recent years.

However, I think that in later years I became somewhat anxious. Oddly enough there was the coincidence that nearly all the actual content of the Dales Bible week was suddenly coming under very close scrutiny and rightly being found wanting, I re-read quite a few of the texts I picked up in that period (which was the late 70's and early 80's), this included.

What passes for scholarship in this book is quite hard to resist, and requires the most detailed knowledge to refute. I have some friends who have tried to do this. It takes years to absorb the whole impact of 19th century machinations in the arts, and the 20th century is far more difficult. I found that Rookmaakers analysis still held up, though it is hard to rationalise how this book has now become the sole element in far too many arts and literature courses in Christian establishments. Not every stream of arts development led entirely to despair, and not every artist abrogated their responsibility to truth quite so wilfully as the author seems to suggest.

The book has become, in fact, far too embedded in the Christian subculture now. And this of course is a dreadful trap. In some institutions this form of criticism has become an alternative and if fact, vicarious alternative to real scholarship.

At the risk of being classed as a reckless fool, I would suggest it would be best if there was a concious attempt to point focus away from the L'abri fellowship for a while and to allow people to develop and sharpen real critical skills. This should never compromise real faith. Once again, what is happening in the real world is a loss of dialectic clarity among those who should be the salt and light.

Another concern is that now the arts are so degenerate, it is now almost certainly the case that the canary is now thoroughly dead, and very little, if anything is to be gained from it's postmortem. I suspect that far more is to be gained by shifting the focus of action to other spheres.

I'm afraid I must sound very critical of this - I don't mean to really. The book contains invaluable truth and should be read. However, things in the secular world are changing rapidly and it is important for us all to think on our feet.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars We are experiencing what this book predicts July 31, 2006

By Richard N. Harding

Format:Paperback

Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by Rookmaaker

This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. I heard a lecture by Rookmaaker in Amsterdam in 1972. I thought a lecture on art would bore me to death. Instead I was on the edge of my seat even after an all night plane ride. The book shows through art how our culture has moved away from the concept of a transcendent God since the 1300s. It is an exciting read because it takes the words of the artists themselves right up the the 1970s to explain their art and their spiritual beliefs. It is very hard to put this book down even for someone like me who is not all that excited about art. It is ominous in its predictions of what impact this has on our present culture.

You can get it used [...]. I value it so much I don't even loan my copy out.