The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern [Paperback]

Carol Strickland (Author), John Boswell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992

A layman's guide to art history free from bogged down, convoluted theories provides the reader with a basic working knowledge of art and its influence on society, from ancient times to today. Simultaneous.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836280059
• ISBN-13: 978-0836280050
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Strickland has a doctorate in American literature and culture from the University of Michigan. She is the Christian Science Monitor's art critic and contributes feature stories on the arts to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Art and Antiques. She is the author of The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (available in an updated edition), The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture, The Illustrated Timeline of Art History, The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature, and monographs on the artists Paul Waldman and Aris Kalaizis. A former college professor who taught courses on literature, American studies, and writing, she is now completing an historical novel set in 6th-century Byzantium. Her screenplays for feature films have won numerous prizes in prestigious script competitions. Carol lives in New York City and Long Island. Her website is http://www.carolcstrickland.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides the basics to appreciating art to the fullest!, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (Paperback)

In such a short book, compared to other Art History books such as Gardner's Art History, etc., one may begin to wonder what this book has omitted. The answer is basically NOTHING. The difference between Gardner's and this book is that this book is a wonderful introduction to anybody appreciative of art but lacks the basic skills at analyzing and appreciating art to the fullest. 1500pg Art History books serve as a wonderful reference but as a poor introduction. Enter "Annotated Mona Lisa" , giving readers an introduction to art combined with attention-grabbing description and prose with the history and background of several thousands of years of art from pre-historic to modern. This book can serve as a study guide to much larger books, especially for those who take college art history classes or the AP Art History class in High School. This is a genuine MUST HAVE for anyone vaguely familiar with the term "art."

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book !!!, January 7, 2003

By 

M. B. Alcat "Curiosity killed the cat, but sa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (Paperback)

I don't know much about art, and I wanted to learn a little bit more. That is the reason why I bought this book. Truth to be told, I was pleasantly surprised when I read it: it teachs you a lot, but it's also entertaining and... FUN TO READ. You end up wanting to read more about art, and from my point of view that's what makes a book successful, disregarding the subject matter.

"The annotated Mona Lisa" allows you to appreciate paintings you have already seen in a new way (you must try to pay attention not only to de color and composition but also to the historical circumstances in which it was painted, and to the meaning hidden in the painting) and introduces you to new ones.

Carol Strickland, in the introduction to this book, tells us that "There is a world of difference between viewing a work of art and really seeing it - the difference between sight and insight". In "The annotated Mona Lisa" she tries to give us an insight into what art is really about, and in my opinion, she has a good deal of success.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great bargain for the budding art history enthusiast, December 18, 2005

By 

Diana Blake "BellaOnline Art History Editor" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (Paperback)

It does indeed require a crash course to recount 25,000 years of art history in just under 200 pages. The Annotated Mona Lisa does it well with a few exceptions. Beginning with the title itself, it should be noted that this book details the history of "Western" art only, a distinction that is vital for a holistic understanding of art. Another exception is an occasional departure in chronological order. For example, the inclusion of Art Nouveau architecture in the section on Rococo Art (which is twenty-five pages before Art Nouveau is discussed) disrupts the chronological flow. There are also occasional poor choices of representative artwork. For example, I would not consider City Night to be representative of Georgia O'Keeffe's work. I noticed as well that certain well-known terms that describe art styles or techniques are omitted; an example is "Frontalism" in Egyptian art. Some art movements that I would consider to be significant are also omitted, such as the Pre-Raphaelites. And I must admit I was disheartened to see an outright inaccuracy when the book stated that artist Artemisia Gentileschi accused a fellow pupil of raping her when it is known to have been her teacher she accused.

What the The Annotated Mona Lisa excels at is providing the reader with numerous charts that compare styles that are often confused such as Gothic and Romanesque architecture or Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance art. There are also charts that distinguish between artists such as the one that differentiates the style characteristics of several Post-Impressionist artists. The upbeat writing and interesting facts about artists and their work really help to keep the reader engaged as do interesting page designs and more than 300 illustrations, many of them in color. Another nice feature is the inclusion of pronunciations for foreign words, giving the reader the confidence to discuss newfound knowledge with others.

At a price of under $25, despite the flaws mentioned above, The Annotated Mona Lisa has a lot to offer the new art history student that wants to learn a lot about art history in a short amount of time at little expense.