… whenever I’m in survival mode like this I find myself drawn irresistibly to museums and art galleries, like people running for air raid shelters in … whenever I’m in survival mode like this I find myself drawn irresistibly to museums and art galleries, like people running for air raid shelters in wartime.”
Unique and subtly inspiring, this filled a craving for art I didn’t know I had. An unusual narrator opens the door to an artist, provides a tempting tidbit of what they meant to her, and off you go, searching out histories and paging through paintings.
And this narrator is certainly unusual. We learn about her in pieces, never sure exactly of the whole. She feels on the verge of a realization, and is interestingly but never depressingly troubled. She has a wealth of artistic knowledge and excellent taste, and gives us not just any artists, but remarkable, often lesser-known talents with intriguing life stories.
Each chapter revolves around a painter and a related personal story: Hubert Robert’s ancient ruins and her relationship with her mother; the tortured works of El Greco, felled ancient redwood trees, and the tragic life of her oldest brother.
Gainza’s style is spare and leaves lots of room for reflection. She has a particularly artistic way with descriptions. “Her straight, shoulder-length hair was the lustrous black of a crow’s feathers in the rain.”
I loved this thoughtful, stimulating book, full of discoveries....more
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