Books About Art & Artists

I have a weakness for books about art. Stories about art, artists, and especially art theft are high on my list of favorite sub-genres. In high school I took a lot of art classes and I wish I could have taken more throughout college. I've always been one of those people that gets caught up in art, but mostly older works. Modern art isn't really my thing, I adore work from the impressionist and post-impressionist eras. They're just so romantic.

A peek at one of my favorites:

{via}

The Bridge, view on the river by André Derain

(The colors are so gorgeous.)

I've curated a list of just a few of my favorite books about art, and added in a couple that I'm looking forward to reading. These range from (well-researched) works of historical fiction to modern stories of the high-profile art world in New York City. What I love about these books is that the authors clearly have a reverence for art, and that reverence translates to a wonderful reading experience.

Recommended:

{on Goodreads}

I can't curate this list without this book. Chevalier is a master and this is a gorgeous piece of writing. My mom recently took a trip to SanFrancisco and got to stop in the Fine Arts Museum there, where this piece is on exhibit. I was jealous that she got to see it in person, but she brought me back a coffee table book and a mug with the image on it as part of my Christmas gifts. I've thumbed through the book several times and it is just beautiful. No wonder Chevalier was inspired by this work!

{on Goodreads}

This is one of the most fascinating art stories ever, and the best part is that it takes place in Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is at the very top of my list for places to visit this summer. The story goes that one night in 1990, two men broke into the museum and committed the largest art heist in history. They stole dozens of works of art, including The Concert, a work by Vermeer (the same man who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring), considered to be the most valuable piece of unrecovered stolen art. That one painting alone is worth over $200 million. This book is a nonfiction account of the mystery and the theories about who was really behind this great unsolved heist.

{on Goodreads}

I picked up this book randomly at the library last year and fell absolutely in love with it. It even made it onto my Top Ten of 2013 list. The protagonist, Madamoiselle Morisot, was rumored to have an affair with the incredibly famous Manet. It was scandalous, heartbreaking, and so romantic.

{on Goodreads}

This was a good read, though it is fictional. I thought it was interesting because it included details on how art forgeries are made and how tricky it can be now to discern whether a work is authentic or not. This one was more contemporary and gave an interesting account of the underground market of high-priced art.

{on Goodreads}

I gave this 4/5 stars on Goodreads. It's based on a true story of the only woman who ever had the honor of studying under Michaelangelo. She was selected to be the painting instructor for the Queen of Spain and finds herself navigating the court and contemplating her own future as an artist. I did read it a while ago but I do remember feeling like the focus was mostly on her life at court and not so much the art itself. Regardless, the story was great and I was completely caught up in it.


To Read:

{on Goodreads}

This one is an account of a single day in the Dutch Golden Age, and tells the story of Rembrant's first masterpiece, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulip. It's one of those books that is written through the eyes of several different characters. I'm looking forward to picking it up for this summer. Plus, isn't the cover interesting? Love its eccentric look.

{on Goodreads}

This is supposed to be an amazing read. I bought it back in January but left it at home because I feared that I would forego any schoolwork if I brought it back to school with me. Love the cover and the story is apparently riveting. It's first on my list for books to read this summer!


Do you have a favorite sub-genre? Any recommendations for great books about art?

New Acquisitions!

Is there anything better than a brand new book? The crisp pages, the unbroken spine, the adventures ahead! Swoon.

 I could get lost in a bookstore every. single. day. That is, if I had the budget to come out with the ten books that I invariably pick up every time I set foot in a bookstore. Recently, I put myself on a book-buying freeze. I realized that since I had started writing this blog, I thought that it was justification for buying myself every book that caught my eye. The result? I have about twenty new books on my shelves that I still haven't read yet. Still, keeping myself away from the bookstore is a difficult task. I can't be the only one with this problem, right? (Right???)

So, while I was suffering from withdrawal, the beautiful angels at Penguin publishing sent me a little relief. A few months ago I had participated in a pilot test for the MTEL, the state-licensure test for teachers that I'll be taking soon. It was good practice for me (the test can be super tricky) and for my two hours of hard work I was granted a gift card to Penguin. I was saving it for a rainy day, but a few weeks ago I received an e-mail that, gasp, my gift card would be expiring soon! So you see, I just had to get a few new books.

After browsing the (virtual) shelves at Penguin, I selected five books to greet me when I got home for Easter weekend, (aka my little brother's birthday weekend, aka Patriot's Day, aka Marathon Monday!). Below are my picks:

{on Goodreads}

The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey
I chose this one to come back to school with me for rest of the semester and I'm already halfway through. It's a non-fiction story (usually not my wheelhouse), but it reads like a mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie. Victorian-era ghost stories give me the creepy-crawlies; this one is full of public deception and family secrets. It all plays out in correspondence between family members whose lineage can be traced back to the middle ages. I came across it in a newsletter from Oprah magazine on perfect Spring Break reads featuring books that are good picks when your brain is feeling fried. Seeing as how I have four days left in the semester and then final exams, "fried" is the perfect adjective for the state of my brain. Thank goodness for books, they keep me (mostly) sane.

{on Goodreads}

The City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte
Speaking of books that are super easy to read and perfect for times when your brain is feeling overworked-- this series is it. I bought the first book in the series in the bargain section at B&N and flew through it. I'm not going to say that the writing is superior or that the plot is super complex, but it did provide me with some good laughs and I'm going to continue to follow the series.

{on Goodreads}

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
This book made it onto my list of books to look forward to back in January. Can I just say, every single edition of this book has a beautiful cover. Sue Monk Kidd blew me out of the water with The Secret Life of Bees and I am really looking forward to diving into this one as soon as summer starts.

{on Goodreads}

No Book but the World by Leah Hager Cohen
A confession about why I bought this book: the cover is so beautiful that I want to frame it. So, the moment I saw it, click, into the shopping cart it went. For the record, the story also sounds really compelling and the major theme is sibling relationships. As my little brother just turned 18 last weekend (no, it's not okay...and yes, I do feel really old now), we're starting to interact more as adults than kids so the theme is relevant to us. Though, in this tale the brother winds up in jail, so not all of it will be relevant. I hope.

{on Goodreads}

On the Road: The Original Scroll by Jack Kerouac
This book gave me another case of cover crush. The bright colors, the lettering...it's perfect. This is the first draft that Kerouac wrote of his infamous work. Fun fact: he wrote it in just three weeks. Impressive, right? I actually bought it because I saw that one of my favorite bloggers (also a bookworm) was reading it. I love that you can happen upon a new read in the most random of places.

Counting down the days until summer is here. I can't wait to tote these books to the beach and finally relax!