Eyes to See
Approaching the Spiritual in World Art
Art historian Roger Lipsey spent decades studying world art and encountering important pieces around the world. In Eyes to See, a well-curated and contextualized virtual museum in book form, he highlights works that became meaningful to him.
Lipsey begins by explaining how “in the course of casual encounters with art, an icon may emerge and claim its person”; the dozens of works herein are the personal icons he’s “collected” over time. His curated subjects come from places including ancient Egypt, Greece, and Etruria and represent masters of their form, including Henri Matisse and Johannes Vermeer. Many of the chosen pieces have a spiritual component of some kind: there’s ancient tomb artwork; there’s religious iconography from Muslim, Hindu, and Christian faiths.
The short essays about each piece discuss not only the craft involved in their creations but also what Lipsey finds meaningful about them. He connects these myriad works as part of humanity’s millennia-long quest for understanding the world. Enhanced with excellent photography of the beautiful artwork, the commentary in Eyes to See offers many ways to consider what artists were trying to convey, making connections across centuries. The book’s call to action is that everyone assemble their own personal set of icons and think about how they fit into their searches for meaning.
Eyes to See is a celebration of icons in art, finding beautiful connections across history, culture, and geography.
Reviewed by
Jeff Fleischer
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
