Michael Jacobs (art and travel writer)

Michael Jacobs (15 October 1952 – 11 January 2014) [1] was a writer[2] of Irish/Italian ancestry, born in Genoa, with particular interest in Travel, History of Art, Spain, Latin America and Gastronomy. His most successful popular work in both English and Spanish has been The Factory of Light: Tales from my Andalucian Village (2004), a true story but with a flavour of the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez.

This article is about the writer. For the playwright and producer, see Mike Jacobs. For the footballer, see Michael Jacobs (footballer).

Writing

Jacobs' writing initially specialised in introducing Fine Art to the general reader. He continued with these works but latterly produced books which capture the day-to-day life especially of Latin countries and relate that to an historical and political context.

To the new reader Jacobs may appear 'intellectual' or 'literary' but he had rare talent in being able to write recent works such as The Factory of Light which is close to the popular current genre of the English emigre setting up home in Southern Europe, but also books such as Between Hopes and Memories which is a snapshot of Spain in the post-transition economic boom of the 1990s and classic travel writing such as the semi-autobiographical Ghost Train Through the Andes and The Andes.

Publications

  • Mythological Painting (1979)
  • Nude Painting in the History of Art (1979)
  • Guide to European Painting (1980)
  • Companion to Art and Artists in the British Isles (1980)
  • The Knopf Traveler's Guides to Art: France (1984)
  • Traveller's Guide to Art: Great Britain and Ireland Mitchell Beazley Traveller's Guides to Art (1984)
  • Good and Simple Life: Artist Colonies in Europe and America (1985)
  • A Guide to Provence (1988)
  • A Guide to Andalucia (1990)
  • The Road to Santiago de Compostela Architectural Guides for Travellers (1991)
  • Barcelona Blue Guide (1992)
  • Czechoslovakia Blue Guide (1992)
  • The Most Beautiful Villages of Provence (1994)
  • Madrid: Architecture, History, Art (Philip's City Guide (1992)
  • Between Hopes and Memories: Spanish Journey (1994)
  • The Painted Voyage: Art, Travel and Exploration, 1564-1875 (1995)
  • Andalucia Pallas Guide (2003)
  • In The Glow Of The Phantom Palace (2003)
  • Madrid for Pleasure (2003)
  • The Factory of Light: Tales From My Andalucian Village (2004)
  • Alhambra (2005)
  • Ghost Train Through the Andes: On My Grandfather's Trail in Chile and Bolivia (2006)
  • The Andes (2010)
  • The Robber of Memories: A River Journey Through Colombia (2012)
  • Everything is Happening: Journey Into a Painting (posthumously, with an introduction and code by Ed Vulliamy) (2015)

Translations

  • The Jewess of Toledo (La judía de Toledo), Lope de Vega (2001)
  • The Innocent Child of La Guardia (El niño inocente de La Guardia, Lope de Vega (2001)
  • The Labyrinth of Desire (La prueba de los ingenios), Lope de Vega (2001)

References
  1. Michael Jacobs - obituary
  2. Symington, Andy (2007-05-01). Footprint Andalucía. Footprint Travel Guides. pp. 383–. ISBN 978-1-904777-63-2. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
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