Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith
- Downloads：4344
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-23 02:20:52
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Russ Ramsey
- ISBN：0310129729
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Randall
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At first glance， many of these painters and their lives could be quickly read and summarized as successful， famous， and skillful in their craft， but Ramsey reminds us that there is so much more --not only in the paintings but in the artists’ own lives。 He reminds us that it is not a blessing to 'be seeing but never perceiving。' Ramsey wants his readers to see the beauty and the stories of ‘friends’ for whom he obviously has an affection。 In opening up the works and worlds of each painter， Ramsey At first glance， many of these painters and their lives could be quickly read and summarized as successful， famous， and skillful in their craft， but Ramsey reminds us that there is so much more --not only in the paintings but in the artists’ own lives。 He reminds us that it is not a blessing to 'be seeing but never perceiving。' Ramsey wants his readers to see the beauty and the stories of ‘friends’ for whom he obviously has an affection。 In opening up the works and worlds of each painter， Ramsey shows us that there is more -- more beauty， depth， brokenness and redemption。 His skillful guiding draws the reader into considering the world around and their own lives as well。 In so doing， Ramsey invites us to consider our own heart's story as we pursue that for which we long and the beauty which is ever-present， but sadly too often missed or overlooked。 。。。more
JennicaAyelet
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I first learned about Russ Ramsey through an art talk he gave on Caravaggio at an arts and community conference。 I was and continue to be impressed by his knowledge and obvious love of art。Russ starts the book with a discussion on the Transcendentals， or， the true， the beautiful， and the good。 He then writes about nine Western artists， touching briefly on some of their work， their lives， and their intersection with faith。 His appendices include how to visit an art museum， how to look at a work o I first learned about Russ Ramsey through an art talk he gave on Caravaggio at an arts and community conference。 I was and continue to be impressed by his knowledge and obvious love of art。Russ starts the book with a discussion on the Transcendentals， or， the true， the beautiful， and the good。 He then writes about nine Western artists， touching briefly on some of their work， their lives， and their intersection with faith。 His appendices include how to visit an art museum， how to look at a work of art， and an overview of Western art: Renaissance to modern。 My favorite chapters were the chapters on the Transcendentals， Michelangelo， and Vermeer。 I also was very happy to see the inclusion of Lilias Trotter as the subject of the last chapter。This book is very accessible to those who have even the most basic knowledge of art。 Russ does not talk down to you but gives you the confidence that you， too， can grow in your appreciation of art and its many， varied， complex artists。。"So many things in our world are beautiful but didn't need to be。 God chose to make them that way so he might arrest his people by their senses to awaken us from the slumbering economy of pragmatism。 That awakening is a vital function of beauty。 This is the gift of beauty from an artist to their community - to awaken our senses to the world as God made it and to awaken our senses to God himself。" 。。。more
Katie Short
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When you see a piece of art， what draws you to it？ The composition， form， coloring， subject matter？ Have you ever wondered what the artist was trying to convey？ Or what life events （joy， trauma， financial need） brought about the work？ In “Rembrandt is in the Wind，” author Russ Ramsey helps us see into 10 works of art and enables us to relate to them on a personal and spiritual level。 Through the creative means of painting and sculpture， we discover broken people who are， in a sense， giving us a When you see a piece of art， what draws you to it？ The composition， form， coloring， subject matter？ Have you ever wondered what the artist was trying to convey？ Or what life events （joy， trauma， financial need） brought about the work？ In “Rembrandt is in the Wind，” author Russ Ramsey helps us see into 10 works of art and enables us to relate to them on a personal and spiritual level。 Through the creative means of painting and sculpture， we discover broken people who are， in a sense， giving us a glimpse into their souls。 “It is hard to render an honest self-portrait if we want to conceal what is unattractive and hide what’s broken…But when we do this， we hide what needs redemption – what we trust Christ to redeem。 And everything redeemed by Christ becomes beautiful。” Throughout this book， the reader is reminded that God， the ultimate artist， is using ugly and broken things to point us back to Himself。 “When we create， we reflect the image of the Creator。 There is a cycle of creation here: Beauty inspires creativity， and creativity is a path to more beauty。” Whether you consider yourself a student of art or just a casual observer， you will appreciate the depth of content in “Rembrandt is in the Wind” and be challenged to “contribute beauty to this world – modest though your part may be。” 。。。more
Dennis Ticen
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I really had no idea what to expect when I chose to read this book， but inside I found a crash course in art appreciation and the way God works through the creative spirit。 Each chapter focuses on a different artist and a particular piece of art， drawing out lessons and principles from the each。 Each story is told in a manner fitting to that artist and their art， and each chapter flows easily。 It’s a challenging and yet an easy read。 Though I didn’t know what I was getting， I found a treasure tr I really had no idea what to expect when I chose to read this book， but inside I found a crash course in art appreciation and the way God works through the creative spirit。 Each chapter focuses on a different artist and a particular piece of art， drawing out lessons and principles from the each。 Each story is told in a manner fitting to that artist and their art， and each chapter flows easily。 It’s a challenging and yet an easy read。 Though I didn’t know what I was getting， I found a treasure trove and a new appreciation for some artists I had not before heard of。 This book is well worth the read！FULL DISCLOSURE: I was provided an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review。 。。。more
Andrew
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There is a popular idea that when you go to an art gallery or museum and look at a work of art long enough， you should be able to "get it"。 And if you don't get it， then you are somehow of inferior taste or lacking in culture。 In reality， it takes time—years even—to develop your own taste in art and an appreciation of the skill and artist behind it。 Everyone needs an art teacher to guide them。 Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt Is in the Wind offers to be one of those teachers， and it was a pleasure to wa There is a popular idea that when you go to an art gallery or museum and look at a work of art long enough， you should be able to "get it"。 And if you don't get it， then you are somehow of inferior taste or lacking in culture。 In reality， it takes time—years even—to develop your own taste in art and an appreciation of the skill and artist behind it。 Everyone needs an art teacher to guide them。 Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt Is in the Wind offers to be one of those teachers， and it was a pleasure to walk with him through the gallery of his favorite artists， specifically painters in this book （although Michaelangelo was dismissive of his own talent for painting）， and see what he sees that is so compelling。Russ Ramsey writes to get the reader to engage with beauty。 In the opening chapter， he offers several reasons why。 Beauty is from and part of the nature of God。 Beauty is the proper application of the other two transcendentals， goodness and truth。 Beauty is meant to be shared。 Beauty draws us deeper into community。 Beauty touches the soul。The reason which the book shows throughout， though， is that there is beauty in the brokenness。 In each chapter， stories of brokenness are paired with stories of greatness in the lives of each of these men and women artists: vanity， egotism， lust， violence， greed， disillusionment， prejudice， abuse， unrealized potential， and uncelebrated sacrifice。 In today's climate， some of these stories would have earned these artists the disdain of their peers and cancellation by the broader culture。Yet it is through and in spite of this brokenness that the beauty these artists create transcends and points to something beyond themselves。 Hope for glory unseen。 A realm of perfection。 A loving Creator。 How could this be？ Ramsey opens with the following quote from Madeleine L'Engle:"In a very real sense not one of us is qualified， but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work， to bear his glory。" （p。5）This is the good news of Scripture that Ramsey draws from—we are far more broken than we think but far more loved than we can imagine。 It is this good news that Christians put their faith in and makes each and every person a being of incalculable worth， as Ramsey puts it。 The question is， are we willing to see others with these eyes of faith？ （Or maybe you'll prefer "lens of faith" if you are a Vermeer fan。） Are we willing to see ourselves this way？Overall， I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is the least bit interested in art， but in particular as a gift to someone in your life who might be apprehensive about the topic。 Ramsey can show them the way。 。。。more
Tara Rounds
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What are we trying to say when we create？ What do we want people to see？ Feel？ Learn？ Where do we want to take them through our creations？ What do we want them to discover？ Whether we are creating through painting， sculpting， sewing， drawing， acting or other ways these are questions we ask。Russ Ramsey's book Rembrandt is in the Wind is a book that explores these questions。 This book is part art History， biography， art exploration， and looking at art through eyes of faith。 I was not sure what to What are we trying to say when we create？ What do we want people to see？ Feel？ Learn？ Where do we want to take them through our creations？ What do we want them to discover？ Whether we are creating through painting， sculpting， sewing， drawing， acting or other ways these are questions we ask。Russ Ramsey's book Rembrandt is in the Wind is a book that explores these questions。 This book is part art History， biography， art exploration， and looking at art through eyes of faith。 I was not sure what to expect when I saw this book but I was taken on a journey on how to look at and appreciate art。 How to discover lessons of faith through viewing art。 Rembrandt is in the Wind is a unique book which needs to be read slower and savored。 It needs to be pondered over。 Russ Ramsey uses the lives of master painters such as Van Gogh， Rembrandt， Michelangelo， and others to illustrate Biblical themes， such as community， loneliness， beauty from brokenness， and more。 I found this book interesting and informative。 It was a little harder to read as I am not as familiar with art， art terms， and artists。 I did however expect more content on faith or the Bible as this sometimes got lost to me in the book in the midst of the artists life stories。 I think I was expecting the book to examine paintings of Biblical scenes and relate them to Scriptures and examine the Bible stories behind the paintings。 Instead Russ Ramsey relates the artists life， experiences， paintings and more to Biblical themes and concepts。 This book was enjoyable to read and opened my eyes to a new way of viewing art and other creative works。 The author includes appendixes that further go into art exploration and the eras of art。 I was introduced to new artists by reading this book and a new way of viewing art。 I recommend this book to artists and non artists alike as it gives an overview of some master painters and their paintings; the different art eras such as impressionism， renaissance， and more; and art appreciation and exploration。I received an advanced copy of this book for my honest review。 All opinions expressed in this review are my own。 。。。more
Matthew Ross
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Fall in love with art all over againI enjoyed this book a lot for the focus on various artists and their impacts on the author as well as the art world。 To focus on 10 different artists in the book and give them fair representation was a daunting task， the author was able to do so with ease。 I found “new” artists that inspired and amazed me。 I found myself looking into other works that each artist did。 I found the byline- Learning to love art through the eyes of faith to be a bit of a stretch。 W Fall in love with art all over againI enjoyed this book a lot for the focus on various artists and their impacts on the author as well as the art world。 To focus on 10 different artists in the book and give them fair representation was a daunting task， the author was able to do so with ease。 I found “new” artists that inspired and amazed me。 I found myself looking into other works that each artist did。 I found the byline- Learning to love art through the eyes of faith to be a bit of a stretch。 While each artist was involved in “faith” to some point， I was hoping for more。 Some artist pursued ”faith” as a way to make money and get their name out there while others gave up a lucrative career for their “faith”。 I was intrigued by all the stories and found myself wanting more and more。 I will be setting this book down and finding myself doing research on each artist and excited about where the journey will take me to other artists and genres that I have not pursued before。 If you are interested in art and don’t know much I must say that this is a book that will get you a great introduction and wanting to know more。 。。。more
Amy Fritz
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If you want to read a book that will help you understand and "read" art even if you aren't an "art person，" this is the book for you。Ramsey shares some of the personal background of the artists behind their work。 You'll learn things you didn't know previously， you'll appreciate art more， and you'll close the book thinking about what it is that you can do to bring beauty into the world。 If you want to read a book that will help you understand and "read" art even if you aren't an "art person，" this is the book for you。Ramsey shares some of the personal background of the artists behind their work。 You'll learn things you didn't know previously， you'll appreciate art more， and you'll close the book thinking about what it is that you can do to bring beauty into the world。 。。。more
Erik Rostad
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I suspect one could spend their entire life studying one work of art。 I mean， really studying that work of art。 Learning how and why it was made， who influenced it， and who created it。In this book， Russ provides the background to some of the greatest works of arts known to mankind。 He focuses on three areas in particular - the craft， the story， and the artist。 The craft details the creative process for the particular work of art。 The story is what is depicted in the art。 The focus on the artist I suspect one could spend their entire life studying one work of art。 I mean， really studying that work of art。 Learning how and why it was made， who influenced it， and who created it。In this book， Russ provides the background to some of the greatest works of arts known to mankind。 He focuses on three areas in particular - the craft， the story， and the artist。 The craft details the creative process for the particular work of art。 The story is what is depicted in the art。 The focus on the artist is on their journey of faith， and how that influenced their art。I found all three areas fascinating。 But perhaps the most intriguing was learning about the artists themselves。 There was so much struggle， doubt， madness， loneliness， and pain。 And yet out of these lives came abundant beauty。 As Russ states:"This is the intangibility of genius—to create work that transfers from the canvas， the page， or the instrument into the heart of another person， arousing a longing for beauty and an end to sadness。"Art has a way of revealing this beauty the more we partake of it。 And oftentimes， this partaking requires learning the backstories of the art。 This book is such a wonderful guide in that quest of diving deeper into beauty。 By providing 10 examples， Russ is also training you how to approach your favorite works of art in order to better experience the beauty。I learned things in this book that blew me away （like how Vermeer made his paintings）。 I learned how to think deeper about the process of making the art。 I learned how to consider the life of the artist and the works they produced。A great book for novices and art lovers alike。 。。。more
Andrew Wolgemuth
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