Books
A poverty of feeling: how Sean Scully exhausted Arthur Danto
Arthur Danto was enraptured by Sean Scully’s painting—but he was never sure how to explain why
‘Artistic change is never more accelerated than when people are trying to stop it’
Thomas Crow reflects on the difficulties of political and artistic restoration
A glimpse behind the doors of the Roman Baroque palace
A year of research reveals how nobles used theatrical interiors to show their collections
Complex talent needs greater understanding
Denmark’s Asger Jorn was far more than a painter
Lost libraries and broken Buddhas: war, iconoclasm and social media
The history of cultural destruction as a propaganda tool
Larry Warsh explores buyers’ behaviour in new book
The avid collector is trying to understand why acquiring art can be such a compulsion
Books: Tiepolo and Modigliani’s journeys to New Jersey
Princeton University Art Museum has produced a catalogue on its Italian Old Master drawings
Books: Caravaggio's diametrically opposed contexts in conflict
Across two books, the master's work is interpreted in divergent, not diverse, ways
Photo shows that made history
As a new book surveys landmark photographic exhibitions, museums are only starting to catch up with the digital revolution of the medium
The V&A’s complete catalogue of Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish drawings from the 15th century to 1900
A true Benelux bonanza
Antonio II Badile: An Italian Renaissance drawing collector and his family
Casting light on an overlooked but fascinating aspect of the Renaissance
Books: Two books explore newer ways of seeing the world (and art) with varying degrees of success
Where Ossian Ward provides a handy guide, Charles Saatchi fails to impress
Discover Basquiat’s art—and his bedtime reading— at Prospect 3
During his lifetime, Jean-Michel Basquiat (right) kept a copy of the book Flash of the Spirit—considered to be one of the seminal works on Afro-Atlantic art and thinking—on his bedside table.
Book Review: The arch of time
From its invention by the Romans, the monumental arch has been a feature of the built environment ever since
Book Review: A largely visual tour of Anselm Kiefer’s enormous studios and working methods
More than 300 illustrations explain how the German artist’s studio spaces have played a fundamental role in shaping his vision, work and philosophy
Parr and Badger's photobook trilogy completed with The Photobook: a History
Martin Parr and Gerry Badger explore propaganda, conflict, sex, and death
Books: Have curators and collectors replaced critics? Paul Wood demystifies while Alistair Hicks disappoints
Two very different books speak to a worrying trend in the critique of art
Hauser & Wirth makes a big birthday book
Another 20-year landmark, now in print
Books: A far from academic set-up at the Académie royale
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture promoted “diversity of manners” rather than stylistic unity
Books: Lambert Krahe as a collector for instruction, rather than pleasure
A biography of a perceptive 18th century collector
Portrait of Prince Nicholas II Esterházy as an avid collector, a bankrupt, and a womaniser
The Prince's passions cost him his fortune but gave Hungary a fine collection of art
If you read one book this year, make it one of these
Art-world luminaries, from Eli Broad and Marina Warner to Tim Marlow and Xu Bing, pick the best art books they read in 2013
The scholarly battle over Beuys
Let’s admit it: without the artist to explain and animate his work, much of it is incomprehensible
Books: The saviour of the Warburg Institute
Alongside Warburg, there was no room for Fritz Saxl to be anything other than his most faithful assistant
Books: William Morris and creating a social fabric
An indispensable book on Morris’s revolutionary cloth designs and techniques—and the political views that inspired them
Book Review: The first in-depth study of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass
Angels and Icons is an important contribution to Pre-Raphaelite studies and a welcome addition to scholarship on post-Medieval stained glass in Britain
Books: How Warburg helped to invent the exhibition—and the curator
The art historian’s collected writings include an illuminating essay drawn from his dazzling, lengthy lectures
Books: Portraits of a diverse selection of Scottish country houses
Perthshire’s answer to the Ritz revealed