It was my first time reading Alain de Botton although I had been very tempted to get the book “Religion for Atheists” when it was published. We picked “Art as Therapy” as a December reading in our book club. And I wished for Religion for Atheists as a Christmas gift.
This book is full of aphorisms, there are so many passages worth underlining and reflecting on. Each idea is connected to paintings, architecture, and other works of art to illustrate what the author is trying to convey. You’ll encounter familiar pieces as well as new ones you may have never seen before. It’s fascinating to think about how these works were curated and woven together to tell a story.
Even if you’re not an art enthusiast, the book isn’t really about art itself. Rather, it uses art as a tool to tell a deeper story.
I was impressed by…
If the world was a kinder place, perhaps we would be less impressed by, and in need of, pretty works of art.
Beauty can make the actual ugliness of existence all the harder to bear.
The more difficult our lives, the more graceful depiction of a flower might move us. The tears – if they come- are in response not to how sad the image is, but how pretty. s: 17
Where are the servants who must bring the wine and fruit? Where are the peasants the leisured class rely on for their income? The fear is that in loving the picture, we ignore crucial aspects of existence, and even, in a sense, condone the exploitation of servants and peasants. s:19
It tells us that sorrow is written into the contract of life. s:24
Art is an immensely sophisticated accumulation of the experiences of others, presented to us in well-shaped and well-organized forms. s:59
Art peels away our shell and saves us from spoilt, habitual disregard for what is all around us. s:59
They should analyse how art could help with a broken heart, set the sorrows of the individual into perspective, help us find consolation in nature, educate our sensitivity to the needs of others, keep the right ideals of a successful life at the front of our minds and help us to understand ourselves. s:80
Love is meant to be a pleasurable part of life, yet there are no people we are more likely to hurt, or to be hurt by, than those we are in a relationship with. The degree of cruelty that goes on between lovers puts established enemies to shame. s:94
Knowing how to love someone is different from admiring them. Admiration asks little of us, save for a lively imagination. The problems come when we try to build a shared life, which might include a home, children and the running of a business and household, with the person we had at first esteemed from afar. s:101
