The Power of Art by Simon Schama, CBE - ISBN: 9781847921185
Paperback
Great art is a thug: merciless, wily, and reality-rearranging.

$98.90

  • Paperback

    448 pages

  • Release Date

    1 September 2009

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Summary

The first paperback edition of Simon Schama’s acclaimed and bestselling Power of Art.

‘Great art has dreadful manners…’ Simon Schama observes at the start of his epic exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. ‘The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things, visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure and t…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781847921185
ISBN-10:1847921183
Author:Simon Schama, CBE, Simon Schama
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:The Bodley Head Ltd
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:448
Release Date:1 September 2009
Weight:1.36kg
Dimensions:247mm x 191mm x 30mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Packed with noisy enthusiasm, punchy arguments and verbal agility… An excessively gifted communicator, [Schama] knows how to sweep facts and argument into a powerful, fluent narrative

Packed with noisy enthusiasm, punchy arguments and verbal agility… An excessively gifted communicator, [Schama] knows how to sweep facts and argument into a powerful, fluent narrative * The Independent *Power of Art feels as if it has been written in one breathless burst of enthusiasm, in a prose style that crackles like electricity * Sydney Morning Herald *A stunning work, resounding with profound insights which rivet the attention… A beautifully conceived and presented book from the professor of art history at Columbia University, New York. There must be few others in the world who could equal it * Western Daily Press *Powerfully vivid story-telling… Schama is a powerful communicator, and it is a joy to witness him explore the extraordinary evolution of eight world-class works of art * Good Book Guide *Politics, religion, war, sex and love are the inspirations behind the paintings chosen, and each takes on a new life under Schama’s gaze * First magazine *The author’s powerful storytelling technique in this book… makes both the artist and his art spring to life * The Lady *

About The Author

Simon Schama, CBE

Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University. His award-winning books, translated into fifteen languages, include Citizens, Landscape and Memory, Rembrandt’s Eyes, A History of Britain, The Power of Art, Rough Crossings, The American Future, The Face of Britain and The Story of the Jews- Finding the Words (1000 BCE - 1492). His art columns for the New Yorker won the National Magazine Award for criticism and his journalism has appeared regularly in the Guardian and the Financial Times where he is Contributing Editor. He has written and presented forty films for BBC2 on subjects as diverse as Tolstoy, American politics and John Donne.

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