Shelfology Book Pairing

Artists' Perspectives and Practices

by Julian Bell

A lavishly illustrated collection of essays on drawing as a vital intellectual, artistic and life practice, by the artists of the Royal Drawing School. Drawing is among the most profound ways of engaging with the world. It is absorbing, instinctive - a way not just of seeing, but of understanding what we see. Ways of Drawing brings together a range of reflections and creative propositions by contemporary artists and teachers associated with the Royal Drawing School, generously illustrated with images by alumni of the School and the work of significant artists past and present. From explorations of artistic development to short, imaginative strategies for seeing the world afresh, it repositions this art form as a vital force in the contemporary world. Advocating passionately for drawing as both deeply personal and utterly essential, this book is an invaluable companion for artists with all levels of experience looking for new inspirations for their practice.

Beneath the Surface

by Paul Smith

The art of the Impressionists is beloved of experts and non-experts alike. Paul Smith reexamines this popular group of artists in light of recent scholarship on the social context of late nineteenth-century France. He begins with Edouard Manet, often seen as a forerunner of Impressionism: a sophisticated, detached, ironic observer of the social scene in Paris. He then examines various key artists of the Impressionist movement - Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Cassatt, Monet, Pissarro - to offer a lively reading of such topics as the role of women in Impressionism, the influence of industrialization, the invention of modern color theory, the social position of the artist, and the use of psychoanalytic theory in the understanding of art. The result is to make this very familiar art movement seem fresh and new. To conclude, he proposes Cezanne's art as the culmination of, and heir to, the Impressionist experiment.