Understanding Paintings: Themes in Art Explored and Explained

The first and only book to discuss the entire history of painting by genre, rather than by chronology, this fresh approach gives readers a new and enlightened way to view and understand the language of art through the ages. What was the artist trying to convey? Who are those figures supposed to be? Why do images and symbols recur? This book clearly answers these and other questions that viewers often ponder as they tour museums. Every category of subject matter is studied: religious art, myth and allegories, the nude, history painting, still life, portraiture, landscape, genre, and abstraction. Each chapter has an introduction and illustrated overview of the information to be covered, followed by spreads that trace the development of the featured art. The reader is shown, for instance, how self-portraits were conceived at various times and how techniques evolved; which aspects of still life drew on recurrent traditions and which others altered over time. A prized possession to be acquired by art appreciators for their own personal use or as a thoughtful gift, this volume promises to broaden readers' understanding of all the art movements and major artists' work that form the body of Western art.

Alexander Sturgis, the general editor of this book, is on staff at the National Gallery in London, where he lectures on all aspects of the museum's collection. Hollis Clayton, consulting editor, is an associate professor of art history at Northwestern University; the author of articles, catalogs, and books; and a prolific lecturer across North America and Europe. He is based in Evanston, Illinois.