Our top 10 art books

Art and literature go hand in hand. They can share a story, encourage you to explore new ideas, challenge beliefs, and provide an outlet for creative expression.

So, there’s no surprise that we love books about art.

Life:Full Colour Founder, Sara McKee FRSA, has put together her 10 favourite books about art.  If you’re a budding art historian and you want to learn more about the art world and its characters, take a closer look at the following books. Listed in no particular order!

Art as Therapy – Alain de Botton, John Armstrong

Philosophers and authors Alain de Botton and John Armstrong explore the therapeutic potential of art, and whether art can guide us with some of life’s everyday problems: work, love, status, self-worth and questions of morality.

Available on Amazon here.

RuskinLand – Andrew Hill

Published in the same year as the 200th anniversary of Ruskin’s birth, this book looks at how John Ruskin has shaped our world and why we need Ruskin now. Read this book for a personal exploration of the life, work and influence of John Ruskin from art to activism.

Available on Amazon here.

Becoming Michelangelo – Alan Pascuzzi

Alan Pascuzzi recounts the young Michelangelo’s journey from student to master, using the artist’s drawings to chart his progress and offering unique insight into the true nature of his mastery.  Pascuzzi’s narrative traces Michelangelo’s development as an artist during the period from roughly 1485, the start of his apprenticeship, to his completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1512.

Available on Amazon here.

The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velazquez – Laura Cumming

Observer art critic and author, Laura Cumming, turns detective to pursue the origins of a painting by Spanish artist Velasquez. The painting was first discovered by a Reading bookseller named John Snare who came across the dirt-blackened portrait of a prince at a country house auction in 1845.  He spent the rest of his life trying to prove that he had a genuine Velázquez, leading to financial ruin.

The Vanishing Velázquez travels from extravagant Spanish courts in the 1700s to the gritty courtrooms and auction houses of nineteenth-century London and New York.

Available on Amazon here.

Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950 –  Agnes Poirier

A portrait of those who lived, loved, fought, played and flourished in Paris between 1940 and 1950. The book follows in the footsteps of seminal characters from the Left Bank such as Norman Mailer, Miles Davis, Simone de Beauvoir, James Baldwin, Juliette Greco, Alberto Giacometti, Saul Bellow and Arthur Koestler.   

You can read a recent review of the Left Bank by Ian James Brydon here, and buy the book on Amazon here.

 Starry Night – Van Gogh at the Asylum – Martin Bailey

Starry Night is a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh’s time at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and sunsets. 

Available on Amazon here.

Living with Leonardo – Martin Kemp

Written by one of the world’s leading authority on Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Kemp, each chapter of this book considers a specific work of Leonardo. Illustrated with the works being discussed, Living with Leonardo explores the artist’s genius from every angle, including technical analysis and the pop culture works he inspired, such as The Da Vinci Code, and his enduring influence 500 years after his death.

Available on Amazon here.

The Craftsman’s Handbook – Cennino Cennini  

Fifteenth-century handbook, written by a working artist of the day, reveals secrets and techniques of the masters in drawing, oil painting, frescoes, panel painting, gilding, casting, more. This is an English translation of Il Libro dell’Arte by American art historian and translator, Daniel Varney Thompson.

Available on Amazon here.

The Lives of the Artists – Giorgio Vasari  

Through character sketches and anecdotes, Vasari depicts Piero di Cosimo shut away in his derelict house, living only to paint; Giulio Romano’s startling painting of Jove striking down the giants; and his friend Francesco Salviati, whose biography also tells us much about Vasari’s own early career. Vasari’s original and soaring vision plus his acute aesthetic judgements have made him one of the most influential art historians of all time.

Available on Amazon here.

Jacques-Louis David – Anita Brookner

Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. Novelist and art historian Anita Brookner undertakes a detailed study of David, focusing on the relationship between his work and life, and his participation in the French Revolution.

Available on Amazon here.

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Tell us about your favourite books about art, and share your thoughts on any of the books on this list.