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1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die

by Stephen Farthing

ISBN13: 9780789315243
ISBN10: 0789315246
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

From Ancient Egyptian frescoes to the Renaissance masters, from French Impressionists to American Abstract Expressionists, this highly browsable guide embraces all cultures and every style of painting from 4,000 BC to the present. A visually arresting reference for art lovers and students, it provides a truly comprehensive worldwide gazeteer of paintings organized chronologically by date of completion. Each entry includes the history of the painting, information about the artist or artistic movement, the current location of the painting (all are on view to the public), as well as other details. The works are also indexed by artist and by title, making for easy cross-referencing. Included are popular paintings, key works that are the most breathtaking for their extraordinary power and beauty, paintings that were turning points in the history of art, and rediscovered masterpieces, making 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die an art museum in its own right.

Book News Annotation:

This fat, yet fairly compact book presents a selection of paintings from the Egyptian era to the present, with a small reproduction and a description of each summarizing highlights of the painting's content, style, and artist. While some might quibble with the choice of paintings, the selection represents well the history of European and American painting, along with some examples from Mexico, South America, and Japan. The descriptions were written by curators and freelance writers based mainly in the UK. Universe Publishing is an imprint of Rizzoli. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About the Author

Stephen Farthing is a graduate of the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford and a professional fellow at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1998 and executive director of the New York Academy of Art in 2000. He has been teaching fine art since 1977, and he is a painter.

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: Grady Harp, September 8, 2007 (view all comments by Grady Harp)
A Book With A Gimmick Format That Is Actually a Smart Survey!

The very title of this book will probably offend serious art lovers as well as the cover art that strains to imitate Magritte. But don't be fooled by the packaging in this case. This is a fine little volume that covers an enormous variety of paintings through time and is designed in a format that places one painting per page (though the page are not large) with an accompanying commentary on the painting, the artist, the historical content and some astute remarks by a staff of well informed writers.

Ancient paintings as well as contemporary paintings are in this collection of 'must sees' and actually each of the selections could well qualify for the designation of the title. What the book does not do is provide a travelogue to guide the reader to the locations of each of the works, but it does present a survey of great art, succinctly distilled in well chosen word descriptions, that proves t be a valuable introduction to the works considered by many to be the great moments in art history. This would be a fine book for young or new art lovers, a volume that would interest those who fear the magnitude of the realm of art history here made accessible - like cliff notes! A great idea for a gift - for other and for your own library. Grady Harp
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Product Details

ISBN:: 9780789315243
Author:: Farthing, Stephen
Publisher:: Universe Publishing(NY)
Preface by:: DYER, GEOFF
Preface:: DYER, GEOFF
Subject:: History - General
Subject:: Painting
Subject:: Art
Subject:: Techniques - Painting
Subject:: History : General
Subject:: Art appreciation
Subject:: Painting -- Appreciation.
Subject:: Art-History and Criticism
Publication Date:: 20070331
Binding:: Hardcover
Grade Level:: General/trade
Language:: English
Illustrations:: Y
Pages:: 960
Dimensions:: 8.50x6.62x2.38 in. 4.48 lbs.

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