"Whose work will still be read in the next hundred years? Guy Davenport, for one." -John Gardner
"This book is a fine quick reading for a cold winter's night." -Hungry Mind Review
"Another brilliant performance." -Michael Dirda, Washington Post
In a series of four meditations on still-life painting, Guy Davenport blends art history with literary criticism, taking a close look at the iconic and symbolic function of objects and the multiple ways they are represented in culture. Focusing on a genre that is supposedly static, these essays reveal the dynamic forces that motivate and shape the still life, explaining why and how painters have employed this genre to such vital effect.