Gregory Curtis

En este volumen ligero, accesible, y muy completo, Curtis consigue transmitir al lector su fascinación por las pinturas rupestres –centrando el análisis especialmente en la francesa de Lascaux y la e

Gregory Curtis's account of the Venus de Milo begins with the statue's troubled history, when the French bought the statue from the Greeks who found it buried on their land on the island of Melos in 1820. The attempts to figure out her provenance, the mystery of her missing arms, the question of whether or not she was originally painted--all this and more is part of the narrative, which also includes Curtis's hike to the Melos site where she was found.

In this moving, tender memoir of losing a beloved spouse, the longtime editor of Texas Monthly, newly widowed, returns alone to a city whose enchantment hes only ever shared with his wife, in search of solace, memories, and the courage to find a way forward.At the age of sixty-six, after thirty-five years of marriage, Gregory Curtis finds himself a widower. Tracy--with whom he fell in love the first time he saw her--has succumbed to a long battle with cancer. Paralyzed by grief, agonized by social interaction, Curtis turns to watching magic lessons on DVD--"a pathetic, almost comical substitute" for his evenings with Tracy.To break the spell, he returns to the place he had the "best and happiest times" of his life. As he navigates the storied city and contemplates his new future, Curtis relives his days in Paris with Tracy, piecing together the portrait of a woman, a marriage, parenthood, and his lifes great love through the memories of six unforgettable trips to the City of Lights.Alone in Paris, Curtis becomes a tireless wanderer, exploring the citys grand boulevards and forgotten corners as he confronts the bewildering emotional state that ensues after losing a life partner. Paris Without Her is a work of tremendous courage and insight--an ode to the lovely woman who was his wife, to a magnificent city, and to the self we might invent, and reinvent, there.

In the spring of 1820, on the Aegean island of Melos, an unsuspecting farmer was digging for marble building blocks when he unearthed the statue that would come to be known as the Venus de Milo. From the moment of its discovery a battle for possession ensued and was won, eventually, by the French. Touted by her keepers in the Louvre as the great classical find of the era, the sculpture gained instant celebrityand yet its origins had yet to be documented or verified.From the flurry of excitement surrounding her discovery, to the raging disputes over her authenticity, to the politics and personalities that have given rise to her mystique, Gregory Curtis has given us a riveting look at the embattled legacy of a beloved icon and a remarkable tribute to one of the worlds great works of art.

The Cave Painters is a vivid introduction to the spectacular cave paintings of France and Spainthe individuals who rediscovered them, theories about their origins, their splendor and mystery. Gregory Curtis makes us see the astonishing sophistication and power of the paintings and tells us what is known about their creators, the Cro-Magnon people of some 40,000 years ago. He takes us through various theoriesthat the art was part of fertility or hunting rituals, or used for religious purposes, or was clan mythologyexamining the ways interpretations have changed over time. Rich in detail, personalities, and history, The Cave Painters is above all permeated with awe for those distant humans who developedperhaps for the first timeboth the ability for abstract thought and a profound and beautiful way to express it.

Una obra imprescindible para comprender mejor quiénes somos a través de las huellas artísticas que dejaron nuestros antepasados hace más de 30.000 años.¿Qué movió a los primeros artistas a adentrarse en la oscuridad para plasmar bisontes, caballos y misteriosas figuras? ¿Que significado tenian estas obras para sus creadores? Gregory Curtis nos guia en un apasionante viaje a los origenes del arte y la creatividad humana, a traves de las entrañas de las cuevas prehistoricas mas importantes de Francia y España, para desentrañar los misterios que encierran sus paredes pintadas hace mas de 30.000 años. Siguiendo la huella de algunos de los arqueologos, historiadores del arte y especialistas que han dedicado sus vidas a interpretar los enigmaticos testimonios de nuestros ancestros, el autor combina magistralmente en este ensayo la aventura de la exploracion subterranea, el rigor cientifico y la reflexion sobre el nacimiento del arte y la consciencia humana.

Una obra imprescindible para comprender mejor quiénes somos a través de las huellas artísticas que dejaron nuestros antepasados hace más de 30.000 años.¿Qué movió a los primeros artistas a adentrarse en la oscuridad para plasmar bisontes, caballos y misteriosas figuras? ¿Que significado tenian estas obras para sus creadores? Gregory Curtis nos guia en un apasionante viaje a los origenes del arte y la creatividad humana, a traves de las entrañas de las cuevas prehistoricas mas importantes de Francia y España, para desentrañar los misterios que encierran sus paredes pintadas hace mas de 30.000 años. Siguiendo la huella de algunos de los arqueologos, historiadores del arte y especialistas que han dedicado sus vidas a interpretar los enigmaticos testimonios de nuestros ancestros, el autor combina magistralmente en este ensayo la aventura de la exploracion subterranea, el rigor cientifico y la reflexion sobre el nacimiento del arte y la consciencia humana.