Sister Wendy Beckett writes about art in a style that is idiosyncratic, fresh, and perceptive. In 1000 Masterpieces, she applies her unique intensity to what most inspires her in the artist's work as well as to the essential life events that shaped the work. Arranged alphabetically by artist, each work receives a full page of attention. The text contains information, annotated where necessary on materials and techniques, on the artist's symbolism, and on the location where the original work is displayed.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
This handsome tome is packed to the gills with paintings, and while readers might disagree with any of Sister Wendy Beckett's choices (that's half the fun, perhaps), there are still hundreds of unforgettable works of art that nearly any reader can appreciate. Most of the pictures, even those that seem unprepossessing at first glance, are made riveting by Sister Wendy's quirky, personal narratives, in which the simplest of images is suddenly rendered a dramatic focal point. A perfectly ordinary Dutch scene by Hendrick Avercamp--Frozen River, 1620--shows people going about their business on a lively patch of ice where children play hockey and adults chat and work. Sister Wendy seizes on a fishing hole cut into the ice through which a circle of cold, black water is apparent. "The hole that has been cut in the ice can frighten us when our eye falls into it, and this is the only hint of the inherent danger of the scene," she writes ominously. In Anthony Van Dyck's magnificent portrait of Charles I of England, she observes of his regal hauteur, "In hindsight we can see the tragedy: that a man so remote from common humanity, so superb in his conceit, must be heading for a fall."
There are bound to be some infelicitous matches in a book that is arranged alphabetically, such as the pages shared by Robert Mangold's hot, geometric Four Color Frame Painting No. 1, 1983, and Andrea Mantegna's profoundly reverent Dead Christ, 1480. And Rosalba Carriera's portraits look decidedly meretricious across from those of the masterful Mary Cassatt. But all in all, this is a page-turner with brief captions that offer guidance to any reader in search of the telling note that draws one to a work of art, whatever its era, style, size, or subject. --Martha Hardin
From Library Journal
The world's favorite nun-cum-art historian returns this season with two surveys of great art, both emphasizing mostly Western painting since the Italian Renaissance. As one might guess from the titles, the DK compendium is the larger book. It follows a format familiar from Phaidon's The Art Book: each page displays image and text representing a single artist, and the alphabetical arrangement by artists' names results in some illuminating, and some annoying, juxtapositions. Where The Art Book maintained one picture per page amid a rigorous structure with plenty of white space, 1000 Masterpieces lives up to its numerical claim by placing two gems to a page and varying sizes and text blocks to cram in as much information as possible. The space is tight, and the text is little more than extended captions with the Sister's piquant observations on content and meaning. Surprisingly, Sister Wendy makes no attempt to extend the text in her more generously formatted album of "favorites" from Abrams, yet she does achieve greater variety in the smaller number of works. Some sculpture, a few Asian works, and even a porcelain cup and saucer are included among these apparently more personal choices. Indeed, many of the Sister's favorites do not make the cut for 1000 Masterpieces, pointing up the vagaries of her selection processAin each book's short introductions (the only writing other than the captions), she simply declares how difficult the choosing was. In any case, both books well fulfill their purpose as introductory appreciations, and both will be popular with Sister Wendy's many fans. For sheer size, 1000 Masterpieces is a fine choice for libraries, while My Favorite Things may be better suited to gift-giving.AEric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
124 of 132 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A nice coffe-table book, but little more than just that.,
This review is from: Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces (Hardcover)
It would be hard to argue that, whether you love her or hate her, Sister Wendy has probably had more impact than anyone else on shaping what the wide, non-specialist audiences know about art. In spite of being a mega hit, her last best seller "The Story of Painting" has sometimes been criticized for its naiveté, and [perhaps rightly so] for too little scholarship, and far too much touchy-feely stuff. And yet, it was this combination of direct, and unabashedly personal take on art, along with DK's splendid reproductions, and accessible "perfect X-mas gift" pricing, that made Sister Wendy's book and TV series a well-deserved runaway success [and my students' favorite]. She was so different, so irritating, and yet strangely likeable, all at once. Now DK is back with another lavish Sister Wendy production, just in time for yet another X-mas season. Sorry to say it, but this one is sort of a dud. Arranged alphabetically like an encyclopedia or a dictionary, but far form encyclopedic depth, discipline, precision, or detail, this sizeable book crams 1000 reproductions on its by now regular-fare DK pages. It is an impressive, if odd collection, and yet, despite all this dazzling lavishness and colorful fireworks there is more glitter than substance here and, alas, all Sister Wendy's oddball charm and likeability are gone for good too. Sure, it's a nice coffee-table book, and at this price, with literally 1000 decent [not great] reproductions it's certainly a bargain. But the necessarily short sound bites that accompany most paintings are often banal, always shallow, and sometimes of arguably questionable interpretive accuracy [e.g. Frida Kahlo piece]. The text is hardly worth reading, having none of its predecessor's charm, coherence, and gusto. As for pictures, impressive collection that they are, many have frequently been reproduced in DK's earlier books, including Sister Wendy's own "Story of Painting." On the merit of its colorful variety alone [since clearly not for its text], this book deserves a place in any library's reference section. It will also be a wonderful gift for any experienced art aficionado: a quick review of the great and famous, with a few rare, bonus finds, but only if you know enough to fill in the fine details yourself. It's like a concert piano: unless you have the skill to transform it into art, it's just a piece of furniture, impressive as it may look in your living room. As an entry-level introduction to art, however, "The Story of Painting" remains an unbeatable champion, and neither this book, nor DK's similarly hefty, lavish, and even more failed "Art: World History" comes close.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book has beautiful reproductions.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces (Hardcover)
This book is a collection of the most beautiful reproductions and is a must-have for anyone who loves art. The comments are brief but insightful, but it is the quality of the art that makes the collection outstanding. At the price it's a steal.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Selection,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces (Hardcover)
I love this book. The reproductions are fantastic, and although I don't always agree with the choice of artists and paintings (no two people could), it is undeniably a staggering array of great art. I cannot recommend this highly enough: it is the perfect single-volume work for anyone who wants an introduction to some of the world's greatest paintings.
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