Thunderclap
A memoir of art and life & sudden death
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Thunderclap
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Narrated by:
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Laura Cumming
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By:
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Laura Cumming
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
'We see with everything that we are'
On the morning of 12 October 1654, in the Dutch city of Delft, a sudden explosion was followed by a thunderclap that could be heard more than seventy miles away. Carel Fabritius - now known across the world for his exquisite painting, The Goldfinch - had been at work in his studio. He, along with many others, would not survive the day.
In Thunderclap, Laura Cumming reveals her passion for the art of the Dutch Golden Age and her determination to lift up the reputation of Fabritius. She reveals the Netherlands, where - wandering the narrow streets of Amsterdam, driving across the flatlands, or pausing at a quiet waterfront - she encounters the rich reality behind the shining beauty of Vermeer and Rembrandt, Hals and de Hooch. She shares too her relationship with her father, the Scottish artist James Cumming, who had his own deep connection to Dutch painting, and who taught her about colour, light and the rewards of looking deeply.
This is a book about what a picture may come to mean: how it can enter your life and change your thinking in a thunderclap, a sudden clarity of sight. This is also a book about the precariousness of human life - the way it may be snatched from us in an instant. What can art do to sustain us? The work that survives tells its own compelling story in these pages.
From the Sunday Times-bestselling author of On Chapel Sands, shortlisted for the Costa Prize for Biography.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Laura Cumming (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Thunderclap
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Book Fiend
- 01-04-24
Fabulous, down to earth art book!
The narration was outstanding and conveyed Laura’s passion for the subject in highly relatable ways.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- matchstick girl
- 12-02-24
Exquisite
A beautiful reading of a gorgeous, measured book. Mixing art history, history and memoir, Laura Cumming brings insights like no other. She is peerless and this is an extraordinary book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- sam ainsley
- 20-01-24
Brilliant memoir and appreciation of art
This wonderful book shines with the author’s love of art, especially Dutch painting, her father, the Scottish artist James Cumming and the power of art to summon powerful memories
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Patricia White
- 16-05-24
Beautiful
You can - almost - totally visualise the paintings from this beautifully written and delivered narrative, and you’re compelled to go and see them for yourself.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- JoJo77
- 04-11-23
Excellent
This is a fascinating overview of the golden age of Dutch art interspersed with slices of the authors’ family life
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- Anonymous User
- 03-09-23
very enjoyable and interesting
Really enjoyed this book. Great insight into the lives of artists during the Dutch Golden Age mixed with personal memoir and experience. Learned a lot about their lives and loved the author's personal journey with their art.
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- Helen SJ
- 23-07-24
Brilliant from first to last.
Laura Cummings has such a brilliant mind when it comes to art. If you weren't an art lover before reading Thunderclap, you soon will be. I listened to the Audible version and her utter joy of art is contagious.
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