The Power of Art: A Human History of Art: From Babylon to New York City

Campbell, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, debuts with an enriching tour of 15 cities during “moments in their history that coincided with intense creative activity.” Ranging from ancient Babylon to present-day Pyongyang, Campbell identifies a central value each city exemplified as part of her effort to capture “the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts within which artists have worked.” For instance, ancient Rome found “assurance” in its power to build an empire from the ground up, while “tolerance” buoyed 17th-century Amsterdam’s economic success. Campbell ventures beyond Western capitals to early modern Benin and Mughal Delhi—both objects of European envy due to their wealth and beauty and later victims of imperialism. Other chapters trace the sometimes-odd reverberations across time of creative or artistic achievements, such as Sadam Hussein’s repurposing of Babylonian imagery and design styles (like King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Iraqi dictator had bricks “stamped with his name, with inscriptions in Arabic praising his own work”). Conjuring each of her settings in vivid detail, Campbell offers both a lively narrative and a corrective to the “genius” model of art history. Readers will come away with fresh insights into how art gets made. (Jan.)