Simon Schama's Power of Art

Often art books can be rather highbrow and aimed at people who already know what they're talking about. The joy of Schama's work is that it is readable, interesting and understandable to the average person without ever being patronising or just plain dumb. Doing a course on art history I had to tackle the paintings of Mark Rothko, which is not easy for a beginner. Schama's fine chapter on Rothko gave me a way in to start looking at and actually making sense of the paintings. The chapters on David and Pollock were equally illuminating. The illustrations are of an excellent quality and a good size, so you can really get up close to the pictures and I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Beautifully printed and written (5/5 people found this helpful)

This is a delightful book: the BBC has produced a real gem. While the format sems to be caught between two stools (part coffee-table book, part bed-side book), it manages to capture two types of reader: the browser for the sensational prints and close-ups of the paintings, and the reader: for the snappy prose of Schama. You can hear is slightly derogatory tone coming off the pages. he has managed to construct good stories around the painters and situate their work within their lives to give the book a bit of momentum. Hats off.

There is so much more to art that just paint and canvas! (7/7 people found this helpful)

After being totally addicted to the BBC series, I was given this book as a present by my long-suffering partner and I can honestly say it's one of the best coffee table/non-fiction books I've ever owned. Schama is an amazingly engaging writer, he has you there, focused on everything he says - you take in the information - just like the best teacher you ever had at school - you just cant help it. If school had been half as interesting as this I would have had a degree in art!! And as a post script, I dragged the afore mentioned, long suffering partner round the Louvre for nearly four hours tracking down the paintings in this book and he had to listen to me waxing lyrical about the artist/painting - OK, he's probably questioning the day he bought this book for me but you know what I think I actually have him interested in art as more than just a piece of canvas and paint!

Vintage Simon Schama (58/58 people found this helpful)

This is vintage Simon Schama. I was transfixed during all of his excellent series on the History of Britain a few years ago and as a result bought and read the three books that accompanied that series. Simon Schama has a wonderful knack of writing in the same droll, ironic, knowing style that he uses to present his TV series. The style of the writing really draws the reader in just as Schama the TV presenter pulls the viewer into the subject.

The book itself very closely follows the TV series which is currently being broadcast. OK so this is not a huge intellectual tome and neither was "History of Britain". But to me this is irrelevant. What Schama is really good at is popularising a subject that some of us were previously unfamiliar with. Those who are really into art in a big way will probably know the material anyway, but for those of us who aren't experts Simon Schama provides an excellent gateway into the subjects he cares about. If we are stimulated to read more then all the better, there are plenty of other sources for those who want more detail.

The book is, as you'd expect from a BBC publication, beautifully illustrated. It's a nice read, never demanding but always enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on David and Rothko as I knew next to nothing about them whereas Rembrandt, Turner, and Picasso are a little more familiar.

This would make an ideal Christmas present. A good book to accompany an excellent series.

powerful stuff (62/63 people found this helpful)

Although this has a `TV tie-in` feel to it (especially it`s glossy, superficial cover art), it`s a sumptuous book to handle and look through, with pristine reproductions from the 8 artists discussed. Schama uses his rough-house, slangy style (which could occasionally be wearing were it not for the man`s obvious enthusiasm backed by learning) to the full here, which suits his approach, which is to awaken readers to the sinewy, troublesome, uncontainable aspects of great paintings and sculptures, whether Caravaggio`s grubby but gorgeously lit urchins, Bernini`s orgasmic saints or Rothko`s grave blocks of ecstatic colour. This is, I suppose, art criticism-lite - but the better for it. There is, thankfully, not too much `interpretation` (for example, discerning what a character in a painting may be thinking or feeling, which dear old Sister Wendy, among others, loves to do, and which tabloid-ish practice usually drives me to distraction) and he certainly gets one excited about art, making you want to get on down to your nearest gallery and grab some eye-food. (Sorry, his style`s catching.)
All art is for the people - you and me - and Schama realises this, as did most artists worth the name. (It`s always struck me as oddly absurd that we go to `art galleries` to see hung rows of paintings etc. in hushed formal settings.) This is a timely tome, and I was glad to learn more about David, Bernini and Rothko, the latter leaping up further in my estimation. It`s understandable that he has become the poster-darling, but his chapter suggests why he might resonate with so many people. `Power of Art` is apt. A powerful, whirlwind story lurks within this coffee-table-covered book. Four-and-a-half stars, I`d say.

Simon Schama's Power of Art

Simon Schama

Reader Reviews:

A Godsend (1/1 people found this helpful)

Beautifully printed and written (5/5 people found this helpful)

There is so much more to art that just paint and canvas! (7/7 people found this helpful)

Vintage Simon Schama (58/58 people found this helpful)

powerful stuff (62/63 people found this helpful)

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