Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)There are thousands of art books...but let's face it...most have gorgeous illustrations but boring descriptions. This is a book apart. The author - Julian Spalding - has been a curator for many important art museums in Great Britain...so he knows how to pick the winners. He obtains his special vision from intimately handling art pieces...from packing them...choosing them...and searching for ways to introduce these imaginative products of world culture. The author is well known for his lovely introduction to world art for novices titled "The Art of Wonder".
I describe this new book as his "personal choice" of art masterpieces most would ordinarily overlook in a world tour of museums. In other words, Mr. Spalding is telling us, don't go to the National Gallery in Washington D.C. just to see Leonardo Da Vinci's art...take a minute and consider the brilliant Native American portrait of "Shon-ka-ka-he-ga" (head chief of the Pawnees) made by George Catlin in 1832. That's in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Another exceptional work of art he brought to my attention was a Marienalter in a church in Creglingen, Germany. Because of the Reformation, this exceptional altar was kept in storage for hundreds of years because it celebrated "Mary" Queen of Heaven in a way inconsistent with the Lutheran Church. When it was originally returned to its proper place, it was in beautiful condition. It is carved in amazingly intricate, filagree limewood - 30 feet tall. Mary, Mother of God is carved in different stages of her biblical history. The whole altarpiece is conceived as a tree, perhaps the Tree of Knowledge. I now think of this glorious act of creation as my favorite altarpiece of the Middle Ages/Renaissance next to (of course) "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" of Van Eyck.
I thought his writing style was captivating. An example: In introducing "Night Sky Dreaming" (an Australian acrylic on canvas that represents native religious expression) he gives us the story of the young curator from Glasgow Museum who brought it back to the institution. She is a vegetarian...yet she went to Australia and had to live with the bushmen long enough to be adopted as a daughter by one of the men of the tribe. She had to cook for him - kangaroo and beetles. Only later, when she returned empty handed, did she receive a FAX that she was invited back to an Aborigine celebration as a daughter; only then could she take back to the Museum one of the dream paintings created through that religious ceremony. My word..what a story!
There are precious few books like this...lovely photographs of transcendent works... matched by engaging writing....the type of book that takes us "outside the box." Somewhat similar is Thomas Hoving's "Greatest Works of Art of Western Civilization" Although Mr. Hoving (once a curator of one of the finest museums of the world) includes well-known masterpieces as Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or Bosch's "Garden of Delights", he also introduces "The Bohemian Madonna", "Montezuma's Headdress", The Pieta of Avignon."
In summary, "The Best Art You've Never Seen" is a beautiful treasure in itself. Highly recommended.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Best Art You've Never Seen: 101 Hidden Treasures From Around the World (Rough Guide Reference Series)
Across the globe there are scores of beautiful and unusual works of art that are largely unseen or fail to receive the critical acclaim they deserve. "The Best Art You've Never Seen" is your essential companion to this hidden world of artistic treasures. Travelling from Peru to Papua New Guinea, "The Best Art You've Never Seen" restores to view 101 wonderful treasures - uncovering neglected artistic wonders from off-beat corners of the world to store rooms in the world's great museums. Written by art expert and former museum director Julian Spalding, "The Best Art You've Never Seen" takes you into a world of beautiful and arresting artefacts and reveals their amazing stories. It unveils a surprising and unfamiliar alternative canon of works to offer a fresh and controversial take on the world of art.
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