Recommending you books based on your favorite paintings from art history!!!

Hi friends!
As an artist and (clearly) an avid reader, I've been asking myself for a while how I can combine these two passions on my channel. For me, words and pictures go hand in hand! I can't have one without the other. There's a reason people say, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Most times, they're worth way more than just a thousand words!
Well, for this video I asked you what your favorite paintings from art history were and got a wonderful response. I was so happy to see we have many favorites in common! I chose the ones that were most requested, and using my knowledge of art history, I tried to find books I think you'll enjoy based on your favorite painting! So essentially, I'm recommending you books based on your own favorite paintings!!!
I had such a lovely time filming and editing this video, so I truly hope you enjoy it. Maybe you'll find a new favorite book, or learn a bit more about art history!
Definitely let me know if you'd like to see a part 2 to this video, and if so feel free to leave other favorite paintings of yours in a comment! You may just get a book recommendations based off of it! ;)
Best wishes to you,
Carolyn Marie :)
My Social Media: CarolynMarieReads
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Carolyn Castagna
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**Please don't feel like you need to send me anything, but if you'd like to I would be honored!!!** :)
***About me -
I just graduated from college at the Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my two loves, literature and art!
Happy Reading :)
#bookrecommendations #arthistory #classicbooks

[@bertybell4781]

We definitely need a part two! 🙌😁

[@ipshitajee]

Yessss definitely 👀

[@carbonc6065]

Agreed.

[@danyahnaumani6176]

Whenever I’ve taken art history courses, the professors always make sure to include famous architecture in the curriculum as well, so if you could do a video with book recs relating to architecture that would be wonderful!

[@kacky_snorgle]

The Sorrows of Young Werther is a perfect match for The Wanderer over a Sea of Fog🖤

[@ShivangiBhasin]

I burst out laughing when you said that Scream basically represents all of Russian Literature, it’s so true! Reading Solzhenitsyn had me internally (and eternally) screaming😵‍💫

[@ba-gg6jo]

You took the words right out of my mouth! Stay safe.

[@TheGerbita]

Ovid and Caravaggio are also a perfect match for his Medusa painting. Ovid’s retelling of the Medusa myth is amazing and heartbreaking. We need a part 2!

[@carbonc6065]

Art & Literature together?! My head is spinning ... GREAT VIDEO!!!

[@BunsBooks]

I love almost everything Hieronymus Bosch and Agnes Pelton. I love the transcended essence in their paintings where you feel like you’re looking into another world that’s breathtakingly beautiful and also alienating and frightening

[@christaylor5454]

Would love to see a part 2 as well as a video on your favorite art books, if possible. I've seen Van Gogh's Starry Night in MoMA and it's breathtaking. I have also seen his Sunflowers in the Philadelphia Museum of Art many times among other paintings; would definitely recommend the museum if you or anyone else is in the area. Have a lovely day! :)

[@isabellehall9217]

Omg, when i saw that first painting "Narcissus" i realized i've seen it somewhere. Its on the cover of the edition of "The picture of Dorian Gray" i own. What a coincidence 😄 Also, "Madame Bovary" is the perfect match for "The swing" 😊

[@this_fanny]

Painting - Artist: 3:25 Every work from Caravaggio (Narcissus is mentioned) 5:42 Girl with a Pearl Earring - Johannes Vermeer 8:18 The Lady of Shalott - John William Waterhouse 10:00 The Kiss - Gustav Klimt 13:09 Wanderer above the Sea of Fog - Caspar David Friedrich 16:04 The Swing - Jean-Honoré Fragonard 20:03 Nighthawks - Edward Hopper 23:13 Woman with a Parasol - Claude Monet 26:32 The Scream - Edvard Munch 28:32 The Starry Night and Sunflowers - Vincent van Gogh

[@evethim5305]

Bringing art and literature together is such a wonderful,creative idea ❤️

[@bridgidthepirateelf4135]

One of my favorite authors, Christina Baker Kline, wrote a book inspired by the painting Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth and is kinda the story of the painting. It is wonderful. A Piece of the World is the title. I got to go to the Van Gogh immersion experience in San Fransisco for my birthday this year and it was one of the best things I've ever done and I really hope to go to more art museums once the pandemic calms down. Watching your channel I've fallen back in love with reading classics and I just hope next year I can read some of these.

[@allysonleblanc59]

Love this idea! My copy of Metamorphoses actually has Caravaggio’s Narcissus on the cover!

[@JMShelley]

Gorgeous Idea & concept. Would love to see book recommendations based on the Pre-Raphaelite paintings. :) x

[@hectorrobertocontrerasmiranda]

uhhh William Holman Hunt's The Awakening Conscience = Charlotte Brontë's The Professor the main character would hate it but i stand by it

[@arp711]

This was so lovely, what a terrific idea for a new take on book recommendations! I'd love to see a part two, and a painting I adore which I'd love to see on the list is Primavera by Botticelli.

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

My favorite painter is Monet and I love all his paintings, I also love Forster and all his books😊 I also love Van Gogh and Starry Night is my favorite. I just received Vincent and Theo for my birthday. It is such a beautiful book.

[@MartinDSmith]

Lovely video!Art,literature and music are the engine room of planet earth.You have some wonderful books there.Thank you for sharing!

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

I'm reading a biography of Renoir at the moment, Maupassant asked Renoir "Why do you see everything in rose (pink)?" to which Renoir retorted "Why do you see everything in noir (Black)?" Even when he was suffering hardships from poverty in his early career or illness in his later career, Renoir didn't let the difficulties affect the positive outlook of his many paintings. Of the famous artists perhaps only Picasso was more prolific than Renoir.

[@aubreyholt279]

Please make a part 2! And 3! And 4! I love your recommendations! Especially for "The Scream" which is such a powerful painting, I'm picking up Notes from the Underground ASAP ♥ I would love to see recommendations based on alternate readings of paintings too, such as the theories that "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt isn't a consensual encounter or that it is actually a depiction of Orpheus and Euridice.

[@lidiaparreira3018]

This is without doubt my favorite video so far! I would love to see a similar video recommending books based on the most iconic paintings in history, like mona lisa, guernica, the creation of adam and other famous works...

[@louaneriga3222]

As a French person, Madame Bovary is an amazing book! Highly recommend

[@elizabetha322]

as someone who loves art and reading this is such a cool idea thank you

[@christbianchi]

Great video Carolyn! Definitely a part 2! Here are some paintings that would be interesting to do. 1. The Tower of Babel by Bruegel. 2. American Gothic By Grant Wood. 3. The Son of Men by Magritte. 4. The Persistence of Memory by Dali! :)

[@ewapawluk7133]

Yes! I love Bruegel and his paintings! Especially The Fall of Icarus which I find kind of ironic.

[@Candy.9610]

What a great concept, pairing books with paintings. Amazing video Carolyn!

[@gilsevalle367]

this must be your !best! video yet, I really loved your recommendations and insights on this paintings (and how we could clearly see your excitement while talking about it). hoping and wishing for a part2,3,4..

[@shrutighosh311]

Loved this video and so many paintings I had never heard of! 🌼

[@paulinar505]

We would love a part 2!! Absolutely loved this idea and the whole video, thank you for the recommendations

[@cindyo6298]

Omg I was thinking Notes from Underground as I was looking at the Scream

[@annmariyajohnson8295]

This is a very fresh idea to recommend books really good

[@giuseppepesce3368]

My favourite painting is monk by the sea, I'm trying to find a books that gives me those vibes so desperately!!

[@clairebott4384]

Loved this video and I would love to see another. 🥰🥰🥰

[@readingwiizard]

Omg I absolutely loved this video, Carolyn!! 😍🖤Would love to see a part 2 🙌🏻💫

[@celestegobbi1704]

Oh, I love this video so much! A part two is very much needed 💖

[@lizdorrington2851]

I loved this video Carolyn, please do a part 2. You mentioned so many of my favorite artists and so many of my favorite books.❣

[@lillieblack9702]

What a great way to start the morning! Thanks for the lovely video Carolyn. I just graduated from college too and I want to write and illustrate books some day 😄

[@neverbored]

"The Scream" fits Dostoyevsky perfectly 😁👌 Great video!!!

[@melisa8957]

Love this video and the concept of books and paintings together!! 😊

[@MirjanaProdan]

What an amazing video idea. We definitely need part 2 😃

[@homeschooledaroundtheworld4660]

Perfect combination of 🖼 and 📚. Cannot be more perfect🌸

[@keliwilliams9572]

Loved this video!! The Swing is such a perfect match for Anna Karenina!

[@valentinavergarapizarro4295]

i was more excited about the van gogh recommendations and it turns out i had already read them, Vincent and Theo is a precious book. i loved this video and i'd love another one like this, not only for the books but also because i really enjoy the way you discuss these different subjects

[@mishelly]

Amazing unique video! I learned so much! I grew up with art in my life. My grandmother was an artist, I dabbled most of my life. And she took me to museums and artist events - but I realize how much I do t know how much I would love to learn about classic art and artists.

[@alexandrazibritovska870]

This was so amazing Carolyn!!! Thank you so much for this! I love seeing my two biggest passions together🤍🤍 Such a special video!!✨

[@GlennErikMathisen]

You pretty much nailed it with "the scream". It perfectly compliments russian litterature. I would also like to add "at eternity's gate" by van gogh. It might be my favourite painting.

[@awesome_as_i_wanna_bee]

I'd like to recommend "Lust for Life" by Irving Stone. It is also a biography of Van Gogh and it's gorgeous. I'm reading it now and I think autumn is the most appropriate time for reading this book, the atmosphere of it is so cozy.

[@christaylor5454]

There's a film adaptation too with Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh and Anthony Quinn as Paul Gauguin. I haven't read the book but the film is good :)

[@salmamoneim3376]

Of course we r waiting for the second part😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@annikaczuday9916]

such a lovely and creative idea! Books are, well, magical.. happy I found your channel !!

[@theteenageangstpodcast5283]

What a wonderful concept for a video, so creative and thoughtful ( as per usual)!!!!!!!

[@milaces1323]

One of your best videos, this is amazing!!!! 💕💕💕

[@vitoriaassuncao7716]

I LOVED THIS VIDEO!!!! I think this was one of the best concept video ideas I've ever seen. Please make a part 2 .

[@jellybean19717]

This was wonderful! Bring on an episode 2! 🥰

[@lilaccottage]

This video was so interesting. I loved it!

[@majuchimello3922]

Loved this video! My favorite so far🥰 and please do a part 2 with painters such as Dali and Picasso

[@rebeccasun9526]

This is so cool!! Art and literature are my two favorite things!!

[@karakask5488]

I love this! I'm an art historian and I think you did an amazing job! You should do one for sculpture. For example some of my favorite sculptures are the Nike of Samothrace and Apollo and Daphne by Bernini. Also non western art would be fun too.

[@laurayoung9418]

Absolutely love this idea!!!

[@sarahsperusals]

i've never seen that monet painting before, but i was SCREAMING because it reminded me so much of the lavender field scene from a room with a view, and then that's what you recommended

[@michellemp1626]

Ever thought about teaching? This would make a great high school or college course. So unique!!!

[@circleofleaves2676]

I love Sarah Winman and have read all of her novels (four to date). I originally read Tin Man through my local library with the sunflowers cover, but alas, it doesn't seem to be in print anymore, so the copy I have is quite different.

[@estadoagridulce]

i love this! thanks for doing this video Carolyn!

[@maitreyeed]

Loved this video, i hope you'll make part 2. One of my favorite painting is Persistence of memory by Salvador Dali.

[@LM-th7dj]

If you love Vincent van Gogh, you should listen to the musical "Starry"! It's so beautiful!

[@christelleliscia-sadik4697]

This needs to be a series

[@carbonc6065]

Agreed!

[@rowenaroberta5244]

Definitely a part two!!

[@GabrielLopes-dz6xr]

What an interesting idea! Really good ✌🏾👏😍

[@danielanorambuenadiaz9183]

Please read The Regent/La regenta, I associate the swing with that book!! Love the video🌸

[@eleanorball7906]

Love this concept!! My favorite painting is probably The Madonna of the Stars by Tintoretto. I also love El Greco and other Byzantine-style gold-ground paintings from that era.

[@mizuki0328]

Such a great idea and choices! Looking forward to the next ones! Just finished Tess and immediately thought you were going there with the Lady of Shallott! Sooo right you are! An amazing book to go with Klimt is The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, it's a nonfiction book about the history of a family collection of Japanese miniature sculptures (netsuke) that is full of Klimt's Vienna, and it's just one of the best books I've ever read. Frankenstein going with Friederich really matches as they're contemporary and they're pretty much part of the same movements of romantism and the sublime. I'd say another good book for that painting would've been The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin just because of the landscapes and how they really capture the sublime feeling of Friederich's painting. Fragonard usually goes well with Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos (if you don't feel like reading it, watch the wonderful movie with Glenn Close and John Malkovich, they're amazing), again, they're contemporary and Choderlos de Laclos really captures what Fragonard paints in his stories. Woman with the Parasol always reminds me of Studio Ghibli's the Wind Rises, or The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins... xD

[@MilenaReads]

The wanderer is so iconic for romantic literature! I really love how you matched this! 😍

[@pipsbytheliterature9969]

this is such a creative video idea!!

[@maeiscompletelyfine]

so so wonderful carolyn 🥺🥺🥺 part 2 pls!!!

[@bertybell4781]

As soon as I saw The Wanderer I immediately thought of Eugene Onegin. I need to finish it. That painting is gorgeous. ❤ Also, I think it would be so cool if you did the same video but instead of paintings you should do music with books. Just a thought. Thanks.😉

[@melyibarra809]

Pleaseeee make part 2, 3, 4 ,1000000 of this type of video💙💙💙💙💙i loved it❤️‍🔥

[@sandruszka14]

Amazing!!!!!!!

[@katerinaskerikova5584]

This is so creative!

[@SillyMilly]

As an art history and english major, you don't understand how much I loveeeee this video

[@michellemp1626]

I think you would enjoy reading 9th Street Women:Lee Krasner, Elaine DE Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel

[@tejaswinisureshkrishnan4228]

This is so good!!!! ❤

[@bookswithchaimae]

This is beautiful carolyne ❤️❤️❤️

[@VaroNoticias]

Amazing video Carolyn! Loved the idea! In my opinion, 'Life is a Dream' by Calderón de la Barca is a perfect match for 'Starry night'. This play tells the story of Segismundo, the secret son of a king, imprisoned in a tower and bound in chains due to a terrible foreshadow. And without spoiling that much, after being alone during his childhood, Segismundo thinks everything's a dream, a lie, while people try to rescue him. (And also, definitely a part 2!!! My favorite paintings are 'The Triumph of Death' by Bruegel and 'The hunt of Meleager' by Poussin!!)

[@luluraheem8487]

The book that I immediately thought of for the Scream is The Trial by Franz Kafka. One of my favorite books of all time. Crime and Punishment also seems to really fit, in my opinion, so I'm glad you chose another Dostoevsky! PS, I knew immediately that you'd say Anna Karenina as soon as you mentioned the Swing haha.

[@katykakar]

My favourite is Monet, i love all his paintings. Maybe next time you could present books that connect to Flaming June by Frédéric Leighton. I'm already curious what you would recommend

[@amandalavelle2638]

Love this idea. One of my favourite pictures is Laying Down The Law by Sir Edwin Landseer. I’m a veterinary nurse so maybe that’s not a surprise xx

[@kingtigerbooks1162]

Art books are the stuff of dreams. Oceans, deserts, angels, forests, still life, plants and people -- the images stay with you long after you have finished the book. Sci Fi art books are even better. These are my 2 favorite art books on Amazon: - Aviation Art by Lou Drendel - Great Fighter Jets of the Galaxy 1 by Tim Gibson

[@marianaharrison6307]

The Wanderer always reminds me a lot of The Sorrows of Young Werther (but I'm really interested in reading Eugene Onegin!) and I think another book that matches the themes in The Swing perfectly is Madame Bovary!

[@ScullyPopASMR]

This is a really cool booktuber.

[@claudianunez8983]

We need a second part!!

[@user-dh1yq5cz9v]

for part two, i'd love if you could recommend for the painting 'Ophelia' by John Everett Millais! great video, caught some good recommendations!

[@ewapawluk7133]

Great suggestion!

[@Jane4077]

My Favourite painting is 'An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump' by Joseph Wright of Derby. It's also featured on the Penguin Classics cover of Frankenstein and to me is a perfect fit.

[@tinaellkay23]

Great idea for a video, would love a second episode. Btw, since they featured at the beginning of the video, would you recommend the Taschen books about artists?

[@lydia3328]

Really wanna to watch season 2!!!! And I love Lady Godiva by John Collier so much. So I really wanna hear your recommendation of books that based on this painting!!!🤩

[@LexieMoon321]

YAS QUEEN! Flex that art knowledge! Edit: OH MY GOSH- YAS STARRY NIGHT! I HAVE A LOT OF STUFF BASED ON STARRY NIGHT! BTW: Can we get recs from the famous Mona Lisa?

[@denisaord4368]

Part 2 please ❤

[@frigginjerk]

Levin is my favorite character in literature (I have to say that anytime anyone mentions Anna Karenina). Anyway, have you ever seen any Valentin Surov? He was a Russian painter, sort of in the impressionistic vein, not that I really know what I'm talking about. I did some business with a Russian company years ago, and once when they came for a meeting, they brought me a big coffee table book of his paintings. I cut a few out and framed them to put around my house.

[@carolineokasaki9436]

Please, let us have a part two!

[@helenamarangoni9227]

I would love to see your recommendations for the Birth of Venus by Botticelli!

[@ewapawluk7133]

I just discovered your channel and your interesting video! Great recommendations! I would like to add some books to your amazing list : Caravaggio : a short french novel by Émile Zola called Thérèse Raquin. The explosion of passion and emotions in this book mirrors very well his paintings (Judith Beheading Holofernes, Medusa) or the longing and desire like in the painting Boy with a Fruit Basket The Scream : Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. His characters are literally screaming by the end of the book ;) (and also in the film with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) Van Gogh : like many have mentioned already in the comments, Lust for Life by Irving Stone. He also wrote a novel about Michelangelo and the creation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Agony and the Ecstasy which was made into a film with Charlton Heston. By the way, the book by Tracy Chevalier, The Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of my favorite books and I also love the movie adaptation with Scarlett Johansson I would love to see a part 2 :) with some books recs based on Hiroshige or Hokusai!

[@태윤파워]

Hi Carolyn~ I always love your vidoes. I learn so much. I’m interested in the two books presented in the very beginning of this video: Monet (Taschen) and Van Gohn(Taschen). Could you please share your thoughts on those two books or any link to purchase those? Thanks! Happy reading from Seoul, Korea. Chris

[@ShivangiBhasin]

Btw, recommending here a graphic novel called Vincent by Barbara Stok, it’s such a heart-warming and sweet homage to the life of Van Gogh🌻

[@viktoriabazyk8193]

art history major here!😉 thank you for this video! i'd like to add another reason why ovid's metamorphoses is a perfect pick for caravaggio's narcissus: bc of a mistranslation/misinterpretation of ovid's account of this myth by leon battista alberti narcissus was interpreted as the "discoverer" of painting since the age of renaissance bc he regarded a representation of himself as a work of art. thus, caravaggio's narcissus is meta-textual - it refers to what was believed to be an ancient understanding of this myth as the account about the birth of art, making this work a "painting about painting". so, although ovid himself doesn't mention this interpretation, his metamorphoses war crucial for understanding the deeper meaning of this painting for caravaggio and his contemporaries :)