Customer Reviews

Sister Wendy's Story of Painting (Enhanced and Expanded Edition)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I first read this book when I was enrolled in an art history class in college. The text book we had for the class was informative, but many of the works we studied in detail were not pictured in the text. Sister Wendy covered each of those major works with great care. Her photos and close-ups were, almost work for work, the exact paintings and close-ups we had discussed in the class. I ended up reading more from Sister Wendy than from the text, because she gave wonderful synopses of key points, and included more photos. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is curious about painting. It will improve your future museum visits just by flipping through the pages

How bizarre...

...and yet, how wonderful. Who would have ever thought that a nun going through the museum would have (a) been interesting, (b) been publishable, (c) been television-worthy, or (d) been within the realm of credible imaginings? And yet, here is the proof, on my coffee table. Sister Wendy's smiling face, next to a scowling Vincent, greets me each day with my morning cocoa.

This is a book to be savoured. It cannot, like the morning cocoa, be rushed and enjoyed. This must take time. Not because the text is dense or confusing--indeed, it is not. It is lively, witty, historical, accessible, all that one could want in a book on art.

But, mostly, it is exquisitely visual in layout. Everything is photographed and reproduced in stunning colour and low-gloss format to make the pages vibrant and durable yet easily seen. Care has gone into the production of this volume. None of the art is reduced to black and white, but rather presented in glorious colour. With over 800 images in under 400 pages, this is a feast for the eyes. Each page is dominated by art, not text. That makes for slow moving, like reading a museum..

Sister Wendy Beckett takes us on an historical tour of painting (in the European theatre of history), beginning with prehistoric cave-art and drawings, leading up to modern and post-modern artists.

She takes representative pieces, such as the Bosch painting of Death and the Miser to illustrate points of colour, detail, composition, and story. Some paintings have complex stories (such as this one), others have simple composition (such as the `innocently disadvantaged' Mona Lisa) which give endless speculation as to the meaning.

Sister Wendy explores each era of artistic history, listed below in broad categories (there are several subcategories of each), giving history and philosophy as well as major and representative minor works, explaining in detail at least one or two works for each, concentrating on painting, but also bringing in as relevant sculpture, stained glass, architecture, and other artistic media.

+ Art of the Ancient World
+ Gothic Painting
+ Italian Renaissance
+ Northern Renaissance
+ Baroque and Rococo
+ Neoclassicism and Romanticism
+ The Age of Impressionism
+ Post-Impressionism
+ The Twentieth Century

Sister Wendy does an admirable job at not concentrating exclusively on religious and Christian art (for being a nun), however, given the history of art in Europe, this is a major theme in its own right.

The Epilogue, says Sister Wendy, 'is both an afterword and a foreword: hundreds and thousands of artists come after the disappearance of the `story line' into the maze of contemporary artistic experience and these same artists may of course, be the forerunners of a new story.' In concluding her volume, she highlights the paintings of Robert Natkin, Joan Mitchell and Albert Herbert, the art of each she hopes will endure.

The expanded version of "The Story of Painting" features an exponentially larger selection of artwork and commentary from Sister Wendy; both being a plus that benefits the reader.

This is not a dry, scholarly work, and I suspect the author would not desire it to be viewed that way anyway. What "The Story of Painting" brings to the reader is a very approachable style of writing and some of the most lush artwork you will see in any book on this subject. I was particularly surprised to see many works that I had never seen in any other book of this kind. Some were a revelation (like Tintorretto's "The Last Supper"), while others allowed - via the detailed closeups featured in the book - a closer inspection of brushstrokes and technique not normally covered in other historical painting overviews.

"The Story of Painting" begins with short section covering works before the medieval era, mostly Greek, Roman, and Etruscan, then kicks into high gear before ending with the 20th Century. This concluding section is one of the weaker parts of the book, but I think it can be argued that the latter half of that time period has not produced many of the glorious works featured in other parts of the book. Too much time deconstructing art and not enough making soul-stirring paintings, I suppose.

As with any Sister Wendy art book, you get the sage, grandmotherly insights into the works from a woman who deeply enjoys art. Other books impart a barrier between the works, the critical evaluation of them by the author, and the reader. Sister Wendy smashes that piece of artifice and seeks to draw people into the works themselves, not to critique them and simply move on to the next, but to give life to each work. She does this admirably, in my opinion. From time to time she does take more time to dissect a piece and look at it elements apart from the work as a whole, and in each evaluation she lends her knowledge of iconography and symbolism to help the reader fully understand the painter's intent. Very helpful. When compared with other art books, it becomes even more rare as it also might be one of the few books of its kind that would work well as a primer for parents sitting down with children to examine the works together.

Lastly, the book itself is classic Dorling Kindersley: bright, white, glossy paper; easy to read, well-spaced typesetting; beautiful and large illustrations; helpful sidebars; and just an overall feel of quality. It's quite hard to find fault with the book. And as an expanded version of the original, it works faultlessly. This hefty tome practically defines the phrase "coffee table book". At 736 pages in length, its sheer heft would make it a fine weapon against your least favorite sneering, art critic!

Highly recommended.

After re-reading The Story of Painting up to the Mannerist period, I read History of Art, by A. W. Janson, up until the same time. I found both experiences wonderful.

Glancing back at The Story of Painting, the incomparable visual presentation was dramatically apparant. I have been wondering ever since if Sister Wendy Beckett arranged for some of her profits to be plowed back into high quality paper and extra large details that you find throughout the book.

I also appreciate the time she takes to closely analyze some of the paintings. In the History of Art, there are many references to the necessity to be brief. Sister Wendy takes the time to look in depth at key paintings.

In regards to a former review where it said that Sister Wendy knows nothing about art, I would be interested in a few solid examples of her ignorance. She certainly delights me with her presentations and has motivated me to further study.

If you are a Sister Wendy Beckett fan, I would encourage you to get a copy of the VCR-taped interview with Bill Moyers. I find her depth and insight an inspiration and Bill Moyers is a most excellent interviewer. I wish they would do it with a few more topics, such as English Literature and European History.

Beautiful Italian printing of art set this book apart from ordinary. Details of pictures are expanded and commented on for greater understanding and appreciation. Side bars note where other work of the artist is available. Commentary is just right amount and depth for all to enjoy.

This book has brought life to painting and the history of art for my 10 year old daughter. She has looked at other art books before, but has never paid too much attention to the explanations written in the text. This book has held her attention, it is different from others because Sister Wendy gives such vivid descriptions of the artists and especially of their paintings. I am thoroughly enjoying reading this book with my daughter. There are some nude pictures in it, as another reviewer mentioned; nevertheless, they are in good taste and beautiful. Sister Wendy gets 5 stars from our family!

The first time I came across Wendy Becket's "The Story of Painting", I was taking some History of the Art classes and I thought this book would be very useful for my lessons. I was completely wrong. It was not only useful for my course but also for my everyday life as an art enthusiast.

Now, three years and much more experience later I still have this book at hand because I always want to check something about a painter or a work. Her stile is unique and easy. Although the book is chronological developed, one can pick a picture at randon and read and learn about it. It deals with the whole history of painting since the primitive humans to the late 20th century artists. It is packed with beautiful colourful paintings that are a refresh for the eyes - some readers may find funny what I said hence the fact I am writing about a of about art, but I myself have some art history books in which most pictures are black & white, what can be very frustating.

In the begining of every section, there's a very complete timeline showing historical and artitics events of each era. And in every single page there are some margin notes about any relevant point related to the main picture such as times, characters, literature... But the most important thing, to me, is the study of the paintings. They are very detailed and easy to understand even for those who always complian not understanding art. Evey tecnical term that the writer uses is explained in an easy way.

It seems to me that the only thing that this book misses out is sculpture. But it is not actually a problem, once the book is about painting. I feel that after reading and studying most of this book - I haven't read everything yet- I've never looked to a painting as I did before. Now I know how to analyze and really enjoy it. I highly recomend this book for those who when contemplating a painting can only say " OH! That's beatiful!",because everybody says so. This book will give you background to say why a painter is good or not.

Published in association with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., this guide to the history of western art is a handsome volume containing over 450 masterpieces, each rendered in glorious full-color. The eminently readable text covers the development and movements in painting over the past 800 years, from Gothic to Renaissance, Romanticism to Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism to Modernism.

The author selects over 30 of the world's most famous paintings for in-depth studies. For instance, greater meaning is found in Van Gogh's "Self-Portrait" when the author uses enlarged details of the painting to reveal hidden meanings and symbolism. The swirling background that surrounds the solid, vivid head points toward the delicate nature of his mental state. A patch of bright green beneath the eye draws the viewer to Van Gogh's unswerving gaze, while this green added to the red in the hair suggest unleashed passion.

A member of the Notre Dame order, a teaching order of nuns, Sister Wendy Beckett studied at St. Anne's College, Oxford, where she graduated with highest honors. The author of several art books, she also writes for art magazines and has been featured on a television series.

Whether well schooled in the world of art or a neophyte, The Story Of Painting is a valuable addition to your library.

- Gail Cooke

If you study art history at all, you know that the Roman Catholic Church (in particular various popes such as Julius and the Medici family-line popes)were great patrons of the arts in order to glorify both the Church (Christianity) and their pontificate. Michaelangelo, Rafael, etc. were commissioned by the Church to produce magnificent works of art, and indeed they did, hence the Sistine Chapel and The School of Athens in the papal apartments. If Mr. Jin looks at the numerous Annunciation paintings and reads history, he will realize that they are reflections of "popular culture"--Christianity was the HUGE influence at that time. Popular culture at any given time reflects what is on the "minds of the people"--hence the name POPULAR that comes from POPULATION. Today's "culture" reflects the obssession with celebrities, hence the plethora of celebrity gossip magazines.

Anyway, the book IS magnificent and so assessible to the common person. As much as I love art history and have 15 college credits in it, I don't want to read the dry stuff either. This edition with its close-ups is magnificently done, and the copy is easily digested. I think Sister Wendy did the art world a favor, and this is how art should be presented instead of pretentiously overdone by "experts" who want to impress each other. By the way, I'm probably the only person who prefers Rafael to Michaelangelo (though he can't be TOUCHED in sculpture), I think that everyone should check out "The School of Athens"--what a masterpiece! And Picasso's "Guernica" is a haunting portrayal of the horrors of war. Knowing the stories behind the paintings and not worrying about the "methods" the artists used (which should be relegated to a techniques-type book) makes the paintings so much more meaningful to an audience. I don't care for Cubism until I know that it's influenced by stylized African art and that Picasso was reacting the 1937 bombing of Guernica. Live on, Sister Wendy!

This book sells itself, of course, with the beautiful paintings from throughout history. But I have just a couple of problems with it: First, I question the choices of some of the art in the book. Or should I say not in the book. Of course, they couldn't put in every painting ever done, but I think there are some too-obviously missing pieces. Second, I miss Sister Wendy's warm humor. The material seemed clipped, as if the editor just crossed out everything funny, just to shorten the material. Well, not everything -- some of it managed to find its way in. On both of these counts, I must say I would rather have had two volumes and included more paintings and more of her commentary. This one is just not enough. But still, if you were brought up to admire fine art, as I was, you will LOVE sitting down with this book.

.