Title: Rendez-vous with Art
Authors: Philippe de Montebello and Martin Gayford
Length: 248 pages
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Year: 2014
More than a straightforward art history text, Rendez-vous with Art is an unusual volume that compiles engaging conversations between Philippe de Montebello, the longtime director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Martin Gayford, a British critic and journalist. These art-focused chats touch on a wide range of issues and emphasize the need to look closely at art in the modern world. It is a fast and delightful read.
The book is appropriately titled as it centers around a series of short meetings had by Montebello and Gayford in some of the world’s leading art places. Within the context of singular conversations about individual works of art, the authors touch either pointedly or glancingly on topics as varied as museum studies, sociological issues around art, or simply the need for close and careful looking. The enjoyment of looking and dissecting images is central to their friendly banter.
The conversational nature of the text invites us, the readers, into the intellectual but accessible crossfire between these two great art minds. It is a stimulating device that encourages us to interrogate our own preconceived notions about great art seen in important institutions. The book makes us a fellow interlocutor on a journey that is both about our perception of works of art and our ability to narrate those perceptions to others in a meaningful way.
In this sense, Rendez-vous with Art, touches on the central conceits of art history - the necessity to look, to examine, to describe, and to question. The artworks discussed are the fulcrum of the text. The physicality of objects is central to the face-to-face conversations at the core of this unwittingly quick and enjoyable read, which inserts art into a place often held by theory in art-writing.
The co-authors also contribute their respective views as the longest-serving director of one of preeminent art museums, and a journalist and critic whose skills for research and composition of sure-footed prose are at the top of their powers. They bring their years of expertise to bear in thoughtful and provocative talks that make us want to learn more, and look more.
This is, in short, a book that will renew your passion for closely examining, fully understanding, and deeply appreciating works of art.
Rendez-vous with Art is available at all major retailers, but do consider patronizing your local independent bookstore!
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