World History Learned Through Masterpieces: From the Renaissance to 20th-Century Art
Writer Profile
Mariko Takeuchi
Other : Art and History WriterÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni
Mariko Takeuchi
Other : Art and History WriterÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni
As an art writer, I have covered more than 70 exhibitions to date and have written articles about them, as well as columns on painters and their works, primarily for websites such as the web version of Bijutsu Techo under the pen name "verde."
In my writing, I have strived not only to face and observe the works and learn about their content and themes, but also to gather as much detailed information as possible about the surrounding circumstances, including the background in which the works were created.
Why and under what circumstances was this work painted? Why was this theme chosen? Who chose it?
By setting several questions and searching for their answers, one can deepen their understanding of the work and the artist.
This book is the fourth book I have published as a writer and my first solo work. In this book, I focus on the approximately 600 years from the Renaissance to the 20th century. By introducing keywords of Western art history such as "Renaissance" and "Baroque" in combination with historical events of the same era, the aim is to bring the background of the masterpieces and works representing each era into three-dimensional relief.
Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy? Why did France replace Italy as the center of art? Why are there so many high-quality museums in the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that rival European museums in both quality and quantity?
The answers to these questions can be found as you turn the pages of this book.
What emerges as we trace the flow of history is the human figure, unchanged from past to present. People exert power in search of honor and money. There is no end to that greed. For such humans, art is sometimes a tool to give form to and preserve their own authority and fame, sometimes something that colors their lives, and sometimes an object of business. That is why the country that holds global hegemony also becomes the center of art. However, as the phrase "the prosperous must decline" suggests, no matter how powerful an entity is, a time of decline will surely come. The art works that remain even then might be called witnesses that tell the story of history.
Mariko Takeuchi
Seibido Shuppan
192 pages, 1,760 yen (tax included)
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time this magazine was published.