Art and Representation: New Principles in the Analysis of Pictures
Language: English
Published by Princeton University Press, 1997
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: Mom's Resale and Books, River Hills, WI, U.S.A.Mom's Resale and Books
AbeBooks seller since June 14, 2022
Condition: Used - As new
£ 15.56
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
1997 Hardcover Edition. Light bump to top back corner. Pages clean & unmarked.
Seller Inventory # CBD-12-10-25-05
- Title
- Art and Representation: New Principles in the Analysis of Pictures
- Author
- Willats, John
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press
- Publication year
- 1997
- Condition
- As New
- Binding
- hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0691087377
- ISBN 13
- 9780691087375
- Item weight
- 28 ounces
- Dimensions
- 6x1x10
In Art and Representation, John Willats presents a radically new theory of pictures. To do this, he has developed a precise vocabulary for describing the representational systems in pictures: the ways in which artists, engineers, photographers, mapmakers, and children represent objects. His approach is derived from recent research in visual perception and artificial intelligence, and Willats begins by clarifying the key distinction between the marks in a picture and the features of the scene that these marks represent. The methods he uses are thus closer to those of a modern structural linguist or psycholinguist than to those of an art historian. Using over 150 illustrations, Willats analyzes the representational systems in pictures by artists from a wide variety of periods and cultures. He then relates these systems to the mental processes of picture production, and, displaying an impressive grasp of more than one scholarly discipline, shows how the Greek vase painters, Chinese painters, Giotto, icon painters, Picasso, Paul Klee, and David Hockney have put these systems to work.
But this book is not only about what systems artists use but also about why artists from different periods and cultures have used such different systems, and why drawings by young children look so different from those by adults. Willats argues that the representational systems can serve many different functions beyond that of merely providing a convincing illusion. These include the use of anomalous pictorial devices such as inverted perspective, which may be used for expressive reasons or to distance the viewer from the depicted scene by drawing attention to the picture as a painted surface. Willats concludes that art historical changes, and the developmental changes in children's drawings, are not merely arbitrary, nor are they driven by evolutionary forces. Rather, they are determined by the different functions that the representational systems in pictures can serve.
Like readers of Ernst Gombrich's famous Art and Illusion (still available from Princeton University Press), on which Art and Representation makes important theoretical advances, or Rudolf Arnheim's Art and Visual Perception, Willats's readers will find that they will never again return to their old ways of looking at pictures.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Mom's Resale and Books
River Hills, WI, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since June 14, 2022
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.78 | £ 9.08 |
Payment methods
Store description
Individually selected high quality new and used books, ephemera.
Specialty
Classics, Vintage books, Paperbacks, Children's books, CollectibleSeller's business information
Mom's Resale and Books
WI, U.S.A.
Terms of sale
Name of our business: Mom’s Resale and Books
Business address: 1110 W. Heather Lane, River Hills, WI 53217 USA
Email address and phone: momsresalemkm@gmail.com 1-414-254-9002
Name of an authorized representative of the company: Mary Michel
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Mom's Resale and Books, River Hills, Wisconsin, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Books will be shipped in padded containers and or boxes. We use USPS for our shipping service. Shipping rates may increase with oversize or extra heavy items.