100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

New on the blog! πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅ Japanese Healing Fiction & β˜• The Perfect Winter Reads

Art

Vintage Minis
Series: Vintage Minis
3.83 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 131 ratings, 12 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Art by Simon Schama CBE is a profound exploration of how art intersects with history, culture, and human experience. Schama delves into various art pieces and artists through time, offering vivid narratives and a rich contextual backdrop. The book is an insightful journey into the transformative power and significance of art in society.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1799
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by the intricate stories behind artistic masterpieces and their creators. Simon Schama, CBE, offers a richly illustrated and insightful narrative on the impact of art through history, making it a compelling read for arts and culture enthusiasts who enjoy a blend of visual beauty and historical context.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between.

Great art has dreadful manners...

The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are visions that soothe, charm, and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a headlock and proceed in short order to re-arrange your sense of reality.

In inimitable style, our greatest historian and master storyteller Simon Schama makes an irresistible case for the power of art and its necessary place in our lives, examining art through the prism of the troubling life and works of Italian master painter, and murderer, Caravaggio.

Selected from The Power of Art.

VINTAGE MINIS - GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

A series of short books by the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human.

Also in the Vintage Minis 'Great Ideas' series:

  • Religion by Karen Armstrong
  • Science by Ian McEwan

Series: Vintage Minis

View all
  • Money
    Money by Yuval Noah Harari is a profound exploration into the history, significance, and evolution of money. Harari, renowned for his groundbreaking works, Sapiens and Homo Deus, presents an incisive narrative that spans from the earliest forms of coinage to the complex economic systems that govern our modern world. With unmatched clarity and engaging prose, Harari delves into the origins...
    Paperback
    $1799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Dreams
    Vintage Minis bring you the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanβ€”from birth to death and everything in between. VINTAGE MINISβ€”GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. Have you ever dreamt you were naked on stage, or woken having failed an exam? In these fascinating, pioneering essays, Sigmund Freud plunges into the recesses of our minds and awakens...
    Paperback
    $999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Austerity
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human – from birth to death and everything in between. VINTAGE MINIS - GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. How do we choose between what is fair and just, and what our debtors demand of us? Yanis Varoufakis was put in such a dilemma in 2015...
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    17% off
    Eating
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. In this inspiring, witty and eminently sensible book, Nigella Lawson sets out a manifesto for how to cook (and eat) good food every day with a minimum of fuss. From basic roast chicken and pea risotto...
    Paperback
    $1500
    Usually:
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Power
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human – from birth to death and everything in between. Why, what is pomp, rule, reign, but earth and dust? And, live we how we can, yet die we must What is the true meaning of power? Are some simply born to it, or can it...
    Paperback
    $999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Art
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. Great art has dreadful manners... The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are visions that soothe, charm, and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab...
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Desire
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanβ€” from birth to death and everything in between. You've just passed someone on the street who could be the love of your life, the person you're destined forβ€”what do you do? In Murakami's world, you tell them a story. The five weird and wonderful tales...
    Paperback
    $1799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Lies
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human – from birth to death and everything in between. "The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility." Is lying simply an uncomfortable truth about life or something to be...
    Paperback
    $900
    Elsewhere:
    $999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Murder
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. Well, Watson, we seem to have fallen upon evil days Sherlock Holmesβ€”the quintessential British hero and the world's most popular detective. Through his powers of deduction, and with the help of his faithful companion Dr Watson,...
    Paperback
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Ghosts
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. A high-pitched laugh echoes in an empty church. Servants discover their master dead in his bed, the only sign of disturbance an open window. The coffin of a woman hanged as a witch is found to...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Calm
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. How do we find calm in our frantic modern world? Tim Parks - lifelong sceptic of all things spiritual - finds himself on a Buddhist meditation retreat trying to answer this very question. With brutal honesty...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Motherhood
    Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between. Enjoy Helen Simpson's sharply funny, humane take on the everyday joys and struggles of Motherhood in this perfect Mother's Day gift. Welcome to motherhood - a land of aching fatigue, constant self-sacrifice and thankless servitude, a...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Art by Simon Schama, CBE has been praised for its engaging style and aesthetic appeal. Reviewers describe it as both visually and intellectually stimulating, catering well to modern readers looking for concise yet profound insights.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784875671

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 October 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 112.0mm

Height: 180.0mm

Weight: 83g

Pages: 112

About the Author

Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University. His award-winning books, translated into fifteen languages, include Citizens, Landscape and Memory, Rembrandt's Eyes, A History of Britain, The Power of Art, Rough Crossings, The American Future, The Face of Britain and The Story of the Jews- Finding the Words (1000 BCE - 1492). His art columns for the New Yorker won the National Magazine Award for criticism and his journalism has appeared regularly in the Guardian and the Financial Times where he is Contributing Editor. He has written and presented more than fifty films for the BBC on subjects as diverse as Tolstoy, American politics, and The Story of the Jews and is co-presenter of a new landmark series on the history of world art, Civilisations.

Also by Simon Schama

View all
  • The Story of the Jews
    The Story of the Jews by Simon Schama, CBE, is an extraordinary narrative that spans more than 3,000 years of Jewish history. Through meticulous research and lively storytelling, Schama brings to life the epic journey of the Jewish people, a tale of resilience, creativity, and survival. This landmark work explores the manifold experiences of Jews across the centuries and across...
    Paperback
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Citizens
    The French Revolution, a pivotal moment in world history, is examined through a comprehensive lens in Citizens by Simon Schama. This authoritative tome meticulously delves into the social, cultural, and political upheavals that characterised the Revolution. Schama offers a richly detailed narrative that brings to life the passions, complexities, and contradictions of the era. From the opulent court of Louis...
    Paperback
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Belonging
    A passionate history of a world unfolding across many continents and five centuries by one of our greatest and internationally bestselling historians. A passionate history of Judaism; a world unfolding across many continents and five centuries by one of our greatest and internationally bestselling historians. Belonging is a magnificent cultural history abundantly alive with energy, character and colour. From the...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Foreign Bodies
    β€˜This splendid and often moving work of history… Schama has a gift for combining novelistically colourful detail, serious analysis and wryly amusing asides’ Daily Telegraph β€˜Superb’ Observer β€˜Extraordinary… A meticulous retelling of a terrible yet scientifically innovative period… Makes an urgent case for building a better future on our toxic past’ Guardian β€˜This is history of the best sort –...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3099
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Foreign Bodies
    β€˜This splendid and often moving work of history… Schama has a gift for combining novelistically colourful detail, serious analysis and wryly amusing asides’ Daily Telegraph β€˜Superb’ Observer β€˜Extraordinary… A meticulous retelling of a terrible yet scientifically innovative period… Makes an urgent case for building a better future on our toxic past’ Guardian β€˜This is history of the best sort –...
    Hardback
    $6300
    Elsewhere:
    $6999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Shortest History of Antisemitism
    Pre-order
    The Shortest History of Antisemitism
    A swift history of one of the most enduring and changeable forms of hatred From ancient times to the present, antisemitism has proved to be one of the most enduring and adaptable forms of hatred. Across centuries of world-changing ideas and upheavals - from the rise of Christianity and Islam to the Enlightenment, nationalism, globalism and great leaps of technology...
    Paperback
    $3700
    Pre-order
    Out 13 Oct 2026
  • Landscape and Memory
    The forest primeval, the river of life, the sacred mount β€” read Landscape and Memory to have these explained... Landscape and Memory is a history book unlike any other. In a series of journeys through space and time, it examines our relationship with the landscape around us β€” rivers, mountains, forests β€” the impact each of them has had on...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Wordy
    Wordy is about the intoxication of writing; my sense of playful versatility; different voices for different matters: the polemical voice for political columns; the sharp-eyed descriptive take for profiles; poetic precision in grappling with the hard task of translating art into words; lyrical recall for memory pieces. And informing everything, a rich sense of the human comedy and the ways...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5500
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. β€˜A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank β€˜A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • To the Women - The New Collection of Wise Words Every Woman Needs
    THE COMPLETELY UPDATED COLLECTION WITH OVER 70 BRAND NEW POEMS, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE AND WORDS TO LIVE BY 'Amazing . . . Donna's words speak to my heart' Davina McCall To the Women is a celebration of the beauty, strength, and joy of being a woman. A love letter to our deep capacity...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Backorder
    Ships early August
  • Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
    The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Odyssey
    The Odyssey by Homer is a monumental epic that has enthralled readers for centuries with its rich tapestry of adventure and human struggle. It chronicles the perilous journey of Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, as he strives to return home after the fall of Troy. During this ten-year odyssey, Odysseus confronts myriad dangers, both natural and supernatural, that test...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017β€”revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)β€”critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.