Choosing ten symbols from the natural world (the sun, the shell, the bird) and ten man-made (the window, the book, the mirror), Françoise Barbe-Gall illuminates our understanding of how these have been used and developed in art from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century, with sixty-eight wonderfully vivid examples. Painting has always made abundant use of forms and objects to convey abstract ideas: love, hope for eternal life, loyalty or betrayal. These recurring motifs, which were familiar to many in the past, have mostly become mysterious to the audiences of today. Today's art-lover will have to learn to look out for all the small things that can so easily seem like unimportant details, or simply decoration. But a flower, a reflection in a mirror or a bird in flight nearly always mean more than they first appear to. From Holbein's apple of knowledge to the black cat at the foot of Manet's Olympia, from Magritte's mysterious candles to Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers, this book shows how each work makes use of the language of symbols in an original and more meaningful way.

Which of us, in the presence of a painting, has not felt that we lack the keys to decipher it? We feel an emotional response, but the work still seems to evade our understanding. Francoise Barbe-Gall combines a nuanced understanding of the way viewers respond to paintings with a rich knowledge of their context and circumstances of their creation. The result is like a tour of an extraordinary museum in the company of a gentle yet authoritative guide. A fascinating range of works are grouped in six thought-provoking chapters that examine our different responses to the ways in which paintings define reality.ÿ The author takes as her point of departure the impressions that we all feel when confronted by a canvas and takes us on a voyage of discovery fired by her own passionate enthusiasm for the subject. What is the painting's relationship with the real world? Has the artist idealized nature, or distorted it? Did they want to shock the viewer, or provide consolation? With a clear approach and straightforward yet subtle analysis, the meaning of each work slowly becomes clear. From Raphael's penetrating character study of Castiglione, through Hopper's cinematic take on the wee small hours of the morning, Barbe-Gall begins by covering a number of ostensibly realistic works, made from the stuff of everyday life. Going in quite the other direction, she then looks at the way paintings can express moments of heightened reality, from the perfection of Boticelli's Primavera to the arresting glance of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. She discusses paintings that distort the visible world (Parmigianino's Madonna with an improbably long neck, Dali's melting clocks) and those that sow confusion to make us pay closer attention to the real world (Cezanne's depiction of a forest glade, a mysterious fifteenth century altarpiece). Questions of history, style, iconography and composition are dealt in context of the paintings she discusses. Lavishly illustrated and featuring thirty-six fascinating works from Raphael to Rothko, Breughel to Bacon, this is also a magnificent art book.

A clear and concise overview of the fundamentals shared by visual arts across the globe, enabling the reader to think carefully, inquisitively, and critically about art. The visual arts enrich our lives in so many ways, presenting beauty, emotion, and ideas—but sometimes looking at art is confusing and challenging. This new volume in the Art Essentials series, How to Understand Art, sets out to enhance the viewer’s experience by breaking down the elements of art to provide a firm basis for simple enjoyment as well as further understanding. With one hundred visual examples drawn from across the globe, the emphasis is on how to assess art objectively—a key skill for any art student, museum visitor, or cultural enthusiast. Art historian and museum lecturer Janetta Rebold Benton teaches the reader to reevaluate their experiences of looking at art by learning to move beyond “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like,” toward an understanding of “why I like it.” By looking at artists’ materials and techniques, such as drawing, painting, printing, photography, sculpture, and decorative art, Benton makes it possible to assess what can (and cannot) be done in certain media. With these tools at hand, it’s possible to break down any work of art. Further framing the lesson, there is a section devoted to six key artists that have had a particularly notable and innovative influence on the history of art. Perfectly aimed at students and the general reader, this indispensable guide encourages everyone to develop confidence in experiencing, analyzing, and appreciating art.

Acclaimed art writer Justin Paton takes us on a journey of exploration through the centuries and across the painted world - from the luscious fruit of Italy's Caravaggio to the lonely landscapes of New Zealand's Rita Angus, the dazzling panoramas of America's Lari Pittman and the mysterious 'tombstones' of Japanese artist On Kawara. Whether you're a keen art collector, a serious student or just visit a gallery occasionally, this brilliant exposition of painting in all its forms will open your eyes to things you've never seen before.

Modern art, filled with complex themes and subtle characteristics, is a wonder to view, but can be intimidating for the casual observer to comprehend. In this accessible, practical guide, author and instructor Jon Thompson explores more than 200 works, helping readers to unlock each painting's meaning. Beginning with the Barbizon school and the Realist movement of the mid-19th century and continuing through the 1980s avant-garde, artists including Bonnard, Basquiat, Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, Warhol, and Whistler are featured. Thompson describes each artist's use of media and symbolism and provides insightful biographical information. A natural companion to Abrams' "How to Read a Painting," this book is a vibrant, informative trip through one of art history's most compelling periods.

Unlike many other art books only give recipes for mixing colors or describe step-by-step painting techniques, *Color and Light* answers the questions that realist painters continually ask, such as: "What happens with sky colors at sunset?", "How do colors change with distance?", and "What makes a form look three-dimensional?" Author James Gurney draws on his experience as a plain-air painter and science illustrator to share a wealth of information about the realist painter's most fundamental tools: color and light. He bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge for traditional and digital artists of all levels of experience.

Meet the boy who can't stop creating art! He loves colours, shapes, textures and EVERYTHING inspires him: his socks, the contents of the fridge, even his cat gets a new coat (of paint!). But there's just one problem: his mum isn't quite so enthusiastic. In fact, she seems a little cross! But this boy has a plan to make his mum smile. He's about to create his finest piece yet and on a very grand scale . . . Funny, irreverent and perfect for creative children and adults, I Am An Artist by Marta Altés is a sharp, silly, fabulous book which shows that art is EVERYWHERE!