Business Description
As anyone who has been to the Louvre in Paris or the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid knows, these institutions can have an outsize effect on a city. Travelers are drawn by the art, of course, but also by the architecture and historical relics within its walls. Below, one book looks at how old master paintings have influenced the development of museums, while another offers a guided tour across Europe.A third, set largely in the Louvre, is a breathless thriller readers will devour on a long flight.
Nowadays we expect museums that are not focused on a particular artist or style to display the work of old masters, artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. But in this account of old master exhibitions and how they informed the development of museums, the art historian Francis Haskell explains that many of these pieces were previously displayed in churches or galleries. It was not until the late 16th century that they were determined to have high value; the advent of museums in the 18th century gave them permanent homes.
“Us” begins as a couple embark on a summer trip to Europe with their son, who is set to begin art school in the fall. Shortly before the trip, Douglas Petersen’s wife informs him that she may be leaving him. The story of the couple’s courtship and marriage is told in alternating chapters as the family ticks off the stops on their trip: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Rijksmuseum. As expected, the trip goes awry, and Douglas — a Type A biochemist who created a meticulous itinerary for the trip — is left to finish it on his own. Douglas is an entertaining guide; for example, while recounting the history of art in his own words, he comments, “Some bright spark realized that things in the distance looked smaller and the pictures of the Virgin Mary and the Crucifixion improved hugely.”
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