The World's Greatest Paintings

Kloss, Prof. William

ISBN 10: 1598036599 ISBN 13: 9781598036596

Publisher: The Great Courses, 2010

An unfathomable number of paintings have been created since humans began creating art, but only a small percentage of them have earned the title of masterwork. These paintings have become icons of culture that help us understand our world and its history more deeply. But what makes a masterwork? In these 24 illuminating lessons, you will examine the impact of paintings that challenged the conventions of their times, served as visual anchors of faith, politics, philosophy, mythology, and literature, and depicted human life in a way that reflected their society. You'll travel through time from the 14th century to the 20th with acclaimed art historian Professor William Kloss. Focusing on 65 masterpieces of Western painting, including key works by Giotto, Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Picasso, The World's Greatest Paintings offers you a vivid, visceral encounter with genius, shining light on the unique technical, stylistic, and expressive achievements of each painting. You will learn how to evaluate composition, style, interpretation, and technical elements such as light, color, and brushwork. Taking his cue from the deeper motives that inspired these great works, Professor Kloss then uses pictorial analysis to bring you directly into the presence of the extraordinary, elemental power of these paintings - their ability to astonish, to uplift, to unsettle, to ultimately shake our sense of reality, leading us to richer domains of experience and of the appreciation of life.

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