The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-modern
£8.36
See more :) - 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. What else can I say?... Recommended :)Belen Alcat
Provides the basics to appreciating art to the fullest! - 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.
Covers the History of Art from Prehistory to modernity - This book is a must have to anyone studying history of art of the western world. Very useful for student of Advanced Placement History of Art. She (C. Strickland) explains the information in a way useful to study and remember. The text includes color images, tables, among other useful learning methods. I used this book to study for my AP Art History exam in May 98 and it was very useful. It is a great coffee table book too!! I highly recommend it.
Excellent overview of art. - I used this book to successfully prepare for the humanities CLEP exam and passed with flying colors. The book takes often esoteric art terms and periods and makes them easily understandable. The succinct nature of the book makes it ideal for anyone wanting to cut to the chase when learning about art.
An outstanding guide to great art - This one book will be your best companion in visiting the great art museums of the world. I purchased it before the first of two visits to St. Petersburg, Russia. During each stay I spent 5 or 6 days at the Hermitage Museum, where there were no catalogues in English to be found. I found that the rich descriptions of artists styles, combined with key influences on each artist s work, was a virtual replacement for--I would say, even better than--a traditional museum-specific guidebook, let alone a superficial guided tour. I referred to it constantly as a walked from room to room. In fact, numerous people wanted to know where I got it! I probably could have sold a dozen of them. Before writing this review, I took a momemt to read the interview with one of the authors. There I discovered the following statement: Just heard from a reader in California who took my book along to the Hermitage Museum in Russia. She said, When everyone got too tired to go another step, we sat down and I gave us an art lesson from your book. Then we were off again. I am not THAT California reader, but I am certainly a very pleased OTHER reader from California. As I pack my books to ship off for my upcoming Fulbright in St. Petersburg, you can bet I am packing The Annotated Mona List.