Newest Art Reviews
Sea Monsters: The Lore and Legacy of Olaus Magnus's Marine Map by Joseph Nigg
A confession. When reading hardbacks I take the paper cover, if there is one, off, to keep it pristine. Sometimes there's a second benefit, with Longbourn by Jo Baker as an example of having an embossed illustration underneath, or suchlike. But with this book I won't be alone, for the cover folds out into an amazing artwork, such as has only two extant original copies. It's a coloured replica of a large map of the northern seas and Scandinavia, dating from 1539, and is in a category of three major artful scientific papers from where the whole 'here be dragons' cliché about maps comes from. Its creator, Olaus Magnus, followed it up years later with a commentary of all the sea creatures he drew on it, but Magnus has waited centuries for this delicious volume to commentate on both together, in such a lovely fashion. Full review...
Judith Kerr's Creatures: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Judith Kerr by Judith Kerr
In children's literature there are some authors whom you know are not just reliable, but always impressive. One of those names is Judith Kerr. For decades she's been delighting our children (and grandchildren) but it still came as something of a surprise to discover that she would be ninety in June 2013. To celebrate this, Harper Collins have published Creatures in which Judith tells not just her own story but that of the creatures - the characters in her books and her family - who have contributed to her inspirational life. It is, though, far more than just an autobiography with a marvellous collection of paintings, drawings and memorabilia. Full review...
Lost, Stolen or Shredded: Stories of missing works of art and literature by Rick Gekoski
Over the centuries, many works of art have disappeared and then come back, or been returned almost as if they had never been away. Others, less fortunate, were simply destroyed. A very few never really existed at all. That is the basis of this unusual and very intriguing read from rare book dealer, writer and broadcaster Rick Gekoski. Full review...
Boobadoodle by Rosy Sherry
Boobadoodle is a book of doodles. On boobs. Fifty doodles on a variety of boobs, some belonging to the author, some to her friends. Quite good friends, I imagine. Full review...
Hockney: The Biography, Volume 1, 1937-1975 by Christopher Simon Sykes
As one of the major names of British twentieth century art, David Hockney has always been a larger than life figure. Published to coincide with his 75th birthday, this is the first volume of a biography which tells his story up to 1975. Full review...
Girl in a Green Gown: The History and Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait by Carola Hicks
The Arnolfini marriage portrait, as it is generally if perhaps inaccurately known, painted by Flemish artist Jan van Eyck, signed and dated 1434, has long been one of the most popular and enigmatic paintings of its time. Of modest size, a little less than three feet high, it is one of the oldest surviving panel pictures to be painted in oils rather than tempera. It is also regarded as the first work of art which simultaneously celebrates both middle-class comfort and monogamous marriage. Full review...
