Monica Bohm-Duchen has taken 8 famous paintings and told me the story of both the artist and the painting with the understanding that there really is no separation between the artist and his or her painting/s. How I hope that she writes a sequel, another sequel, another sequel! (This time I hope she includes women artists.)

Especially, this book speaks to artists and art lovers. We artists know that each painting is a spirit that is very much alive.

Unlike most book discussions of great art, Bohm-Duchen's is a page turner and almost a voyeuristic glimpse into the private lives of 8 artists, not so easily gleaned in the retrospectives and other tomes that speak of the art of these famous artists.I got an amazing pictural look at Jackson Pollock and gained a greater respect for his artistic composition and methodolody. I discovered the history of madness of the van Gogh family here and not in literally dozens of other books on van Gogh and his body of work. Every other book merely said Theo, his benefactor and art gallery owner brother, died about six months after van Gogh and never mentioned madness as the cause, or that his youngest brother killed himself at 32 or that his favorite sister, Wil, also spent time committed to a mental asylum.

Bravo! Every artist and art lover and artist-to-be needs to read this book now. This book is a gift of joy you give yourself and others.

This book is surprising. It doesn't quite have the format of a traditionnal art book, but it is an excellent book. I own many books on Chagall and this one was truly a great surprise! I would compare it with the book "Chagall: The art of dreams" by Daniel Marchesseau because both are like mini-encyclopeadias about the artist. The difference is that this one by Monica Bohm-Duchen is bigger, and I would say easier to read ( each page of Marchesseau's book is literaly loaded with information and pictures! ). The quality of the illustrations is superb, and the information on Chagall's life is never boring and hard to understand for people like me who doesn't really have big knowledge on art. Beautiful book.