Customer Reviews

Great Artists: The Lives of 50 Painters Explored Through Their Work

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This oversized book has dovoted 2 pages to each important artist from the 1400's to Jackson Pollock. As with all D-K books, the reproductions are wonderful and the information is fascinating. The arthor gives a mixture of facts about the artist's life, painting of the period, key works of the painter, and other events happening in the world at the time. I love this book!

Teachers commonly say that they learn more about a subject from teaching it than from being a student. In part this is because so much of what we practice is unspoken and intuitive, while teaching requires a certain explicitness and may be most effective when the essence of a subject is portrayed in a simple, impassioned, and powerful way. As a result, one can often learn a lot from brief, introductory overviews of a subject, as is the intention of this attractive, large-format picture book. Several years ago, the author (who is head of the education division at ChristieÕs) wrote Annotated Art (1994), a companion volume in which diagrams, close-ups, and marginal notes were used to analyze 45 key paintings; and, since then, a similar book was produced by the same publisher about the history of architecture (Neil Stevenson, Architecture (1997)). In this third volume in the series, 50 more paintings (different from those in the earlier book), are arranged chronologically, displayed, and discussed in annotations, using introductory paragraphs, marginal notes, biographical highlights, related works, quotes by and about the artists, and short lists of non-art concurrent events. While the result is necessarily superficial, it is also a welcoming, valuable way to be introduced to art history. (Review from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol 14 No 2, Winter 1998-99)

Take the Young Adult age recommendation seriously. I purchased an updated copy of this book at an elementary school book fair. I'm not squeamish about nudity in art, but the text includes lots of words like "erotic", "homoerotic", "prostitute", "ravished", and "rape". Be aware that this could create a lot of questions that you may not be ready to answer, and your child may not be ready to hear. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed it and would recommend the book for older teens, college students, and adults.

This art book is a great bargain for the quality of the reproductions is very good. The writing is excellent.

I was hoping for a book which helped the reader SEE the actual paintings of the masters. The particular brushstroke that made the painting interesting. The unusual shade or hue of color that made the flower come out of the painting. That sort of book. It is not. Still it has good illustrations and good information about the artists it covers.

I bought this book to help in our artist appreciation with my primary children in our home school. I don't have a problem with nudity in art work, and am willing to discuss and explain the reasons for nudity to my children. However, the book is overwhelmingly filled with nudity. At least twenty pages have rather large pictures of nudes and many are in seductive poses. I do not feel comfortable allowing my children to freely browse through this book and felt that the authors could have chosen different pieces of work that could have equally displayed the works of the artists.