Editorial Review

Almost 500 years after Michelangelo Buonarroti frescoed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the site still attracts throngs of visitors and is considered one of the artistic masterpieces of the world. Read more

Reviews (76)

Could have been better
This is a good introduction to this chapter in Renaissance art for those who know little about the subject. The book is entertaining and well-written. But I can't help thinking that Ross King tackles too big a subject in taking on the artist, and also the Pope and the chapel.
Top Notch Biography
Fantastic "eye witness" account of art history.King does such a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere around an event. There is always so much more in the back ground of art than the final piece alone.His obsession with details brings this chapter in Michealangelo's life into fine focus. I certainly love that he dispells myths and inaccuracies throughout.Of course the Sistine Chapel's art in itself is awe inspiring - but in the context of King's book - there are just more layers of depth and details that make it more impressive.

good story, reasonably well-told
King picks a fascinating story about the Sistine Chapel and strips away all of the mythology surrounding it, including just about everything you remember from the Agony and the Ecstasy.Going on a "just the facts" approach, he errors on the side of being a little too dry.That said, if you're interested in knowing the story behind the painting, this is an excellent place to start. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. European    4. History - Renaissance    5. History Of Fine Arts    6. Mural painting and decoration    7. Mural painting and decoration, Italian    8. Mural painting and decoration, Renaissance    9. Painting    10. Subjects & Themes - Religious    11. Vatican City    12. Art / History / Renaissance   

Reviews (3)

Big and Beautiful
This book is the companion to a multi-year exhibition of (mostly) paintings at Davis Museum at Wellesley College. Most of the works are from the Renaissance, with a smattering of Medieval images and some recent. There are a series of essays included, most of which will not be electrifying to any beginning bible studies student. In fact, the lack of biblical scholarship in the discussion of Mary is quite startling.
Clear, assessible, and rich
I truly enjoyed this tour through Wellesley's collection of Marian art.
An excellent overview
For me the real beauty of this book was not the illustrated catalogue of images in the Wellesley College collection, it was the excellent essay by Melissa Katz.Robert Orsi's essay was superb as usual, but rather short, and the other essays are so short (2 pages each) as to be almost unmentionable.Katz on the other hand takes her readers on a historical tour of Marian imagery that is also thematically related to the hours of her devotion.In this way, her essay is not only an overview of Marian imagery, but it is also an overview of the history of the Roman Catholic church, an overview of Marian devotional practices, and the social forces in Europe which shaped these two phenomena.My only criticism of her essay, which might be more accurately a criticism of the Wellesley College collection, is that there is very little information on Marian imagery and devotion outside of Europe. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Blessed Virgin, Saint    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    5. Davis Museum and Cultural Center    6. Exhibitions    7. Individual Artist    8. Mary,    9. Massachusetts    10. Subjects & Themes - Religious    11. Wellesley    12. Art & Architecture | History    13. Art / Religious    14. Exhibition catalogues and specific collections    15. Religious subjects depicted in art    16. Saints & hagiography   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Christian saints in art    4. Dictionaries    5. History - General    6. Icons    7. Italian    8. Subjects & Themes - Religious    9. Art & Architecture | History    10. Art / History / General    11. Orthodox Churches    12. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (5)

Mandalas and Their Meanings in Your Life. Excellent Book!
Susanne Fincher brings you a wonderful, comprehensive and easy to understand book on creating Mandalas and the meaning behind them. This gem of a book explains how to create a Mandala as a reflection of yourself; Creating and Interpreting the meaning behind your Mandala; What each color means in the Mandala; Using numbers and forms. In the section on "The Great Round of Mandala Forms" there is a wonderful paragraph that will better help you understand how much this form of art therapy can help you heal, it states: "A healthy connection between the ego and Self is very important if one is to be a fully functioning person. It is this linkage that is forged by the individuation process."
How to understand Mandalas
this book gives an overview on how to understand mandalas. I was looking for a book on creating them and teach students how to create them. This book is all words no pictures so if you are a teacher and want to teach students how to develop them this is not the book. If you want to understand mandalas and how they are used, this is the right book.

Opening the door to your inner life
I met Suzanne Fincher at a conference sponsored by Journey into Wholeness some fifteen years ago.I did not know it but I was in the first round of a fight for life: midlife crisis.My old life was crumbling before my eyes, and I went to Suzanne's workshop on making mandalas.We drew a circle and used crayons to just let things happen. Somehow, again without my knowing it until later, all the floating pieces of my life found a place within this circle called a mandala.It gave me a profound sense of peace, AND as I learned from Suzanne's teaching and this book, about how to work with my mandalas, they have provided me - throughout the years - a powerful vision for what is happening within me.I have shared this book with small groups and classes and people seeking wholeness and healing for many years with great blessing to each person who worked with it, and I continue to recommend it as the best single resource for mandalas, and a pivotal resource for sensing the moves of the Spirit within us.Suzanne's other book, Coloring Mandalas, is a delightful coloring book that offers many diverse models of mandalas representing places on the great round of the mandala.Read more

Subjects:  1. Buddhism    2. Creativity    3. Mandala    4. New Age (Self Help)    5. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    6. New Age / Parapsychology    7. Psychology    8. Religion And Art    9. Complementary Medicine    10. Self-Help / Creativity   

Subjects:  1. Aesthetics    2. Archetype (Psychology)    3. Architecture    4. Art and religion    5. General    6. Logic    7. Philosophy    8. Religion And Art    9. Symbolism    10. History of ideas, intellectual history    11. Non-Classifiable    12. Reference works    13. Religion: general   

Reviews (12)

Beautiful!
A great book for lovers of cemeteries, symbolism, art and history. There are many photos and the text is interesting and well written. It's a very attractively designed book too and the size is rather different...it's smallish, yet tallish and meant to carry with you on your cemetery explorations. I do wish there was a coffee table style version of this book, larger with room for even more pictures! Buy this one, it'll make a lovely addition to your morbid book collection!

Fantastic Momento Mori!
Remember me in the family tree
Excellent Companion on Visits to Cemeteries
I photograph in cemeteries and upon learning of this book through Amazon, picked up a copy.I must say, it is indeed a pleasure, a really information-packed book with a great deal of lovely descriptive photos.The book touches on some of the symbols one might find in specialized books on secret, hidden symbols.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Sculpture    4. Sepulchral monuments    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious    6. Symbolism in art    7. Architecture    8. History / General   

Reviews (6)

R.S.V.P.
In accepting Jane Lahr'sinvitation to time travel through centuries of artists and writers whose attention to Mary Magdalene illuminates profound truths, this is a transforming read, a moment in which to reflect on beauty and truth and really what it is that we do need to know in life. Exquisitely rendered by Lahr's finely tuned sensibility and scholarship, this book is a blessing and a great gift.

A concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources
A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.
A concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources
A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Christianity - General    3. Christianity - History - General    4. History Of Religion (General)    5. Legends    6. Mary Magdalene,    7. New Testament Commentary    8. Religion    9. Religion - Church History    10. Saint    11. Subjects & Themes - Religious    12. Iconography, subjects depicted in art    13. Religion / Christianity   

Reviews (6)

I love it!
I love this book! The combination of applique and simple piecing offers the quilter warm,colorful projects to follow. I made one of the wall hangings in my own colors,and intend to make more.Kim Diehl's projects are so doable.The templet patterns are full size-no enlarging! The directions are clear and easy to understand.If you like a country flavor to your quilts,you must buy this book!

Simple Blessings; 14 Quilts to Grace Your Home
Every project in this book is to die for.If you like traditional, warm, country, reproduction style quilts this is a must buy.

Kim Diehl-1
Her design are straight forward and evoke a nostalgic feeling.Our Quilt Guild just purchased her books for their library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applique    2. Appliquâe    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. Crafts / Hobbies    5. General    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Patchwork    8. Patterns    9. Quilt Making    10. Quilting    11. Quilts & Quilting    12. Religion And Art    13. Quiltmaking   

Reviews (1)

More Mist from the Mountains
Ever learn to draw a kitty by making a stack of three circles, progressively smaller from top to bottom?If so, would you conclude that everywhere you see three circles (a pawn shop, for example) there is occult symbolism of a secret feline cult?That's the kind of argument thatunderlies one of the basic premises of this slender volume:Andeanpaintings of the Virgin Mary show Her dressed in a stiff, voluminous cloakthat creates the impression of a triangle, a cone; mountains are somewhatconical; inhabitants of the Andes worshipped mountains:therefore,pictures of the Virgin are actually secret objects of paganidolatry.Read more

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. 18th century    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Christian art and symbolism    6. Cuzco Region    7. General    8. Iconography (Fine Arts)    9. Painting, Peruvian    10. Peru    11. Religion And Art    12. Subjects & Themes - General    13. Blessed Virgin, Saint    14. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    15. Mary    16. Mary,    17. South America   

Reviews (5)

An introduction to the art of painting the greatest icons of the Christian faith
A Brush With God: An Icon Workbook by Peter Pearson is an introduction to the art of painting the greatest icons of the Christian faith with the eventual intent of using the painting as a product of future meditations. As thousands of followers seem so inclined to make art of their religion's icons, it seems they've always found council in the use of their artistic talent as an insightful and idealistic station for meditation and prayer, A Brush With God is an informative guide to properly painting your own icon oriented art for such similar purposes, and is highly recommended for its outstandingly easy-to-use and exceptionally instructive nature.
Good instructions, not enough illustrations

A Feast For The Eyes and Heart
What a gem of a book!This little text introduces the concepts behind icons and then puts you in charge with step by step instructions for writing icons with (spiritual) attitude.For artists who wish to try iconic art, but also for anyone attracted to icons, this book will bring an inside-out appreciation of visual prayer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Christianity - Ritual & Practice    3. Icon painting    4. Religion    5. Religion - Church Music    6. Spirituality - General    7. Subjects & Themes - Religious    8. Technique    9. Techniques - Oil Painting    10. Christianity    11. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Christian art and symbolism    3. England    4. Europe, Northern    5. Holidays - Christian    6. Interior Design - General    7. Medieval    8. Medieval, 500-1500    9. Pilgrims and pilgrimages    10. Religion - Christian Life    11. Religious Buildings    12. Subjects & Themes - Religious    13. Architecture    14. Northern Europe, Scandinavia    15. United Kingdom, Great Britain    16. c 1000 CE to c 1500   

Reviews (3)

Roman Art
This book is an excellent example of how art critique can be used to analyze politics and history. Paul Zanker does an exceptionally thorough job as he systematically works his way through the end of the Republic to the heights of Augustan Rome. The book includes tons of photographs, coins, maps and reproductions to illustrate appropriate points in the text. The thesis of the book is to show how art was used to convey the importance and dignity of the new Imperial system. Despite the breadth of material presented here, the text is smooth and understandable. A novel treat: scholarship that's fun to read!
Zanker offers a fascinating reconstruction of Octavian Augustus' agenda for consolidating his position as leader of the Roman world. He does this by careful analysis of the buildings, statues, coins and other physical objects made during the rule of Rome's first emperor. Zanker understands well the impact of visual communication and uses it insightfully. He doesn't simply catalog artifacts, he interprets them and connects them within a broad system of consciously articulated ideology. In two decades of academic reading, this is one of the two most memorable books I read.

Engaging and accessible
A wonderful tour of the early Roman empire framed within a rigorous theoretical discussion. Zanker skillfully illustrates how an empire was built by the manipulation of public thought through the use of images, orin other words, propaganda. Shapiro contributes with a lively and nearlytransparent translation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Rome    2. Architecture    3. History - Ancient & Classical    4. History - Specific Styles    5. Sociology    6. Byzantine art    7. Religious subjects depicted in art    8. Social Science / Archaeology   

Reviews (3)

Review: A Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols
the book was very well put together and has alot of useful info on buddhist art.

An exceptionally fine book
This volume took Robert Beer more than 10 years to complete, and one understands why. As far as I know it is the only book on the subject with such superbly crafted illustrations, each meticulously drawn in pencil-thin, lucid detail. There are a huge number of these drawings, and the well-structured text is informative, thorough and scholarly, without being dry. It is an eminent work of very high quality and a joy to read for any Buddhist practitioner, art lover, or just for curiosity. It is surely a classic reference volume. Modesty must have compelled the author and editors to give it the diminutive title 'a handbook' - it is indeed much more. Read it an enjoy.

Especially informative for connoisseurs of Tibetan art
The Handbook Of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols by Robert Beer (who has studied and practice Tibetan thanga painting for more than thirty years) is a straightforward reference guide to the meaningful symbolism of sacred Tibetan art. Black-and-white illustrations depict all the major Buddhist symbols and motifs, while the text offers depth and interpretation behind the meaning and usage of each. The Handbook Of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols is enthusiastically recommended for inclusion into Buddhist Studies and especially informative for connoisseurs of Tibetan art. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art, Tibetan    3. Asian And Oriental Religions    4. Buddhism - General    5. China    6. History - Symbolism    7. Religion - World Religions    8. Religion And Art    9. Subjects & Themes - Religious    10. Symbolism in art    11. Themes, motives    12. Tibet    13. Art / Religious   

Reviews (1)

SCHOLARLY, SIMPLE, AND FAITH-FOSTERING MEDITATIONS
These thirteen short talks originated as occasional broadcasts on Bavarian Radio when the then-Cardinal Ratzinger offered meditations on the major feasts of the Church usually with reference to some work of art.About half had been published separately, and the book, first issued 9 years ago, has been translated and reissued following his election as Pope.Ratzinger is scholarly in his approach and sources, but offers his general audience a message that is both simple and profound.That will not surprise those who have listened to his recent talks.His reflections are mostly prompted and illustrated by images--artistic, poetic or symbolic--to touch the senses and heart as well as the mind.Developing the images and ideas with poetic fancy, professorial depth and patristic playfulness, he invites us to go beyond the merely aesthetic to the level of faith.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Religion And Art    4. Roman Catholic Church    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious   

Reviews (4)

Darkness into Light
I was glad I had this book along with me when I went to see the real Book of Kells at the Trinity College Library in Dublin.The lines of tourists waiting to view this famous eighth century manuscript were about a quarter of a mile long, and the museum proctors were really hustling us through the area where a small sampling of pages were actually on view.
awesome pictures, horrible writing
I like how the author gives various images of the book of kells, but gets really confusing and goes all over the place while writing about it. I think a lot could be learned from this book, but the author crams so many examples into the work that it starts to get annoying. Ever line seems to have parenthesis around something and folio this or that. For that alone i give the book two stars, multiple examples are good, just not when you plague every line with one. It hardly gives the reader a chance to understand the first few.

"The most precious object in the western world"
Resting at Trinity College Dublin is one of the truly singular products of early European art.This is 'The Book of Kells,' an ornately illuminated rendition of the four gospels, rendered sometime in the Ninth Century.It has been both an influence and an inspiration since the time of its making, illustrating both the story it tells, and the subtle mind of symbolists who wove the story and the art together.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Book of Kells    4. History - Medieval    5. Illumination Of Books And Manuscripts    6. Illumination of books and manu    7. Illumination of books and manuscripts, Celtic    8. Illustrations    9. Techniques - Calligraphy    10. Trinity College (Dublin, Irela    11. Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter    12. Illustration    13. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (1)

Excellent photos but beware of publishing error
A fantastic book showing excellent pictures of various Icons, along with detailed blow-ups and historical explanations.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. History - General    5. Christianity    6. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (2)

What about the commandment against graven images?!
Thou shalt not make any graven image

Included are sidrot and haftarot "weekly readings"
The essential foundation of Judaism is the Torah, known also as the Five Books Of Moses. Included are sidrot and haftarot "weekly readings" and the whole is augmented with Michael Meron's spectacular paintings to showcase quotations drawn from the Hebrew text of the Torah and haftarot portions. The excerpts of the sidrot and its haftarot are taken from the Jewish Publication Society translation. Dr. Ellen Frankel (noted author, scholar, and editor-in-chief of the JPS) provides a brief but informative explanatory essay introduction. The Illustrated Torah is a highly recommended, superbly presented, very welcome addition to personal and synagogue library collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Bible.    3. Bibles - Hebrew    4. Folk & Outsider Art    5. Haftarot    6. Illustrations    7. Judaism - Sacred Writings    8. O.T    9. O.T.    10. Pentateuch    11. Religion    12. Religion - Judaism    13. Subjects & Themes - Religious    14. Books of the Old Testament    15. Hebrew    16. Judaism   

Reviews (6)

Beginning reference for lives of saints and iconography
Although not encyclopaedic, this book, first published in 1954, is indispensable to the art history, religious art, iconographic, and religious lives student. The essays are of significant depth without excessive volume, and the illustrations, although of a limited period (Medieval through Renaissance), are pungent enough from which to learn. Two limitation I will remark:
Great
I study Art history, and christian art. This book primarily focuses in on Renaissance paintings and thier symbols. I found it to be useful and detail orientated. A very good reference book.

A must for art history students
If you are an art history student, this book is an absolute must. While there are many books that contradict one another when it comes to symbolism, this book is one that commonly agrees with others I have read or consulted.
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Subjects:  1. Christian art and symbolism    2. Reference    3. Religion    4. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious    6. Art & Architecture | Religious Art    7. Art / Religious    8. Christianity    9. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    10. Arts, fine    11. Art History   

Reviews (4)

Fascinating, Sacred, Powerful !
Pablo and Luis have written an incredible book. The text and
Captivating Imagery from the Spirit World
I have tried time and again to pick up this book and read the text in sequence, but the full-page color plates of Pablo Amaringo's paintings always pull me away from the text and into the world of shamans, angels,devils, serpents, jungle cats, mermaids, and aliens. I've read a lot of thetext, but usually I have done so in search of an explanation for the imagesin specific paintings. Outstanding
If you wish a clear, objective overview of shamanic worldview, this book is outstanding.The introduction alone (which is all I have read so far) is worth a great deal.Without being dressed up in obscurities, there ismuch to learn here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Conceptual    4. History - General    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious    6. Anthropology    7. Architecture   

Reviews (13)

Can I give it 10 stars?
AWESTRUCK is the only word to describe my reaction to this magnificently beautiful book!It is a huge collection of Poortvliet's master quality artwork in a stunning coffee table book.The thoughtfully executed art gives evidence of the artist's heart toward the subject matter. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

This book is an absolute masterpiece!
The genius and breathtaking artistry of Rien Poortvliet are beautifully displayed on every page of this wonderful book.Strong faith and great love for the subject matter are apparent from start to finish.As a believer, I can only describe it as a striking affirmation of the Genesis story, and the author's obvious familiarity with animals brings the account to life in ways that never occurred to me before.What a heartfelt portrait of Noah and his family and their experiences with all those extraordinary animals as they rode out the flood together!This can really be considered as a supplement to the Bible story, because it neither takes away from the content revealed in scripture nor presumes to add any superlative events not supported or implied by the text.Delightfully, it adds a dimension of intimate realism to the whole of the flood account and a sense of reverent awe to the depth of the beauty inherent in God's creatures.It reminds us that they as well as we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Makes one want to become an environmentalist
This man should be knighted. His work is good for the soul. In a world that runs roughshod over its natural resources, heedless of the consequences, Poortvliet makes an eloquent plea to the world to conserve its marvelous treasures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals in art    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. History - General    5. Individual Artist    6. Noah's ark    7. Noah's ark in art    8. Poortvliet, Rien    9. Subjects & Themes - Religious    10. Animal stories    11. Art / History / European