Rembrandt Is in the Wind
Reason Book was Chosen:
Russ Ramsey is my pastor. I've read 4 of his books for this project and this one, releasing in 2022, will be the 5th. This was a late addition to my list and replaced The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.My Thoughts
I suspect one could spend their entire life studying one work of art. I mean, really studying that work of art. Learning how and why it was made, who influenced it, and who created it.
In this book, Russ provides the background to some of the greatest works of arts known to mankind. He focuses on three areas in particular – the craft, the story, and the artist. The craft details the creative process for the particular work of art. The story is what is depicted in the art. The focus on the artist is on their journey of faith, and how that influenced their art.
I found all three areas fascinating. But perhaps the most intriguing was learning about the artists themselves. There was so much struggle, doubt, madness, loneliness, and pain. And yet out of these lives came abundant beauty. As Russ states:
“This is the intangibility of genius—to create work that transfers from the canvas, the page, or the instrument into the heart of another person, arousing a longing for beauty and an end to sadness.”
Art has a way of revealing this beauty the more we partake of it. And oftentimes, this partaking requires learning the backstories of the art. This book is such a wonderful guide in that quest of diving deeper into beauty. By providing 10 examples, Russ is also training you how to approach your favorite works of art in order to better experience the beauty.
I learned things in this book that blew me away (like how Vermeer made his paintings). I learned how to think deeper about the process of making the art. I learned how to consider the life of the artist and the works they produced.
A great book for novices and art lovers alike.
