Volume 21, Number 18 · November 14, 1974
Master of Arts
By Henri Zerner
Words and Pictures: On the literal and the symbolic in the illustration of a text
by Meyer Schapiro
Mouton (The Hague), 108, 34 illustrations pp., 24 guilders
Meyer Schapiro, who could plausibly claim to be the most interesting art historian today, has not yet written a book. This is part of the legend that surrounds him, as well as one of the reasons why he is still a controversial figure. It is not, however, strictly true. In 1964 he published a short monograph on a Romanesque manuscript, The Parma Idelfonso,[1] and earlier, in 1950 and 1952, books on Van Gogh[2] and Cézanne;[3] but excellent as they are and influential as they have been, these last are essentially long essays with notes to the plates. The new little volume under review will not change the situation: for many people, especially envious colleagues, Schapiro will still be the famous art historian who never wrote a book.
Review, 4714 words
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