On n'y voit rien : descriptions by Daniel ArasseMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Ce qui me préoccupe, c'est plutôt le type d'écran (fait de textes, de citations et de références extérieures) que to sembles à tout prix, à certains moments, vouloir interposer entre toi et l'œuvre"
Great take, but also a tad ironic, given the content of this book. Still, not knowing (or really caring too much) about analyses of famous paintings, I did find this interesting overall, if not a tad over the top.
I really would have appreciated better images, however. Small reproductions of the artwork in black and white (and half-hidden by the thickness of the book) were definitely not ideal. I mean, obviously I can just find the artwork online, but that sort of defeats the purpose of featuring these images at all.
Some thoughts on each essay (definite spoilers, if you're worried about those):
1st essay (quote). Reaffirms my predilection for Tintoretto. I liked all of the small details I would have completely missed just looking at this on my own. Although I'm not sure if he went too far analyzing the reflection in the mirror.
2nd: Fascinating look at an oddity (a snail) in a renaissance painting. Btw, he mentions his medievalist friend Umberto. Is this Umberto Eco?
3rd: An interesting look at the three wise men in a painting. I'm not sure if I buy all of his points, but two of the wise men are definitely way too ugly for it not to mean anything. Also, why does he keep calling the third wise man Gaspard?
4th: This was actually pretty weak in my opinion. An analysis of Mary Magdalene (or just Mary? Or Magdalene? Or she didn't exist?). It seemed a bit of a stretch.
5th: I confess I didn't really get this all that much either. I mean, I understand the concepts, but I feel like he is seeing way too much into it, and I am getting flashbacks to my art history class where I couldn't help thinking the same thing. However, I did hit upon a new French expression! "Revenons à nos moutons"!
6th: This became way too intellectual for me. I could tell the moment he started discussing Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.
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