Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, Fascinating, and Hilarious
Review: This book reproduces hundreds of the most beautiful, eccentric, and unique paintings and sculptures ever made, complete with a marvelously entertaining commentary that "reveals" the sinister, patriarchial threat of each.The greatest surprise is the obscurity yet quality of these works--you won't see them reproduced in any other art book, yet they are too entertaining and (sometimes) just plain daffy to deserve oblivion. Since subject matter is all that interests Mr.Dijkstra, they are unfortunately all in black and white, but the bold expressiveness of the compositions makes this only a minor flaw. Almost as rich as this aesthetic feast is Mr. Dijkstra's commentary. Are you amused by 19th Century Puritanical screeds, right-wing condemnation of the Arts, or the Nazis' blather about "degenerate art"? If so, this scholar's views will be a revelation: a dour, fanatical, left-wing perspective! He has great insights into 19th Century culture, psychology, and "sexual politics," and these increase tenfold your enjoyment of the art. But I was most delighted by his hilarious extremism, his intolerance for anything that won't fit within a microscopic window of "political correctness." The self-righteousness, the delusions (he describes a bucolic scene of frolicking cherubs as a harbinger of the Holocaust) and the choking fury he expends at long-dead paupers are a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Thank you, Mr. Dijkstra! Beyond a doubt, the most memorable art critique I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: AN AMAZING WORK OF PASSION AND SCHOLARSHIP
Review: This is the sort of book that can only be the product of decades of passionate interest, study and research -- a once in an author's lifetime effort. I leaned heavily on the big shoulders of this brilliant study in the research for the second chapter of my book, COMPLICATED WOMEN. Dijkstra has seen every painting from the 19th century and has understood them. The book is lavishly illustrated. It's all written with wit and liveliness. This is not a dry book at all. I was enormously impressed and recommend it to anyone interested in art or women's studies -- or in having a new world revealed.
Rating:
Summary: AN AMAZING WORK OF PASSION AND SCHOLARSHIP
Review: This is the sort of book that can only be the product of decades of passionate interest, study and research -- a once in an author's lifetime effort. I leaned heavily on the big shoulders of this brilliant study in the research for the second chapter of my book, COMPLICATED WOMEN. Dijkstra has seen every painting from the 19th century and has understood them. The book is lavishly illustrated. It's all written with wit and liveliness. This is not a dry book at all. I was enormously impressed and recommend it to anyone interested in art or women's studies -- or in having a new world revealed.
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