How to read paintings
The aim of this fascinating book is to help readers extend their appreciation of al ltypes of paintings, by identifying and interpreting the elements that make a painting truly memorable. It covers topics such as composition, subject matter and styles from the Gothic to Expressionism
Print Book, English, 2004
English lang. ed View all formats and editions
Chambers Harrap, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2004
xv, 272 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm.
9780550101228, 0550101225
1058010177
Identification
Attribution and date
Title
Technique
Dimensions
Background history as an aid to understanding
State of conservation and restoration
Subject
History painting
The portrait
Landscape
The genre scene
Still life
Composition
Composition and context of a work
The interior of the painting : organization of the plane
The illusion of depth : creating perspective
Line and colour
Drawing
The rivalry between line and colour
Colour through the filter of science
The history of colours
The human figure
From the symbol to the body : the invention of the human figure
The classical period : painting the movements of the soul
The codification of beauty
Beyond the beautiful : other interpretations of the body
Styles
Gothic
The Renaissance
Mannerism
Caravaggism
The Baroque
Classicism
Rococo
Neoclassicism
Romanticism
Realism
Impressionism
Post-Impressionism
Synthetism
The Nabis
Symbolism
Fauvism
Expressionism
Epilogue : the challenge to figurative art in the 20th century
The beginnings of abstraction
The triumph of geometry
Anti-styles : figurative art fights back
Includes index
Originally published by Larousse as 'Lire la Peinture' by Nadeije Laneyrie-Dagen