Landscapes: John Berger on Art (Peyzazhi)

Landscapes is a collection of brilliant essays and memoirs spanning more than half a century of writing by Englishman John Berger (1926–2017), whose primary interest in life has always been art. Complementing his previous collection, Portraits, this book serves as a unique guide to a world of not only—and not so much—real landscapes as aesthetic and intellectual ones that shaped the author's unique worldview. Once again, we are presented with not only an outstanding art historian but also an eloquent storyteller, a keen observer, the author of apt aphorisms, and a bold critic with a Marxist perspective. Encouraging readers to rethink clichés about the role of creativity in human life, Berger explores artistic movements and individual artists within a broad historical perspective, while never losing sight of their socio-political context. He sincerely wishes for people to realize that “Art should serve as an inspiration, not a consolation.”