The Book of the Wind

The Representation of the Invisible

By Alessandro Nova
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Hardcover : 9780773538337, 224 pages, March 2011

Description

The wind - a natural phenomenon both salutary and injurious - has inspired myths, literary texts, and works of art in every era and place. The Book of the Wind offers a contemporary and original reflection on one of the most intriguing questions in art history - how can the immaterial be depicted?

Reviews

"... whimsical, scholarly and original book ... In the modern world the winds remain a formidable power. They still destroy and create, bring drought and rain, life and death. Alessandro Nova, an Italian art historian, has set himself the intriguing project of writing a history of how these invisible forces have been represented in art... the pursuit of this art historical will-o'-the-wisp is enlightening, and accompanied by many beautiful illustrations." Martin Gayford, Spectator