Читать книгу 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in North America - Julian Porter - Страница 6

You might well ask, what do two litigation lawyers know about painting? Good question. Answer: More than you think! And yet, we are not “experts” in the academic sense. What we have is a love of art that we think radiates in this book.

So, where do we come from in the art of looking at art?

Julian Porter, who focuses on the older paintings found in this book, was a guide to students in European galleries more than fifty years ago. There he learned how to talk with a painting. His writing is saucy, as you may know from his book, 149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe (So You Can Ignore the Others) .

Stephen Grant, who reviews the more modern works featured here, is more cerebral in his approach. Yet he has a passionate love of art.

We are both fascinated with how one should look at a painting. Why does a painting at first blush seem ridiculous (Twombly? Cézanne?), but then, after the brew of looking and looking again, appears magical, with an insight that reveals a bubbling, invigorating sensitivity? Art is a vital thing that forces introspection. That’s not such a bad thing for a lawyer or for you, the reader.

Question: Is Rothko better than Matisse? Is a Modigliani nude sexier than Renoir’s clothed Odalisque ? How is it that the foundation of modern art lay in the minds of three troubled artists — Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne? These are questions art asks of us, the viewer, as it invites us to engage. Coming up with the answers takes a lifetime.

For older art, is there any better place in the world than New York’s Frick? For the gentler placing of modern art in Washington’s embassy district, can anything top the “ambiance” of the Phillips Gallery?

Our styles are different, our eyes are different, and our favourite periods of art are different. But with our two views we hope to give you a glimpse of the best art in public museums in North America.

A number of the paintings in this book are reproduced in black and white. They are wonderful “also sees” in the gallery but are not included in the actual total of 149.

You owe these paintings a disciplined look. It took the artist time and genius to produce the work, so give something in return. If we’re wrong in our conclusion on one painting, we ask that you indulge us and move on to the next.

Welcome to the sweetness of revelation!

As George Bernard Shaw once said, “I believe in Michelangelo, Velasquez, and Rembrandt; in the might of design, the mystery of colour, the redemption of all things by Beauty everlasting, and the message of Art that has made these hands blessed. Amen. Amen.”

Julian Porter

Stephen Grant