Looking at Pictures: An Introduction to Art for Young People - Hardcover

Richardson, Joy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810982889 ISBN 13: 9780810982888

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

Featuring more than 150 stunning illustrations in full color, combined with clear, entertaining prose, Looking at Pictures introduces readers to the basic concepts and vocabulary of painting. This revised edition has a fresh, contemporary design; all art has been re-scanned and separated; the specs and captions have been updated based on new information; and five new images resulting from technical and curatorial advances are included. Drawing on the incomparable collection of The National Gallery, London, the book features Leonardo, Rembrandt, Matisse, Seurat, Picasso, and many more. Watercolors by Charlotte Voake add humor and charm. The book includes an index of artists and subjects.

About this title

About the Author

Joy Richardson is the author of several art-appreciation books for children and guides to the British Museum and the Museum of Mankind, both in London. The National Gallery, London, houses one of the greatest collections of Western European paintings in the world.

Reviews

Grade 6 Up—Using the works in the National Gallery, London, Richardson examines various ways of looking at works of art. Chapters include types of paintings (landscape, portrait, still life, etc.) and techniques. The author walks readers through the process of looking at composition, light, color, and symbols, and draws interesting comparisons between different paintings with similar subject matter. However, the design of this book, with its small typefaces and lack of pull-quotes, gives it a dense quality that the interesting text does not deserve. The author makes many excellent points, but the layout does nothing to draw attention to them. Sketchy, cartoony illustrations seem a little young for the intended audience, take up valuable page space, and look anemic next to the richly colored, fine-quality art reproductions. In addition, the title and subtitle imply a comprehensiveness that is not represented within: all of the art is from western Europe, almost all of it is by men, and all of the works are paintings. Antony Mason's A History of Western Art (Abrams) is more comprehensive; The Art Book for Children (Phaidon, both 2007) is more lively. This revision does not represent a significant update of the 1997 edition, although the color is better.—Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD END

Edition details

• Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810982889
• ISBN 13: 9780810982888
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 80