Gaunt, William

This book is the story of the years between 1880 and 1910--years crowded with innovations and new directions in the arts.

Grunewald - Ernst - De Chirico - Magritte - Delvaux - Chagall - Klee - Dali - Durer - Moreau - Burra - Goya - Bruegel - Boschh__

Focusing on the society in London in the later 18th century, this book attempts an explanation of William Blake in terms of the society that produced him. Instead of viewing Blake as a flower in the cultural desert or an artistic lone wolf, this author depicts Blake in his social element, and highlights several people who were friends of Blake. This is a good short read. The author is readable by a lay audience and the prose is good. Gaunts view of a vibrant English society--liberal in sex, politics and religion--highlights the importance of the art producing mechanism as well as the artist himself.

Observers’ book on art includes 16 plates in full colour and 57 monochrome reproductions. Contents include – List of Illustrations – The Apprecitiation of Pictures – The Character and uses of the Artist’s Media – Periods, Schools and Styles – The Artist’s Theme: Landscape, Imaginative Subject Composition, The Religious Subject, Genre Painting, Portraiture, The Human Figure, Animals in Art, Still Life, Trends in Modern Art – Glossary of Terms in Common Use – Painters and Draughtsmen.