An accessible and attractive beginner’s guide to getting the most out of looking at pictures 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.

Features new duotone reproductions of one hundred landmark photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art that chronicle the historical evolution of the photographic arts in works by Adams, Weston, Stieglitz, Steichen, and other notable photographers. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

A special side of Robert Walser: his essays on art

Discusses the place of the illustration in children's picture books, looking particularly at how pictures can express abstract themes, such as moods, which cannot be shown directly. Uses examples from well-known works to illustrate the points discussed.

In this text, philosophers, psychologists and art historians explore the implications of theories of vision for our understanding of the nature of pictorial representation and picture perception.