Summer Reading Recommendations

 

August is a month for relaxing, basking in the sun or beside a pool, and for finally picking up that book you've been longing to read for months. With many of us set to take some time off (be it at home or abroad), we've put together a list of art-focused reading recommendations to help you enjoy your time en vacances.

 

Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle   Set in early 17th-century Rome, a city of grand palaces, ever-growing wealth and opulence, Elizabeth Fremantle’s novel follows the young Artemisia Gentileschi who, born into a family of painters, longs for an artistic career of her own. We see Artemisia challenge not only her father, a man very much set in his ways and whose expectation of his daughter is simply for her to marry well, but we also see her challenge the constraints upon women at this time which prevented them from working professionally. Under the tutelage of fellow artist Agostino Tassi, Artemisia slowly perfects her craft, often painting in private to avoid her father’s reprimand. But her trust in Tassi is misplaced and, before Artemisia knows it, her life is changed forever. Fremantle conjures the atmosphere of Baroque Rome with such detailed description that it is easy to feel as though we were in the artist’s studio ourselves, surrounded by expensive pigments and the intense scent of linseed oil. Whilst, as a modern retelling of one woman’s eventful life, this book inevitably takes some creative liberties, it nonetheless helps us to appreciate not only what an creative melting-pot the city of Rome became in the 17th Century but also just what Gentileschi had to overcome to carve out a space for herself in such an environment and to achieve a reputation as an accomplished artist, one that she holds to this day.   Hogarth: Life in Progress by Jacqueline Riding   It is the spring of 1732 in London. A group of rowdy friends is setting out upon a journey – a ‘peregrination’ – beginning in the city and ending on the Isle of Sheppey on the east coast. Among their number is the ambitious, young painter and engraver, William Hogarth. It is from this journey that Jacqueline Riding begins her biography of the artist, interspersing episodes or ‘interludes’ that recount these travels with chronological chapters focusing more closely upon Hogarth’s life. The author immerses her readers in Georgian London, showing both the grandeur for which the era is remembered as well as its poverty. In this setting, we follow as Riding describes Hogarth’s rise from humble beginnings to highly sought-after professional and we learn how his personal experiences influenced his work as an unrivalled storyteller and satirist. Accompanied by striking illustrations, reproductions of works by Hogarth and his contemporaries, this is a truly unique and detailed account of an artist’s life.   The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe   What better known group is there than the Impressionists? Certainly, their artworks are highly celebrated and fetch record-breaking prices when sold at auction today. But how well do we really know these artists as individuals? In The Private Lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe focuses on a specific period in the mid to late 20th Century. Concentrating on the twenty-six years between the artists’ first meeting and the exhibition of their greatest works in New York by art dealer and patron, Paul Durand-Ruel, in 1886, we see how those artists whose names we know so well (the likes of Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas, Cézanne) forged their artistic careers, beginning with their academic training and, later, with their abandonment of accepted artistic practices in favour of a thoroughly modern style of painting. We learn about their diverse backgrounds, upbringings and personal relationships, and what it was that brought them together. Ridiculed at first for their creative outputs, those that are so adored today, this is a story of success. Not only does Roe’s account of the Impressionists bring the individuals behind the canvas to life but she also narrates the huge changes that occurred in Paris at this time. From artists’ studios to cobbled streets and cafes, Baron Haussman’s ‘rebuilding’ of the city is so vividly described, it is almost as though one was experiencing it first-hand. For a full immersion into the world of these celebrated artists, this book is a must-read.   The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild   Centring around the adventures of Annie McDee, a chef working in London who struggles to make ends meet, The Improbability of Love imagines the rediscovery of a lost masterpiece by the 18th-Century artist Jean-Antoine Watteau. Annie stumbles upon the painting in a bric-a-brac store whilst shopping for a gift. Having purchased the painting, she quickly begins to suspect that it might be more valuable that she first thought. What follows is a series of encounters with an oligarch, a sheikha and a hot-shot art dealer to name but a few, all of whom desperately want the painting for themselves. Written by Hannah Rothschild, previously Chair of Trustees at the National Gallery in London, this book perfectly blends mystery and romance with a humorous depiction of the art world. Indeed, this light-hearted yet gripping read makes one think that perhaps there is an art sleuth in all of us!   Those Passions: On Art and Politics by T.J. Clark   Written by one of the veritable pillars of art historical discourse, T.J. Clark’s Those Passions: On Art and Politics explores the relationship between art and politics. We can all think of great artworks that take a political stance – one calls to mind Goya’s The Third of May 1808, Delacroix’s Liberty leading the people and Picasso’s Guernica, for example. Through a number of visual case studies, Clark not only dissects political imagery as it has been but also how it has developed in our modern age. From 24-hour news reels to party propaganda, this book encourages us to reconsider the power of the images to which we are exposed on a daily basis. Compiled over a twenty-five-year period and divided into three sections – ‘Precursors’, ‘Moderns’ and ‘Modernities’ – Clark guides us through a history of politically-charged visual material and shows how modern art continues to reflect and critique today’s political landscape.   What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter   An entirely unique addition to our list of recommendations is What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter – think of it as the fashion-focused cousin of John Berger’s seminal title, Ways of Seeing. This book contains stories about artists, most of whom we know only from their artworks, and seeks to reveal more about their individual characters, personal lives and working practices by looking at what they wore. Clothing has long been a means of self-expression and artists are no exception when it comes to using clothes to make a statement. From Joseph Beuys’ felt hat and Andy Warhol’s signature denim to David Hockney’s colour blocking and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s designer streetwear, Charlie Porter takes us on a journey of iconic outfits and leads us to consider just what messages we might be sending to the world with our own clothes. With captivating images of artists and one-off garments on almost every double-page spread, this book is a feast for the eyes and not only encourages its readers to see the world of fashion in a new way but also inspires them to have fun with their own wardrobe.