Learning to Look at Paintings (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Composition is the artist's method of organising a subject, of deciding what to put in and what to leave out in order to make an..." (more)
Key Phrases: black chalk, complementary colours, medium tones, Van Gogh, Tate Gallery, Francisco de Goya (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an easy-to-read guide ... [that] allows you to put your visual experiences into words. - www.bbc.co.uk

Review

'Each of the six chapters has a succint introduction and a short but useful summary... Recommended.' - CHOICE --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415148901
• ISBN-13: 978-0415148900
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #404,234 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine introduction, November 9, 1997

By A Customer

Composition, space, form, tone, color, subject-matter, and other pictorial elements of the plastic arts are considered and their interrelationships explained in this handy introduction, with over ninety well-chosen illustrations, some in color.
The author, an experienced art teacher, has also included illuminating essays on drawing and its purposes, looking at prints, a handy glossary of art terms, and references for further reading.
Highly recommended as eminently suitable for an Introduction to Art course, and for anyone else interested in learning to see more in paintings.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative, August 23, 2001

By	Ramona J. Brenneman "moniebr" (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book on the principles and elements of design. I think she selected exemplary pictures to illustrate her point. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "subject matter". The only drawback of this book was having to flip back and forth from the reading to the painting. Also, she talked about some of the paintings color combinations that were printed in black and white. In the paperback version some of the details of the paintings were lost because they were reproduced on a small scale. Overall, though I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about design elements.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, July 8, 2007

By	Danielle Garland (Aptos CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is written in a plain, clear style---it is a good reference book to look up anything about art. The chapters are short.