In the lead-up to Christmas, students may be thinking about gifts that are suitable for others who share a love or interest in art of all kinds. Art History tutor, Stewart Roberts (Stu) has a few suggestions for novels that are themed around a painting or artist.
His LAC course focusses on a series of artworks to help students understand how they reflect the society in which they were created and to give them a framework for looking at art of all kinds. Art History books can sometimes be dry, academic works that assume a prior knowledge of history and art movements so some students might prefer a lighter, human introduction.
Over the next few weeks he will highlight some novels that focus on the artworks discussed in the course, which he considers well-researched, imaginative approaches to their respective subjects:
Artwork examined in the course: The Bull Leaping Fresco
The King must Die – Mary Renault
Renault melds the original legend of the Minotaur, sacrificial victims and a deadly labyrinth with the images of acrobatic bull-leaping found in Minoan art.
Purchase online from Waterstones
Artwork examined in the course: The Bayeux Tapestry
The Needle in the Blood – Sarah Bower
Here Sarah Bower imagines how the Bayeux Tapestry may have been created, within a sophisticated novel about love, ambition, fury, forgiveness, misunderstanding and again and always, love.
Purchase online from Waterstones
Artwork examined in the course: La Primavera (Spring)
Botticelli’s Muse – Dorah Blume
Sandro Botticelli, a confirmed bachelor, enters into a turbulent relationship with Floriana, a headstrong artist in her own right.
Purchase online from Waterstones
Stu will recommend other novels in the next blog but also invites students to comment on these or other art-themed novels that they have read.
If you would like to receive a roundup of all of our blog posts once a week to keep you inspired in your inbox, why not sign up to our newsletter. You can access our sign up at the top of our page. If you are a London Art College student and you would like your artwork featured here, drop us a line at any time.
