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Heaven on Earth

Painting and the Life to Come
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( 63 ratings, 13 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
Heaven on Earth explores humanity's enduring dream of a transfigured, harmonious world, as depicted through the history of painting from the late Middle Ages to the modern age. T. J. Clark delves into masterpieces by Giotto, Bruegel, Poussin, Veronese, and Picasso, examining how these artists have visualised the idea of God's kingdom on earth amid religious orthodoxy and political upheaval. Central to the narrative are Bruegel's The Land of Cockaigne and Veronese's Allegory of Love, culminating with Picasso's 1958 Fall of Icarus, which suggests a future devoid of utopian promise.
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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 is ideal for readers interested in art history, cultural studies, and political philosophy. It will particularly appeal to those who appreciate deep, reflective analysis of classic paintings and their relation to broader social and religious themes.

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A superbly written and tightly argued appraisal of the political and religious ramifications of one of the fundamental topics in the history of art – the artistic encounter with the transcendent.

A superbly written and tightly argued appraisal of the political and religious ramifications of one of the fundamental topics in the history of art - the artistic encounter with the transcendent.

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

The idea of heaven on earth haunts the human imagination. The day will come, say believers, when the pain and confusion of mortal life will give way to a transfigured community. Such a vision of the world seems indelible. Even politics, some reckon, has not escaped from the realm of the sacred: its dreams of the future still borrow their imagery from the prophets.

In Heaven on Earth, T.J. Clark sets out to investigate the very different ways painting has given form to the dream of God's kingdom come. He goes back to the late Middle Ages and Renaissanceβ€”to Giotto in Padua, Bruegel facing the horrors of religious war, Poussin painting the Sacraments, Veronese unfolding the human comedy. Was it to painting's advantage, is Clark's question, that in an age of enforced orthodoxy (threats of hellfire, burnings at the stake) artists could reflect on the powers and limitations of religion without putting their thoughts into words?

At the heart of the book stands Bruegel's ironic but tender picture of The Land of Cockaigne, but also Veronese's inscrutable Allegory of Love. The story ends with Picasso's Fall of Icarus, made for UNESCO in 1958, which already seems to signalβ€”perhaps to prescribeβ€”an age when all futures are dead.

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?

Heaven on Earth has received widespread acclaim for its insightful blend of art criticism and political thought. Jackie Wullschlager of the Financial Times praises it as an imaginative coda to Clark's study of utopian modernism. The Church Times hails it as 'art criticism at its best', noting Clark's lively and engaging prose. Laura Cumming of the Observer describes it as a unique and compelling exploration of art's afterlife in relation to worldly realities. Frieze highlights Clark's meticulous attention to detail that invites readers to reevaluate iconic works, while the Evening Standard commends the book's clarity and engaging flow.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780500021385

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 04 October 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Illustration: 101 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 790g

Pages: 288

About the Author

T.J. Clark is Professor Emeritus of the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of the seminal The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (1984) and Farewell to an Idea: Episodes from a History of Modernism (1999). He writes art criticism regularly for the London Review of Books. His other publications include Image of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 Revolution (1983), also published by Thames & Hudson.

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