John Berger's ‘Bento's Sketchbook'

While a plethora of letters and writings of the 17th-century Dutch philiosopher Bento de Spinoza were published over the years, his sketchbook was never found. When critic and writer John Berger was gifted a blank drawing book, he promptly dubbed it as Bento’s Sketchbook, using the imaginative space to explore the process of drawing, storytelling, and Spinoza’s life

- Aparna Andhare

The first book on any introduction to visual studies (or art/design/art history) is John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. His role as an artist is often overshadowed by his prolific work as a critic, philosopher, writer, activist and social commentator (remember his tiny but compelling Hold Everything Dear?). If one was curious about Berger as a person — the way his mind works, the things he did for leisure, the people in his life — Bento’s Sketchbook is the book to pick up. It introduces Berger as an artist, friend, an inhabitant of a muddled and tragic world, as well as Berger the reader.