List of Novels about Art (Fiction and Non-Fiction)

November 16th, 2007, 09:55 AM

Dear Art Conversation Visitors,

I thought some of you might be interested in this post made to Art Education list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/art_ed.../message/15582

Add to this list Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears (recommended by an art teacher). She said his book The Portrait was excellent.

Judy Decker

November 16th, 2007, 09:59 AM

I forgot to leave you the link to Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears:

Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-History-My...R3FSEIFG2UTGDY

Judy Decker

John · November 16th, 2007, 11:56 AM

Great list! Also, my wife is currently enjoying "My Name is Red", by the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. He's apparently a Nobel prize winner, although the name doesn't ring a bell for me. It's a murder mystery of a kind, set among medieval manuscript illuminators.

Walter · November 20th, 2007, 07:15 PM

That's a mouth-watering list that makes me want to run to the library today.

Here's one to add: "The Tragic Muse" by Henry James. The novelist's protagonist, Nick Dormer, abandons a political career to devote himself to art. (His lady friend is an actress-- thus the "tragic" in the title.) James considered the novel one of his half dozen or so best. I would not count it in so august a group -- I think James liked this novel because he was habitually stage struck and the story deals with the theatre-- but it is a good read nonetheless. The Jamesian command of language is most noteworthy.

Yet another for the list would be George Du Maurier's "Trilby." Again we are dealing with painters, and the theatre also comes into play, this time in the form of a singer rather than an actress. DuMaurier's command of language is--- errrrr-- somewhat less impressive than that of James. Interesting tidbit: James encouraged DuMaurier to write this novel while the two were on a walk. Neither had any idea it would turn into a raging popular hit.

April 22nd, 2008, 02:51 PM

I was on a panel a couple of years ago at College Art Association where we discussed the uses of literature in the teaching of art history. As a medievalist, I talked about how Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose makes such a great entry for students trying to understand how a Romanesque portal was intended to engage its medieval viewers. But I'd also like to add Barry Unsworth's "The Ruby in Her Navel" which isn't only about art, but evokes both the appearance of and the discourse about many medieval buildings, objects, and works of art in medieval Sicily.

November 16th, 2007, 09:55 AM	#1
Judy Posts: n/a	List of Novels about Art (Fiction and Non-Fiction) Dear Art Conversation Visitors, I thought some of you might be interested in this post made to Art Education list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/art_ed.../message/15582 Add to this list Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears (recommended by an art teacher). She said his book The Portrait was excellent. Judy Decker

November 16th, 2007, 09:59 AM	#2
Judy Posts: n/a	Novels about Art - Ian Pears I forgot to leave you the link to Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears: Art History Mysteries by Ian Pears: http://www.amazon.com/Art-History-My...R3FSEIFG2UTGDY Judy Decker

April 22nd, 2008, 02:51 PM	#5
Unregistered Posts: n/a	More art history literature I was on a panel a couple of years ago at College Art Association where we discussed the uses of literature in the teaching of art history. As a medievalist, I talked about how Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose makes such a great entry for students trying to understand how a Romanesque portal was intended to engage its medieval viewers. But I'd also like to add Barry Unsworth's "The Ruby in Her Navel" which isn't only about art, but evokes both the appearance of and the discourse about many medieval buildings, objects, and works of art in medieval Sicily.

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November 16th, 2007, 11:56 AM	#3
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 156	Great list! Also, my wife is currently enjoying "My Name is Red", by the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. He's apparently a Nobel prize winner, although the name doesn't ring a bell for me. It's a murder mystery of a kind, set among medieval manuscript illuminators.

November 20th, 2007, 07:15 PM	#4
Walter Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 6	That's a mouth-watering list that makes me want to run to the library today. Here's one to add: "The Tragic Muse" by Henry James. The novelist's protagonist, Nick Dormer, abandons a political career to devote himself to art. (His lady friend is an actress-- thus the "tragic" in the title.) James considered the novel one of his half dozen or so best. I would not count it in so august a group -- I think James liked this novel because he was habitually stage struck and the story deals with the theatre-- but it is a good read nonetheless. The Jamesian command of language is most noteworthy. Yet another for the list would be George Du Maurier's "Trilby." Again we are dealing with painters, and the theatre also comes into play, this time in the form of a singer rather than an actress. DuMaurier's command of language is--- errrrr-- somewhat less impressive than that of James. Interesting tidbit: James encouraged DuMaurier to write this novel while the two were on a walk. Neither had any idea it would turn into a raging popular hit.