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

Carol Strickland (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 2007

Like music, art is a universal language. Although looking at works of art is a pleasurable enough experience, to appreciate them fully requires certain skills and knowledge." --Carol Strickland, from the introduction to The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern

* This heavily illustrated crash course in art history is revised and updated.

This second edition of Carol Strickland's The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern offers an illustrated tutorial of prehistoric to post-modern art from cave paintings to video art installations to digital and Internet media.

* Featuring succinct page-length essays, instructive sidebars, and more than 300 photographs, The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern takes art history out of the realm of dreary textbooks, demystifies jargon and theory, and makes art accessible-even at a cursory reading.

* From Stonehenge to the Guggenheim and from Holbein to Warhol, more than 25,000 years of art is distilled into five sections covering a little more than 200 pages.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carol Strickland has a doctorate in American 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 Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture, The Illustrated Timeline of Art History, and numerous artists' monographs. Carol lives in New York City and Long Island.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; 2 edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740768727
• ISBN-13: 978-0740768729
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.5 x 10.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > History

More About the Author

Carol Strickland has a doctorate in American literature and culture from the University of Michigan. She is a contributor on culture to the Christian Science Monitor and on visual art and architecture to Art in America magazine. Her feature stories on the arts have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Art and Antiques, and Private Journey magazine. 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding resource on art history! May 27, 2009

By Judy K. Polhemus TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

"The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern" is more than a crash course, a term used for its catchiness. Actually, the book is a synopsis of art history and provides the lay person concise and brief explanations of history, movements, schools, and individual artists and artwork.

I taught art history for several years at the high school level and relied on Janson's History of Art 7th Ed. and Wood's Art of the Western World: From Ancient Greece to Post-Modernism as my personal instructors. Every night I had to slog through pages of information when all I wanted was something concise and to the point. "The Annotated Mona Lisa" would have served me well.

I found this the other day and popped my forehead (as in V-8 commercials) and asked aloud: Why didn't I use this book for my background? Apparently, I bought it then promptly forgot/misplaced/had little time to use it.

Here's why this book will be a companion for anyone interested in teaching him/herself about art history:

1. Five time categories (ex. Prehistoric through Medieval) with very clear subtitles (ex. Mesopotamia: the Architects)

2. Short explanations per topic. For example, two pages are devoted to "Prehistoric Art: The Beginning," with these sub-categories: Sculpture, Cave Painting, First Architecture, Stonehenge: England's first rock group, accompanied by blocked paragraphs about Horse (cave painting), Prehistoric Treasure Trove (Lascaux cave finding), Easter island Monoliths, and photographs of the Venus of Willendorf, Stonehenge, and a horse from the caves.

3.... More detail is provided as art progresses. For example, the unit on the Baroque is subdivided into Italian Baroque (3 pages), Flemish (2 pages), Dutch (5 pages), English (3), Spanish Baroque (2), and French (2).

4. To keep the reader grounded, a time line cross-sectioning world events and art history is placed at the beginning of each of the five time categories.

This is one of those must-have books for its brevity and utility. Whether you are learning from the very beginning or need a refresher course, "The Annotated Mona Lisa" will serve you well. Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The History of Art, explained! April 11, 2010

By Olivia James

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Carol Strickland has written one of the most entertaining, comprehensive, and comprehensible books on art history currently on the market. Not only does she provide soundbites on the meaning, style, and creation of selected works (which are produced in beautiful, truthful images) she gives information about the lives of the artists. This book is probably one of the most inclusive and up-to-date works on this subject you will find. I have found it extraordinarily helpful in studying for the AP Art History exam and for the class in art history I am taking. (Recommended: reading the book's summary and volunteering your information from it in class.) If you are looking for a book to help you in that test, look no further. Even for those reading the subject merely for fun, Strickland's writing style is easy and fun to read, and bridges the often yawning gap between the art world and the real world. She shows a true gift for taking an overwhelming, sprawling subject and making ordered, objective sense of it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great study book December 9, 2009

By J. Ward

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I go to an art college and I'm majoring in art education. I bought this book in order to study for the art history section of my state's standardized test for educators license and it's proved invaluable. I've taken quite a few actual art history classes (mostly surveys of Western Art History) and this book does focuses almost exclusively on Western AH - so if you need information on African Art, Eastern, Pacific Islands, etc....you'll need another book. But this is a great review book that's easy to read (I read 10 pages a day for 20 days to study for the test and it was very very easy) -- especially if you've taken AH courses and just need a refresher.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Too few of pictures May 12, 2009

By Happy Squishy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a good book. But it has too few of pictures given this is a book about Art. Most of the pictures are rather small, half of them are simply black and white. I would give it 4 stars if the pictures were bigger.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in pictures September 21, 2011

By S. Rodriguez

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Maybe once I read through the whole book I'll like it more, but in just flipping through it I am very disappointed in the number of pictures, size of them, and that so many are black and white. I really wasn't expecting black and white reproductions of paintings where the text right next to it is discussing the artist's use of color! We will use it, but I will have to supplement with bigger, color examples of art.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, economical text for Art History January 21, 2011

By Dr. Malmo

Format:Paperback

This book is complete, yet succinct;a rare combination in one text. It is the most complete, cost-effective Art History book available. I highly recommend it for an entry level survey course.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Highly accessible and interesting, but lacks depth July 11, 2011

By Erez Davidi

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As the title suggests, this is indeed a crash course in art history. For example, the author devotes a mere 11 pages to the Renaissance period. Having said that, this book is highly accessible for persons without any art background. Moreover, there are plenty of pictures to accompany the text. To sum up, aside from being a bit too shallow, this book will provide you with a basic understanding of art history in a enjoyable way.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect resource. June 25, 2011

By mirogljm

Format:Paperback

This was a required book for one of my art education classes in college. It seemed odd choice when I first picked it up, but I quickly realized just how helpful this book is. It provides a clear and concise art history timeline and touches upon so many important artists and art movements. I read this book cover to cover as my preparation for the Art: Content Knowledge Praxis and aced the test as a result.

Now that I'm a high school teacher, I turn to this book constantly when I'm planning lessons. The information is straight and to-the-point, and provides excellent visuals. It has all of the important information that a large, college textbook would, but breaks everything down in a way that anyone can understand. I don't think there's any other art book that I've turned to more, both in college, and in practice as a teacher. Highly recommended.