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Literary Works of Art
Fascinating reads about artists and the art world.
BY ELIN WOODS
Recently, my sister told me about her summer vacation plans— the beach, again. I laughed a bit and remarked that our family’ s differing opinions about the ideal vacation spot have always made it difficult for us to go somewhere together as a group. My perfect vacation involves sidewalks, bustling city streets, and all the amenities a good city offers, which must always include art museums. There are few experiences like the thrill of getting up close and personal with a piece of art you’ d only, until that moment, read about. Given my love of both reading and the art world, it made perfect sense that this column would eventually come around to me talking about books centering on art. Here, I’ ve highlighted selections in various genres on various art forms. There should be a little something for everyone, from historical fiction to true crime.
I Always Loved You
By Robin Oliveira Because I love history, I’ m more frequently than you’ d expect asked questions concerning time travel and the places I’ d choose to travel to. That’ s a tricky question because while I love to study history, I’ m pretty happily settled in the 21st century. If forced to answer, however, my responses always center on different art and music scenes. The art movement behind this book, Belle Époque, is a regular answer. Maybe it’ s because Mary Cassatt, the protagonist, is Pittsburgh-born and Philadelphia-raised and I live in Pennsylvania. She’ s more famous for her time in Paris and New York, but still, I’ m always drawn to her, and therefore, this era. I Always Loved You focuses on her rocky relationship with fellow painter Edgar Degas, which does begin quite sweetly. Cassatt is seemingly a“ failure” on her first trip to Paris and has her father begging her to be sensible and move back home, settle down, and get married. But fate has other ideas. As readers, we learn that the seemingly chance meeting between Cassatt and Degas was at his request. He was taken with her and her work, and now she has her ticket to art stardom. This novel starts out slowly, but like any good painting, it takes time to develop a complete picture, so stick with it and you’ ll be rewarded.
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Leonardo da Vinci
By Walter Isaacson Confession time, I’ m a bit of a Ken Burns documentary junkie. Whenever a new one premieres on PBS, I have to watch it. His latest was on one of the most famous artists of all time: Leonardo da Vinci. This biography was one of the resources used to develop the film, and if you think you know da Vinci, think again, as most of the world doesn’ t even know his real name. While at 600 pages long this book seems intimidating, don’ t let that scare you. It never reads like dry history and presents da Vinci not only as a Renaissance man and brilliant artist, but more importantly, we learn the story of a fellow human. A rather unique human, but it brings him down to earth and, I believe, helps us find our own particular genius. Da Vinci was, after all, someone who would likely be classified today as having dyslexia, but that helped create his brand of genius. His spirit, which rings throughout the book, is also a reminder to stay curious and approach the world with wonder, even on the difficult days. The author has much to share with us, and we have much we can learn from Leonardo. In some ways, he’ s never been as important as he is today, and I hope you fall in love with da Vinci the person, not just the artist.
The Last Mona Lisa
By Jonathan Santlofer Speaking of da Vinci, did you know the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre museum in 1911? Better yet, did you know that there are plenty of people who believe that the returned Mona Lisa isn’ t the real thing? This crime thriller has its roots in this particular theft.( There are plenty of options within the art crime thriller genre should you get hooked.) Vincenzo Peruggia is the real-life man behind the robbery, and in this tale, his