A Brief History of the Artist from God to Picasso

“In this brilliant, wide-ranging essay, Barolsky examines the historical idea of the artist, arguing convincingly, for example, that we should view Homer as an early art historian and that Dante played a crucial role in shaping the modern view of the artist.” —David Wilkins, University of Pittsburgh

“Paul Barolsky, our best art writer, is a miraculously economical stylist with a happily reliable sense of humor. God was sometimes a failed artist, he argues, much like Picasso. Moving very quickly, with reference to Homer, Ovid, Dante, Vasari, Balzac, and some detective novels, his book tells the history of European visual culture. Vladimir Nabokov could hardly have done better.” —David Carrier, Champney Family Professor, Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Institute of Art

“Paul Barolsky’s new book is marvelous, a treasure. It is an imaginative history—of fact, fiction, and fable—brilliantly related by a historian of the imagination.” —William E. Wallace, Washington University in St. Louis

“This is a rich intellectual journey, made all the richer by the extent and range of writers Barolsky is able to include in his account.” —David Cast, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR)

“Barolsky’s composition is a fluent example that the art of less is more.” —Ernest B. Gilman, Modern Language Quarterly

“Barolsky reveals the ubiquity of fictive and imaginative writing present in the history of art. His elegant narratives serve to remind us of the admonishment we only think we heed: Don't believe everything you read!” —Rosi Prieto, CAA Reviews