How to Read a Painting: Decoding, Understanding and Enjoying the Old Masters - Softcover

De Rynck, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500512000 ISBN 13: 9780500512005

Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2004

Synopsis

Clues to the meaning of the masterpieces of art history lie in a rich system of symbols, themes and motifs that often elude the modern eye. Without the intimate knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology, folklore and Christian theology so vivid in the minds of the artists and familiar to their public, we often miss the visual hints that gave contemporary meaning to a painting. How to Read a Painting draws our attention to the imagery and the wonderful, apparently inconsequential details in paintings by Giotto, Botticelli, El Greco, Michelangelo, Rubens, Vermeer, Hogarth, Gainsborough and many more. Brief yet illuminating explanations accompany over 900 colour illustrations, providing the means to interpret and enjoy these and many other works.

About this title

Review:

'An interpretative and an explicatory tour de force ... ' - The Scotsman 'Easy to follow and a delight to pore over' - Leisure Painter

Synopsis:

Clues to the meaning of many of the masterpieces of art history lie in a rich system of symbols, themes and motifs that often elude modern museum-goers. The intimate knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology, folklore and Christian theology that was so vivid in the minds of viewers during the Renaissance is rarely part of the preparation of the contemporary viewer brings to a painter. This illuminating, anecdotal, portable book - with 1,000 gorgeous colour illustrations - helps to fill in these gaps by decoding the imagery of more than 150 of the most influential and admired artworks of all time. Covering the works of the Italian, Dutch, German and Spanish Old Masters, from 1350 to 1750 - paintings by such artists as Giotto, Botticelli, El Greco, Bruegel, Holbein, Rubens and Vermeer, all held in public collections - How to Read a Painting not only helps the viewer to understand the significant details of a picture but also explains the relationship with similar imagery in other works.

The guide to Old Master paintings that every art lover has always wanted, this indispensable museum companion will open the reader to a whole new experience of Western art's most praised and visited paintings.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0500512000
• ISBN 13: 9780500512005
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384