Take for example the discussion of the splendid tomb of England's Edward II. As a monarch Edward was a considerable failure. His reign was one disaster after another. Why then was he accorded such a magnificent tomb in Gloucester Cathedral? The splendid tomb, the text argues, is meant to demonstrate the idea that the idea of king is more important than any individual king, certainly an interesting thesis.
Once again, as I have already pointed out in my review of Baroque, the real glory of Gothic is in the photography. Not only are there full page details of significant works, there are two-page details and even two four-page fold outs. Moreover, digital photo technology has given the photographer new tools to capture the image. Some of the process is described by Bednorz in the brochure that accompanies the book. He takes shots in different lighting and then combines them to produce an accurate visual. In the past for example, as he explains, photos of stained glass windows were able to capture the colors but not the tracery. The new technology allows him to get both. The illustrations of the windows from Notre Dame de la belle verrière and the Passion Window from the Cathedral of Saint-Étiene provided excellent evidence of the effectiveness of the process.
Each volume in the collection runs 568 pages in a 15 x 11 inch format and is bound by hand. They must weigh in over 15 pounds. These are the kinds of books that are themselves works of art.
Article comments
1 - Robyn
This sounds like an educational as well as enjoyable read. Thanks for the review. I enjoy modern and recent art the most, but I will be looking for this book soon. I recently read the best book called, "The Art Dockuments" by author Carlton Davis.
This a non-fiction book with a collection of stories about the Los Angeles art gallery in the 1980s, The Art Dock. http://artdock.net/