Editorial Review

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Reviews (69)

A Reflection to Touch Your Heart!
Nouwen's meditation on the Gospel parable and Rembrant's painted depiction of the Return of the Prodigal Son is amazing.Touching the heart with his honest and transparent identification with each of the three figures central to the story.
One of the Top 5 Spiritual Books I've Ever Read
I'd give it 6 stars if I could. I left the Catholic Church right after high school, and returned after being away 25 years, The Gospel reading the Sunday I returned was the Prodigal Son !
Love Beyond All Reason ... Reconciliation
THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON by Henri J.M. Nouwen, is a reader's journey into his own soul. When Nouwen is moved by Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal", heexplores the Luke 15:11-32parable as it relates to his own spiritual journey. He searches the depths ofthe father, the elder son,the younger son, and the role of forgiveness, compassion and unconditional love.
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Subjects:  1. 1606-1669    2. 1606-1669.    3. Catholic Church    4. Christianity - Discipleship    5. Inspirational - Catholic    6. Religion    7. Religion - Classic Works    8. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn    9. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn,    10. Return of the prodigal son    11. Spiritual life    12. Subjects & Themes - Religious    13. Christian religious experience    14. Nouwen, Henri J. M    15. Personal Christian testimony & popular inspirational works    16. Religion / Discipleship   

Editorial Review

In 1992 a young art student uncovered a clue in an obscure Italian archive that led to the discovery of Caravaggio's original Read more

Reviews (81)

Expected more
There were several flaws with this book.
Serendipity is the Handmaiden to Luck and Hard Work
Jonathan Harr has done a masterful job of taking us along as two art historians follow different clues that lead to the proof that a rare find (the finding of Caravaggio's "Taking of Christ") is the original.Two art students looking to follow the provenance of one of Caravaggio's other paintings, stumble upon a lead as to what had happened to another of his pieces.
amazing and true
An amazing true story told as if it was the best of fiction.The author does a great job of developing the some curious, some quirky and some normal characters into the sequence of chance events and meetings that leads to one of the most amazing art finds as a lost Caravaggio painting is uncovered.The author does a masterful job of setting facts down like exciting fiction.A very interesting book for art lovers, art likers and mystery buffs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Attribution    4. Betrayal    5. European    6. Expertising    7. History - Baroque & Rococo    8. History - Medieval    9. Jesus Christ    10. Painting    11. Painting, Italian    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. Sociology - General    15. Subjects & Themes - Religious    16. Art / History / European   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art Criticism    4. Criticism    5. History - General    6. Religion in art    7. Spirituality in art    8. Subjects & Themes - Religious    9. Art & Architecture | Religious Art    10. Art / History / General   

Editorial Review

When archeologists working under Stamford Raffles, the British colonialist and founder of Singapore, stumbled on the overgrown monument of Borobudur in the Javanese jungle in the late 19th century, they uncovered an ancient marvel that has astounded archeologists ever since. A cosmos in stone, a visual scripture of Buddhism with 1,460 exquisite carved reliefs, a pilgrimage site and an enormous mandala, Borobudur was the supreme achievement of a Buddhist kingdom that flourished briefly and then died on Java in the 9th and 10th centuries. This exquisite coffee table volume is perhaps the most lavish of the several oversize photographic books on the greatest Buddhist monument in the world. Designed by Molly Shields, the book's almost-square format approximates that of Borobudur itself. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Worths the price.
For those who have been there or those who are planning to go this book is a must. It's amazing how publishers are able to realize author's and reader's dreams when they want to. Here you will find: schematic drawings,historical background, maps, breathtaking pictures and all the symbolismassociated with this cosmic mandala."The architecturaltraditions of India and Java"; "The mystery of the hiddenbase"; "The mudras or gestures of the hands";"Borobudur as a pilgrimage site"; "The indonesian Cult ofAncestors"; "The sacred texts behind the reliefs" etc. arejust some of the contents.The appendix brings little black and whitephotographs of hundreds of reliefs. Almost as a buddhist comic-strip. Ihope Angkor and Bagan could get a devoted tribute like this one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Buddhist    3. Asian    4. Borobudur (Temple : Magelang,    5. Borobudur (Temple : Magelang, Indonesia)    6. Buddhist art and symbolism    7. General    8. Indonesia    9. Magelang    10. Photography    11. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    12. Religion And Art    13. Religious Buildings    14. Specific Religious Buildings Architecture    15. Asian / Middle Eastern history   

Reviews (2)

Comprehensive tour of Tibetan thangka art
This is a big, heavy book, beautifully illustrated and authoritativelywritten.I am finding it a boon in my research on Tibetan art, for itcovers most every subject, style, and region of Tibet.My copy came fromthe library--wish I could afford to buy it!

Vivid and generous
This book is a companion volume to the same authors'"Wisdom and Compassion", which came out a few years ago.Both are sponsored bythe Tibet House in New York and both have the same layout, typography, andapproach.As far as I can see there are no duplications between them,though both books are quite large.People who loved that book, as I did,will definitely want this one too, since it is basically more of thewonderful same.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Asian    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Criticism    6. Permanent Collection Catalogs    7. Techniques - Painting    8. Art / History / Asian    9. Buddhism    10. Oriental art    11. Painting & paintings    12. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (2)

Excellent resource
A wonderful approach to making art for sanctuaries, not the "bumper sticker on fabric" approach favored by so many church banner books.Some of the designs are dated, but the text will give you something to chew on.For example, she doesn't look favorably on the idea of lavish floral arrangements for altars every Sunday, saying that the altar is supposed to be a sacred space, not a florist's display window.At my church, I adapted one of her ideas using origami cranes as pieces to form a much bigger design suspended over the altar.It was hugely appreciated by the congregants of my liberal church.

An amazing book
This book will inspire you to really think about liturgical art in terms of spiritual reflection and growth, not just decoration.Ms. Chinn's work is inspiring and awesome.My only complaint was that there aren't many examples of projects in small worship spaces. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Christian Life - General    2. Christianity - General    3. Christianity - Ritual & Practice    4. Religion    5. Religion - Church Music    6. Religious Buildings    7. Subjects & Themes - Religious   

Reviews (2)

Do you want more success in your ministry and in your relationships?
If you do, than this book is for your team or your life.
Great for artistic teams
My artistic team is going through this book right now.It has practical insights, discussion questions and personal action steps. The book has helped my team become more of a team while enriching their Christian journey.We also went through Heart of the Artist by the same author. It is equally good.
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Subjects:  1. Artists    2. Christian life    3. Christianity - Christian Life - General    4. Christianity - Christian Life - Interpersonal Relationships    5. Christianity - Discipleship    6. Church musicians    7. Religion    8. Religion - Church Life & Growth    9. Religious life    10. Subjects & Themes - Religious    11. Christian Interest    12. Christian ministry & pastoral activity    13. Religion / Christian Life   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. History - General    4. Special Subjects In Art    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious    6. Art / Religious    7. Iconography, subjects depicted in art   

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Christian art and symbolism    5. Exhibitions    6. Painting    7. Painting, Colonial    8. Painting, South American    9. Permanent Collection Catalogs    10. South America    11. Art / History / American    12. Painting & paintings    13. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art, Buddhist    4. Art, Japanese    5. Asian    6. Buddhism - General    7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    8. Exhibition Catalogs    9. Exhibitions    10. Japan    11. Nara-shi    12. To 1600   

Editorial Review

The restoration of Michelangelo's magnificent frescoes in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel stirred up much controversy and debate among scholars, art historians, and art lovers alike. Originally painted in the late 15th century, it took restorers 14 painstaking years (from 1981 to 1995) to remove the centuries' worth of dust and decay that had obscured the frescoes' brilliant colors and intricate designs. In 250 gorgeous full-color photographs, this unique and beautiful volume presents Michelangelo's restored chapel--perhaps the greatest masterpiece of Renaissance art--in its entirety, from the Creation to the Last Judgment, both before and after cleaning. The only definitive study of the restoration process, this book is the next best thing to actually being there. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A treasure!
Being an admirer of the magnificent Michelangelo I am very pleased to have acquired this book. The pictures are beautifully printed. By the end of the book I wish to revisit the Sistine Chapel to view those parts printed in the book which I have obviously missed with my naked eyes. The details of the restoration work is an added bonus. To get the most of this book, please read it together with "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King. You will not regret the experience. Michelangelo's frescoes are simply sublime!

Stunning artistry, breathtaking color...
The photographs in this book are too good to be believed. I have never had an art book on the Sistine Chapel before that so moved me. Excellent Reproductions and very good text -- Truly Majestic
This is an absolutely superb book, largely because the reproductions of the frescoes are excellent and really capture the colors that you see when you visit the Chapel. I have found many art books disappointing, because they simply fail to capture the works they present.I first saw this book in an American bookstore after visiting the Sistine Chapel, and really thrilled to see if after looking at several other books where colors were much duller and the images simply not as sharp.In addition to its fine colors, the book provides many fine closeups of each individual section.The text is also very good, describing the subjects of the painting, the history behind the paintings, ansd also the recent restorstion.This is a must-have book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1475-1564    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Criticism    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. History - General    7. Individual Artist    8. Individual Painters - Renaissance    9. Michelangelo Buonarroti,    10. Mural painting and decoration,    11. Mural painting and decoration, Italian    12. Mural painting and decoration, Renaissance    13. Preservation And Restoration Of Art    14. Vatican City    15. Individual artists    16. Painting & paintings    17. Religious buildings    18. Religious subjects depicted in art    19. Renaissance art    20. Vatican   

Reviews (6)

Excellent and broad coverage of the subject
Steve Turner did an excellent job with this book. It is a very easy read but is well thought out and insightful. He does a good job of outlining the historical reasoning for the sad state of "christian art" today. But, he also does what other authors pretend to do but never actually accomplish. He provides a solid theory from which Christian artists can work. After explaining the historic reasons for our situation he then discusses the issue from a solidly biblical perspective doing a good job of puting the scripture in context for this discussion. He rightly argues that art produced by Christian Artists needs not be overtly religious. God is the God of the "secular" and the "religious".
Church, get out of the box with this book!
I work with performing artists in the area of healthcare ministry, but I am not an artist myself. Thus, this book has really helped me get out of my self-inflicted box of what I thought "Christian art" and "art by Christians" should look like. The book was recommended to me by the president of the arts ministry agency I serve with, and I would be neglectful if I did not pass the recommendation along. You will not find another book that that is so helpful as you wrestle with where the arts fits with Christianity. What a refreshment Steve Turner has provided. Now, BUY THE BOOK!

Christianity and the Arts selection
This book was everything I wanted--excellent writing, super information, and timely! Thanks!!Hope MANY people read this fine piece of work!I am presenting a program on Christianity and the Arts--and this book has been very helpful! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible - General    2. Christianity - Christian Life - General    3. Christianity - Ritual & Practice    4. Christianity and the arts    5. Religion    6. Religion - Socialissues    7. Subjects & Themes - Religious   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Ceramic sculpture    4. Gods, Buddhist, in art    5. Himalaya Mountains Region    6. Sculpture    7. Sculpture, Buddhist    8. Buddhism    9. Himalayas    10. History of art: c 500 CE to c 1400    11. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. Grapes in art    5. History - General    6. Iconography (Fine Arts)    7. Symbolism in art    8. Themes, motives    9. Visual perception    10. Art / General    11. Art--Themes, motives    12. Theory of art   

Reviews (3)

A straightforward and breathtakingly illustrated guide to Christian iconography throughout history
The Mystical Language of Icons is a straightforward and breathtakingly illustrated guide to Christian iconography throughout history. Full color photographs of iconographic artworks on almost every page are enhanced with an in-depth text that describes the history, meaning, and purpose of Christian icons; the techniques that religious painters used to create these works; specific nuances of individual motifs, gestures, and colors; Christian hymns, poems and prayers appropriate to individual artworks; and much more. Written by one of Europe's most well-known iconographers, The Mystical Language of Icons is a serious-minded text yet highly accessible to lay readers, historians, and anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of iconography as a form of Christian worship, expression and communication.
Beautiful, Engaging, Spiritually Engaging
Iconographer, Solrunn Nes, has put together a lavishly beautiful and engaging book about Christina Icons largely in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.She discusses the painting (or writing) of icons, and one comes away with great respect for the spiritual engagement an iconographer must encounter to produce such a mystical piece of wok for the faithful.
God's Word in Color

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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. History - Symbolism    4. Spirituality - General    5. Subjects & Themes - Religious   

Reviews (2)

Another wonderful book by Addiss!
This collection of zen masterpieces is one that you The Art of Zen: Paintings & Calligraphy by Japanese Monks
"The Art of Zen" is a beautiful, beautiful book and has taken its place on my read-again-and-again bookshelf. The 200+ page book is not only packed with the history of zen in Japan as exemplified by the majorzen monk artists but complemented by many examples of their art. Thehistory is divided into seven major periods that discussed the politicaland cultural climate of Japan as well as the philosophic perspective of ZenBuddhism. Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Buddhism - Zen    4. Buddhist art and symbolism    5. Calligraphy, Zen    6. History - General    7. Japan    8. Painting, Zen    9. Subjects & Themes - Religious    10. Art / History / Asian    11. Lettering & calligraphy    12. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    13. Oriental art    14. Painting & paintings    15. Religious subjects depicted in art    16. Zen Buddhism   

Reviews (3)

Amazing book
Anselm's artwork is amazing. This book tells all about the artist, his artwork, and the storys behind them. It has amazing photos and details.

Truly Heaven
This is a fantastic book. Anselm Keifer is one of my favorite artists of today. His work is so powerful that it is difficult to imagine it translated into a printed form, but this book does a great job of an almost impossible task. Keifer's work must be seen in person to be fully felt, but short of that, this book still manages to impress.

restrospective of this notable artist's career and art
The German artist Kiefer's first project titled "The Heavens" ("Die Himmel") sounded the note for the major theme of his work through the following decades. This first was a book-like project with several leaves completed in 1969. Coming after this were sculpture-like, installation-like works (before this form was widely practiced) using the earthy materials of lead, brick, metal, wood, cloth, and often cast-off materials, as used in "found" art, though with not nearly the effect. Born in 1945, Kiefer could never free himself from the oppressiveness of the German psychoses and atrocities of the Nazi years, especially being a Jew. "[Kiefer] does not assume the existence of a paradise, only the ancient need to imagine one." One sees in the artist's dense, bewitching works usually made of assorted materials this primitive longing for paradise impacted by the carnage and horrors of 20th century's crazed politics and warfare on a huge scale. The touches of brightness in many of Kiefer's works are sometimes overwhelmed by bricks and other materials the color of cinders, ashes, an unmistakable reference to the Holocaust and the "scorched earth" warfare waged by the German war machine. It is the natural materials of the art works such as leaves, ground, and cotton spun into clothing, not religious visions of Heaven, which offer any hope of transformative redemption and immortality there may be. As noted in the "Introduction," Kiefer regarded the earth as a "kind of alchemical fragment" still being forged. "In Kiefer's cosmology, the universe is an immense athanor, or alchemical oven, where spirit and matter are in continued process of creation and destruction." The book succeeds estimably as a retrospective on the span of Kiefer's career. Varying perspectives from distant to close-up on the art works enable one to grasp the complex historical, cultural, and mythical thoughts reflected in the composite, multilayered works and also the undying struggle between hope and memory embodied in them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Cosmology in art    4. Exhibitions    5. General    6. Individual Artist    7. Religion In Art    8. Subjects & Themes - Religious    9. Techniques - General    10. Techniques - Painting    11. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    12. Individual artists    13. Painting & paintings   

Editorial Review

Tibetan Buddhism has one of the most complex iconographies of any religion. Robert Beer, the artist who brought to life the saints of Tibetan Buddhism in Read more

Reviews (13)

read Dagyab Rinpoche's Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture
It's a more interesting and authoritative reference for this subject matter. This is due to Rinpoche being a qualified (I emphasise the word 'qualified') Lama and Tibetan scholar. Also at no point does Rinpoche compromise Tibetan Buddhism by giving away restricted information.

The 'Wonderful' Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs!!!
I love this book. Having found it a few years back at a tattoo shop in Santa Cruz, California, I was only able to look at it for a short time but I was able to gain so much knowledge as to the wealth of designs and deep meaning found in Tibetan art. This book stayed in my mind thereafter. Here it is a few years and a couple tattoos later and the book resurfaced on Amazon. Great price, great condition and prompt service.This book is great for one who has interest in Tibetan art and it's symbolic nature.The concepts are well articulated and with each 'type' placed into a different chapter it makes refrencing quite simple. If you are interested, get this book!

Great book
Great book, with lots of details. If you are interested in tibetan handicrafts, here you can get any tibetan design you can imagine. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient Oriental Art    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Art, Tibetan    5. Buddhism - General    6. China    7. Criticism    8. Eastern - General    9. General    10. History - General    11. Religion And Art    12. Symbolism in art    13. Themes, motives    14. Tibet    15. ASIA    16. Religion / Buddhism    17. Sign languages, Braille & other linguistic communication    18. Tibetan   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Calligraphy    3. General    4. Great Britain    5. History    6. Iconography (Fine Arts)    7. Illumination Of Books And Manuscripts    8. Illumination of books and manuscripts, Celtic    9. Ireland    10. Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)    11. Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter   

Reviews (1)

Perfect!
If there was a review higher than five stars, this book should get it! The cover alone deserves five stars! This book is the single most perfect book I've seen on angels! It's wonderful! The artwork, the explanations of the different categories of angels; it's all perfect! If you're interested in angels, this is a must have for any collection! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Angels in art    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Christian art and symbolism    5. Devil in art    6. Dictionaries    7. History - General    8. Reference    9. Subjects & Themes - Religious    10. Art & Architecture | History    11. Art / Religious    12. Religious subjects depicted in art