New Book Available!

Good art draws us in – to linger, to question, to discuss, to simply enjoy.  It’s also true the artist has “drawn” into an artwork a lifetime of study, practice, reading, and a world of stories and themes.

This book discusses some of what I've learned about art, architecture, and film after years of study and taking small groups to world-class art museums in Italy, Spain, France, England, the Netherlands, and Greece.

The story I tell begins with differences I find between "looking" at and "seeing" art, and then moves into descriptions and reflections about selected works in Florence (Michelangelo's David), Bonifacio's Slaughter of the Innocents in Venice, and Bernini's Cathedra Petri in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Following that we take a look at the fascinating stories behind the large obelisk in the middle St. Peter's Square and the course of its long history as a bit of monumental architecture.

I close out the book with a few short poems from Sicily,  and then a look at what's been "drawn in" Fernando Botero's "Abu Ghraib" and James Cameron's film Avatar. While these are clearly not classical Italian art, I wanted to show how what I learned in my studies of the Italian pieces can be applied to a more modern art exhibit (Botero) and even to a film like Avatar.

The book is now available at Amazon.com, in a color or black and white paperback.  While the color version is a bit more expensive, those who already enjoy art will benefit from the color imagery.

Drawn In: Dramatic Encounters With Art by Michael G. Bausch.