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Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death
by
94/99
Critics
72/99
Readers
n/a
Scholars
96/99
Rating
92/99
Volume
69/99
Rating
75/99
Volume
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About This Book
A fascinating, little-known story of the massive explosion in Holland that killed Carel Fabritius, renowned painter of The Goldfinch and A View of Delft and nearly killed Johannes Vermeer—two of the greatest artists of the 17th century. In 1654, the Thunderclap—an enormous explosion at a gunpowder store—devasted the city of Delft, killing hundreds of people, including the extraordinary painter Carel Fabritius, and injuring thousands more. Framing the story around the life of Fabritius, Cumming illuminates this extraordinary moment in art history while also writing about her own father, a painter. Like Dutch art, the story gradually links country, city, town, street, house, interior—all the way to the bird on its perch, the blue and white tile, the smallest seed in a loaf of bread. The impact of a painting and how it can enter our thoughts, influence our view and understanding of the world is the heart of this book. Cumming has brought her unique eye to her most compelling subject yet. Featuring beautiful full-color images of Dutch paintings throughout.
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Reviews
"And of course it contains a whole gallery of verbal images, in addition to pictures of paintings."
"Cumming suggests that we recall the past through pictures ..."
"Its thunderclap still echoes in my ears."
"Cumming...draws us into another mystery that fascinates her: that of the brief life of the genius Fabritius, the painter of The Goldfinch, the chained bird that stares back at us from its prison of a perch ..."
"The reproductions of paintings throughout make it physically, too, a thing of splendour."
"This is not art historical scholarship of the academic kind – there are no footnotes or references to sources beyond her own feelings and intuition."
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