Overview

A concise introduction to paintings in the Western European tradition, through the stories of 50 powerful artworks by artists from Van Gogh to da Vinci. How to Read Paintings is a valuable visual guide to Western European painting. Through a gallery of artworks accompanied by informative commentary, it enables you to swiftly develop your understanding of the grammar and vocabulary of painting, and to discover how to look at diverse paintings in detail, closely reading their meanings and methods. In the first part of the book, the author shows you how to read paintings by considering five key areas: shape and support, medium and materials, composition, style and technique, and signs and symbols, as well as the role of the artist. In the second part, you can explore fifty paintings through extracted details, accompanied by insightful commentary, training you to understand context and meaning within art. As a collection, the pictures featured in How to Read Paintings have a strong relationship with one another, and underpin the story of painting. This book is a valuable tool whether you are viewing the real artwork on a gallery wall, or simply reading around the subject to learn more about Western art.

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9781912217830

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Liz Rideal is an artist and writer. She is a Reader in Fine Art in the Painting Department at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, UK, and a lecturer and educational resource writer at the National Portrait Gallery, London. She has exhibited widely in Europe and the USA, including two major retrospectives. Her own artwork is held in public collections including the Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, Yale Center for British Art, the Portland Art Museum and George Eastman House. She is the author of Mirror Mirror: Self-Portraits by Women Artists (2001) and Insights: Self-Portraits (2005).

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