Customer Reviews

On Reflection

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'On Reflection' is a highly erudite, constantly stimulating, beautifully (and always aptly) illustrated book. Miller has that rare gift of being able to share and indeed pass on his own limitless curiosity about phenomena we normally take for granted: in this case reflections in life and art. Since reading the book I have found myself looking anew at familiar paintings, staring intensely at objects in my house and the world outside, and finding myself more disconcerted than usual when catching a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Reading the book is akin to hearing Jonathan Miller talk: gently, amusingly, non-dogmatically, and always illuminatingly. When you add to that the rich and varied illustrations, the combination is unbeatable!

It was not to understand reflections that I bought this book, but to understand the way Miller thinks. I did understand that to some extent and I understood something about reflections as well.

This book gives mainly painters' impressions of reflections in mirrors, waters and gleaming surfaces of all kinds, under different light circumstances and different angles. The text explains why our eyes see a reflection at the same time as they see a surface, and why the reflection tells what kind of surface there is. It also deals with the intriguing parts the mirror plays for model, painter, and spectator. This is really a very beautiful book and it is instructive for me, as a painter.
This is a book to look into and to read again and again! Till now I borrowed it from the library, but I am happy to have it for myself now.