Beautifully illustrated with some of the world's greatest pictures, from cave paintings and Roman mosaics to Picasso and Damien Hirst, this affordable guide explains the art of looking at and understanding pictures, equipping the reader with the vision and tools to approach any museum picture with confidence.

Looking at pictures can be an exciting or moving experience, but some pictures--often the most rewarding--require some explanation before they can be fully understood. Delving into the origins, designs, and themes of over one hundred pictures from different periods and places, this book illuminates the art of looking at--and talking about--pictures. Susan Woodford shows how one can read a picture by examining the formal and stylistic devices used by an artist, and she explores popular themes and subject matter, and the relationship of pictures to the societies that produced them.

This indispensable guide is supplemented by a glossary of key terms, ranging from art movements and technical terms to religious and classical terminology, to give readers all the information they need at their fingertips.

Author: Susan Woodford
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Published: 05/15/2018
Series: Art Essentials #1
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780500293218


Review Citation(s):
Choice 07/01/2018

About the Author
Woodford, Susan: - Susan Woodford received her BA from Harvard University and her MA and PhD from Columbia University. She now teaches art history as well as lectures at the British Museum. She is the prize-winning author of Looking at Pictures, also in the Art Essentials series.