gloriana232's reviews
89 reviews

Engaging style. But I kept getting irritated by the author's tendency to pause and note the attractiveness of the women he meets in the course of his research and travels. Each instance stuck out like a burr. Both objectifying and exoticizing, that was the most thing that detracted from an otherwise interesting subject and treatment. It made me acutely aware of the gulf for me between reader and author. 

I appreciated how much humility he displays in learning brush writing. A few smaller things could have benefitted from an edit - he talks about a French king whose head was cut off, but repeatedly refers to Louis XIV, so I think he means Louis XVI. 

Necessary reading for anyone who looks at paintings in person, in books or on paper, or on screens.