Synopses & Reviews
Ian Jeffrey is a superb guide in this profusely illustrated introduction to the appreciation of photography as an art form. Novices and experts alike will gain a deeper understanding of great photographers and their work, as Jeffrey decodes key images and provides essential biographical and historical background. Profiles of more than 100 major photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Paul Strand, Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, highlight particular examples of styles and movements throughout the history of the medium. Each entry includes a concise biography along with an illuminating discussion of key works and nuggets of contextual information.
How to Read a Photograph: Lessons from Master Photographers is the third book in Abrams successful series that includes How to Read a Painting and How to Read a Modern Painting.
Synopsis
How does an artists interpretation of historical events alter our understanding of them? Kings, queens, presidents, and generals from Alexander the Great to Theodore Roosevelt have commissioned paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs of major events, and artists have responded to important moments with works that forever shape historical memory.
The book deals with specific episodes, from the proclamation of the Code of Hammurabi to more recent events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It also deals with broader themes, such as the founding of states (Persia, Rome, the Chinese Empire, the United States) and war (Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, Picassos Guernica). Here too are the great voyages of exploration, the industrial revolution, and much more. World history is vividly elucidated in these works of art.
Synopsis
Filled withand#160;great masterpieces by such artists as Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Mantegna, and Titian, How to Read Italian Renaissance Painting takes the reader into their world.and#160;As inand#160;the internationally successful and innovative How to Read a Painting, each spread uses an important painting as a way to explain a key concept, with numerous large details. Here, 180 works illuminate key ideas in Renaissance painting, from "perpective"and#160;andand#160;"the golden section" to "grace" and "symbolism."and#160;In addition, there are brief biographies of theand#160;major artists. The result is an original, accessible, and affordable volume that offers an introductionand#160;into the art and culture of the Italian Renaissance.
Synopsis
In
How to Read Bible Stories and Myths in Art, Patrick De Rynck explores the roots of Western civilization from three different angles: He introduces the reader to the best-known stories from the Bible and mythology; he presents a selection of exquisite masterpieces by some of the world's greatest painters; and he shows the reader how these painters interpreted these famous scenes.
Using the same highly visual approach that made his How to Read a Painting a popular success, De Rynck shows how artists portrayed the main subjects of Western art. Old Masters such as Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, and countless others rendered these stirring, poignant, bloodthirsty, and even erotic tales on panel or canvas, in the process creating a familiar way of visualizing our collective imagination.
About the Author
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Ian Jeffrey has written several books about photography, most notably the photography volume for Thames & Hudsons World of Art” series and Phaidons Photo Book. He lives in Coddenham, England. Max Kozloff is a prolific writer and photography critic. Formerly the editor of Artforum, he has taught numerous photography courses, and written many books including The Theater of Face and The Sadness of Men.
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