The Art of Looking Up
£25.90£33.30 (-22%)
From the lotus flowers of the Senso-ji Temple in Japan, to the religious iconography that adorns places of worship from Vienna to Istanbul, all the way to Chihuly’s glass flora suspended from the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas – this book takes you on a tour of the extraordinary artworks that demand an alternative viewpoint.
Art historian Catherine McCormack guides you through the stories behind the artworks – their conception, execution, and the artists that visualised them. In many cases, these works make bold but controlled political, religious or cultural statements, revealing much about the society and times in which they were created. Divided by these social themes into four sections – Religion, Culture, Power and Politics – and pictured from various viewpoints in glorious colour photography, tour the astounding ceilings of these and more remarkable locations:
- Vatican Palace, Rome, Italy;
- Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK;
- Louvre Museum, Paris, France;
- Dali Theatre-Museum, Figueres, Catalonia;
- Museum of the Revolution, Havana, Cuba;
- Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.
Four eight-page foldout sections showcase some of the world’s most spectacular ceilings in exquisite detail.
First and foremost, this is a visual feast, but also a desirable art book that challenges you to seek out fine art in more unusual places and question the statements they may be making.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Frances Lincoln, Illustrated edition (15 Oct. 2019) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 240 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0711242178 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0711242173 |
| Dimensions | 24.64 x 2.79 x 32.13 cm |
by Linby
What a brilliant idea for a book. 40 spectacular ceilings from around the world and you don’t have to get neck ache to see them. Obviously it is better to see things in real life – or is it? The photographs in the book get you so close to the art work, nearer than you could see in real life. The sumptuous photographs are just beautiful.
I think this is a book to have on the coffee table and if you feel a little blue or the weather isn’t nice, just take a peek inside, you will be feeling so much better immediately. I really can’t emphasis enough how wonderful the photographs are.
Some are from buildings I have only seen from outside and so the glimpse inside is amazing. One is of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona which one day I would love to see, but this must be the next best thing or better. Such a close up of the details and a wonderful explanation of it too. For this is not just a book of photographs, descriptions and background are provided too in great detail.
I’m truly inspired by this book, both creatively and also to visit these amazing places, of which most I knew nothing of previously.
by Amanda Jenkinson
Such a beautiful book. Visually stunning. A joy to have and to hold. It takes a close, detailed look at 40 of the worlds’ most spectacular and impressive ceilings. The author introduces each one and explains its genesis, history and execution in an accessible and readable way. The usual suspects, such as the Sistine Chapel, are featured, as you might expect but there are many surprises here too – from the Chihuly celling in the Ballagio Hotel in Las Vegas to the ceilings in the metro stations in Sweden. The photography is superb, and the illustrations are wonderfully detailed. The great delight with the book is that you can look at the ceilings in far greater detail than you can in real life, so that any visit to the actual building will be enhanced. And what a way for the armchair traveller to see these wonderful ceilings close-up. A book to treasure.
by V. O’Regan
My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion Publishing for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Art of Looking Up’ by Catherine McCormack in exchange for an honest review.
This is another sumptuous book by White Lion in which art historian Catherine McCormack surveys 40 fine art ceilings from around the world.
In four sections dedicated to Religion, Culture, Power, and Politics McCormack provides the stories behind the artworks, including their histories and the artists involved in the projects. It includes a wealth of stunning full-colour photographs of the ceilings including their details.
I was especially drawn to the ceilings in the Culture section including the Metro Stations of Stockholm, Sweden and the Palais Garnier, France decorated by Marc Chagall. The ceiling of the Dali Theatre-Museum in Catalonia was also very striking and effectively represented Dali’s surrealism.
A book that would make a beautiful and unusual gift.
by C. Starling
Good quality book
by A. Dee
Wow! What an outstanding book. Really stunning. The photography is mind blowing, the describing is superb and for someone who can only dream of visiting the places in this wonderful book, it’s brilliant to be able to peep a look whilst sitting on the settee. Always look up.
by David Hughes
Great book with lovely pictures. It Successfully presents a varied range of ‘ceilings’ (sorry that term doesn’t do these justice) from different types of buildings- for example civic, religious and so on. Only complaint would be that the narrative could have been longer, but hey this is a coffee table book. Just enjoy and remember to look up the next time you go exploring
by Bob Jackson
Fantastic book full of amazing photos. Some of the ceilings are truely ‘gob smacking’ and the folk who painted them beyond talented
by Mr. A. J. Smith
It’s true that to see, in real life, many of the wonders featured in this book a degree of neck contortion is required. I’ve visited a number of the buildings featured here and to appreciate the most dramatic element on show you have to look up. Unfortunately, on at least a couple of occasions I seem to have, at least partially, missed out. At the Sistine Chapel in Rome the ceiling is so high I found it hard to fully appreciate the detail of the amazing paintings (and note that anyone trying to take a photograph was immediately ushered out) and at the Sangrada Familia in Barcelona ongoing construction work partially obscured efforts to fully admire the amazing work above. But in this book the superbly detailed photographs fully display the staggering beauty on show in these buildings and in a wide range of others across the world.
The photographs are amazing, both the large overviews and the detailed breakdowns. Colours are vividly captured and the overall result is, at times, mind blowing. It definitely inspired a desire in me to visit more of these sites at some point. My favourites include the subterranean art displayed across the walls and ceilings in Stockholm’s Metro Stations and the ceramic tiles covering virtually every surface in the Imam Mosque at Asafan, Iran. Many of the images included in this book have a religious context, but some scenes are political in nature and others are hard to categorise. An informative text accompanies each. I was viewing an electronic version but I’d imagine a hard copy of this book would be a wonderful item to own and peruse at your leisure.