Looking At Pictures (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up. This excellent and well-rounded art-appreciation book delves into the world of painting using works from London's National Gallery that span 700 years. First, the author takes readers behind the scenes, focusing on how paintings are selected and hung as well as the detailed labor of restoration. The remaining chapters present major themes in the study of art including color, light, subject matter, and perspective. Excellent-quality reproductions supply marvelous examples and often include smaller close-up images to show detail. In addition to the reproductions, Voake's charming, decorative illustrations, inspired by the paintings themselves, decorate the margins and enhance an already magnificent book. Tips for closer observation highlight details and pose questions. In the chapter on color, Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne is pictured with a chart of how colored pigments such as lead-tin yellow, crimson lake, and ultra-marine are made. For the discussion on perspective, Hobbema's The Avenue at Middelharnis provides a perfect illustration. How and why an artist is able to achieve such an effect is clearly explained by paintings marked with straight lines showing points of perspective. Rembrandt's Belshazzar's Feast is a dramatic example of the use of light. Photos of a child taken with two different lighting sources further illustrates the point. Readers will come away from this title wanting to hurry to the nearest museum or gallery to practice their new viewing prowess.?Helen Rosenberg, St. Scholastica High School, Chicago, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Neither intimidating nor condescending, this large-size volume makes art appreciation accessible to middle-grade readers. The text is chatty and direct, with sections on themes (portraits, landscapes, still lifes, etc.) and on technique (including color, light, and composition). The beautiful full-color pictures on every page are reproductions of paintings in the National Gallery in London by world-famous artists from the thirteenth century to 1900, including Leonardo, Vermeer, Matisse, Picasso, and van Gogh. There are introductory chapters on what goes on behind the scenes in a gallery, but many students will jump to the discussions of individual paintings, and a useful index provides access by artist. For an older audience than Micklethwait's I Spy series, this will be popular with individual browsers as well as with teachers preparing for a museum visit or classroom discussion. Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810942526
• ISBN-13: 978-0810942523
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,032,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars art for youth, June 19, 2000

By	Mark Thomas "markbeth8" (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I checked out this book from the library because, as an adult, I felt I didn't know enough about paintings to appreciate them fully when I visited an art gallery. This book briefly covers a large number of aspects of art including color, perspective, portraits, and landscape. The paintings used as examples are many and varied and they are beautifully reproduced. I learned many things but as I read, I came up with many more questions the book did not answer. However, I am a 36-year-old college graduate. I believe that the book is quite informative for its recommended age group: 9-12. I am getting a copy for my artistic nephew's tenth birthday.