From Library Journal
Phaidon continues its "Art & Ideas" series with these two explorations of major artists. Both books firmly anchor the art in the life-context and experiences of the artist, thus allowing the reader to chart clearly his thematic and stylistic development. Belkin (an editor of The Letters of Peter Paul Rubens, Northwestern Univ., 1991) sets the stage for a discussion of Rubens by explaining the political and religious divisions in the Netherlands and by examining his early family life. She traces Rubens's visit to Italy, where he immersed himself in the works of Titian, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Correggio, and then follows him to Antwerp, where he was both a full-fledged painter and a diplomat in good stead with the major courts of Europe. She does a marvelous job of tracking the progression of Rubens's artistic, allegorical, and iconographic content. The author also posits Rubens as a disillusioned diplomat who saw and portrayed women as peace-bearers in an age of turmoil. Bohm-Duchen (Understanding Modern Art, EDC Pubs., 1991) uses the flow of information since glasnost to flesh out the social, religious, and cultural context of Chagall's development as an artist. Although he preferred to be known as an intuitive "tabula rasa," Chagall's Russian-Jewish upbringing; his travels to Paris, Berlin, Palestine, and the United States; and his witness to two world wars greatly affected his work. The historical background Bohm-Duchen gives here can lead toward a better understanding of Chagall's art, but her Chagall is not as fully revealed as Belkin's Rubens. His persona still floats, unmoored, like the Green Violinist against the stark white background of the book's front cover. Based on their price and scope, both books are recommended for public and academic libraries.ANadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., OHCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One of the most versatile and influential artists of northern Europe in the seventeenth century, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) had a remarkable ability to bring his paintings intensely and joyfully alive. He was a successful businessman who ran an efficient studio to meet the great demand for his work, and was also a classical scholar, an enthusiastic collector of art and antiquities, and a respected diplomat on intimate terms with European royalty. Contemporaries admired his extraordinary artistic versatility. His paintings range from altarpieces, portraits and landscapes to elaborate cycles of myths and allegories; he also designed tapestries, book illustrations and even his own home. In this study, Kristin Lohse Belkin shows that there is more to Rubens than the Rubenesque nude. She explores his techniques and workshop practices, the role of women in his life and art, and his engagement with contemporary issues of church and state. She unravels the allegorical and iconographic content of key works, situating them within their original settings and investigating their functions. Drawing on his extensive correspondence, she traces his involvement in the events of his time and charts his relationship with members of his circle.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal