Synopses & Reviews
Masterpieces of Western Art traces the history of painting from medieval times to the present day. But unlike conventional publications, that merely illustrate a few essentials, this volume places 900 paintings taken from every era squarely in the foreground.
The ten chapters each feature an introductory essay profiling the age and the achievements of the major artists, and then present selected works accompanied by searching commentaries. The reader is guided through the techniques and motifs of the artists, and familiarised with the spirit and background concerns of the age. Artist to artist, era to era, century to century, it adds up to an authoritative history but this is a volume for browsing, too, where the reader can make new discoveries or meet old friends on every page.
This imaginary museum of eight centuries of masterpieces by over 500 artists is a place to explore, to acquire a richer understanding of art a reliable history, a handbook, as entertaining as it is instructive.
Review
"...ranging from Giotto to Basquiat.... It is a highly competent history and provides a solid foundation for individual examination in depth... 536 short biographies in the appendix make this beautiful collection an easy-to-use reference work."
Art, Germany
Table of Contents
Part. 1. From the gothic to neoclassicism / by Robert Suckale ... et al. Gothic : the rebirth of art, from Giotto to Lochner ; Early renaissance : European painting in the 15th century, from Masaccio to Bosch ; Renaissance and mannerism : European painting in the 16th century, from Leonardo and Dèurer to El Greco ; Baroque : the painting of the 17th century in Italy, France, England, Germany and Spain, from Caravaggio to Velâazquez ; Baroque in the Netherlands : Dutch and Flemish painting in the 17th century, from Rubens to Vermeer ; Rococo and Neoclassicism : the painting in the 18th century, from Watteau to Goya -- pt. 2. From the romantic age to the present day / by Barbara Eschenburg ... et al. Romanticism and realism : painting in the 19th century, from Friedrich to Courbet ; Impressionism, art nouveau and jugendstil : painting from 1860-1910, from Manet to Klimt ; Classical modernism : painting in the first half of the 20th century, from Picasso and Matisse to Klee ; Contemporary painting : new movements in painting since 1945, from Pollock to Baselitz.