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

~ (Author), John Boswell (Author) "Art was born around 25,000 years ago, when the subhuman Neanderthal evolved into our human ancestor, Cro-Magnon man..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Abstract Expressionism, Art Nouveau (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; annotated edition edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836280059
• ISBN-13: 978-0836280050
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,211 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #85 in

  Books > Arts & Photography > Reference > Study & Teaching

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent from middle school to college, May 14, 2000

By	Jadepearl "geezer geek" (Wandering, USA) - See all my reviews

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

This book is wonderful for several reasons:

1) clear and concise; 2) inclusive of the audience; 3) makes art very approachable; 4) places art within its historical context and development; 5) quick reference;

I was exposed to this book after taking various humanities courses and found this book great. It does a much better job of making art accessable than books like Gardner and Janson. I was impressed that the book covered a variety of bases without leaving too much out.

The tone of the work was inclusive and allowed anyone with an interest in understanding methods, techniques, personalities and history of art to do well towards approaching that goal. It does not approach art for the few with a rarefied tone nor does it talk down to the reader.

The layout of the pages are done well and have a decent flow of text and image. It does not, thank god, go into list memorization which is the downfall of some compact versions of some topics.

Highly recommended for those who play academic tournaments at the high school and college levels. The topics covered and interesting personal history found in this book will be found at all levels of play. The pricing of the paperback version will allow people to compete very well indeed.

For home schoolers/educators this book is a good survey introduction and is portable enough for museum trips.

Very few books do so well with so much material to compress. Very impressive. The only thing I could wish further is a music history version of this work.

36 of 36 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

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."

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	bel_78 "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.