Works Of Art

In a world filled with great museums and great paintings, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is the reigning queen. Her portrait rules over a carefully designed salon, one that was made especially for her in a museum that may seem intended for no other purpose than to showcase her virtues. What has made this portrait so renowned, commanding such adoration? And what of other works of art that continue to enthrall spectators: What makes the Great Sphinx so great? Why do iterations of The Scream and American Gothic permeate nearly all aspects of popular culture? Is it because of the mastery of the artists who created them? Or can something else account for their popularity? In Famous Works of Art—And How They Got That Way, John B. Nici looks at twenty well-known paintings, sculptures, and photographs that have left lasting impressions on the general public. As Nici notes, there are many reasons why works of art become famous; few have anything to do with quality. The author explains why the reputations of some creations have grown over the years, some disproportionate to their artistic value. Written in a style that is both entertaining and informative, this book explains how fame is achieved, and ultimately how a work either retains that fame, or passes from the public consciousness. From ancient artifacts to a can of soup, this book raises the question: Did the talent to promote and publicize a work exceed the skills employed to create that object of worship? Or are some masterpieces truly worth the admiration they receive? The creations covered in this book include the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, El Greco’s The Burial of Count Orgaz, Rodin’s The Thinker, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and Picasso’s Guernica. Featuring more than sixty images, including color reproductions, Famous Works of Art—And How They Got That Way will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered if a great painting, sculpture, or photograph, really deserves to be called “great.”

Discover the secrets, mysteries, hidden meanings and stories behind famous works of art. A book full of surprises, discoveries, forgotten treasures and lost tales, The Secrets of Art takes us on a journey through the art world’s mysteries to reveal that works of art are not always what they seem. A long-lost medieval masterpiece unearthed in the Tower of London. A secret message that only an elite few can read encoded in a painting. A glimpse of a ghostly image beneath the surface of a portrait. The intriguing stories of these works, and many more, are brought to life by author, historian and art detective Debra N. Mancoff, as she reveals secret symbols used by Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer and Caravaggio, uncovers layers of meaning in paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso and Dali, and provides insight into works by Frida Kahlo, Kara Walker and Marina Abramović. Drawing upon the findings of advanced technology, new research, scientific analysis and old-fashioned curiosity, The Secrets of Art unveils the layers of meaning beneath the surfaces of great works of art in a collection of tales that are fully based in fact but are as fascinating as fiction.

Mix and match pieces of the world's greatest artworks from Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Gilbert Stuart's George Washington to create new portraits. Flip Flora's pretty hairstyle on the head of a Kabuki actor. Top Frida Kahlo with the straw hat of Vincent van Gogh. Printed on heavy board and laminated, Master-Pieces will stand up to the most enthusiastic flipping, at home or in the classroom. Including full images with captions, short descriptions of the works, and artists’ biographies, it features artworks from the world’s most magnificent public collections, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Louvre. With one thousand possible portrait combinations, Master-Pieces will have children looking at art in a whole new way. Featured artists include Leonardo da Vinci · Vincent van Gogh · Frida Kahlo · Sandro Botticelli · Gilbert Stuart · Toshusai Sharaku · Archibald J. Motley Jr. · Giuseppe Arcimboldo · Rogier van der Weyden · Diego Velázquez Featured museums include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Museum of Fine Arts, Boston · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC · Art Institute of Chicago · The Louvre, Paris · The Uffizi, Florence · Skokloster Castle, Sweden · The Prado, Madrid · Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

Bold and engaging predictions of which artists and artworks from the past two decades will endure through their power to question, provoke, and inspire Just as Picasso’s Guernica or Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa survive as powerful cultural documents of their time, there will be works from our own era that will endure for generations to come. Kelly Grovier curates a compelling list of one hundred paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, performances, and video pieces that have made the greatest impact from 1989 to the present. The global cast includes Marina Abramovic , Matthew Barney, Christian Boltanski, Louise Bourgeois, Maurizio Cattelan, Marlene Dumas, Olafur Eliasson, Andreas Gursky, Cristina Iglesias, On Kawara, Jeff Koons, Ernesto Neto, Gerhard Richter, Pipilotti Rist, Kara Walker, and Ai Weiwei. Many of the pieces reflect the cultural upheavals of recent times, from the collapse of the Berlin Wall to the blossoming of the Arab Spring. A daring yet convincing analysis of which artworks best capture the zeitgeist of our time, Grovier’s list also provides a much-needed map through the landscape of contemporary art. Illustrations of key works are supplemented by comparative images, and short texts offer a biography of each artwork, tracing its inception and impact, and offering a view not only into the imagination of the artist but into the age in which we live.

There is no single masterpiece in art galleries or with people—we’re all works of art in our own special way! Our skin tones might all vary; we're every shade and hue. Some people think we look surreal, and frankly, yes, we do! But we can make you tilt your head, and see the world anew. Pairing bright and engaging illustrations with relatable rhymes, this beautiful hardbound book celebrates diversity while teaching kids about different styles of art: from prehistoric cave art to surrealism, cubism, pop art, and contemporary art. Includes an appendix that provides brief descriptions of different art styles along with mentions of their most significant works and practitioners to encourage further exploration, including: Stonehenge the bust of Nefertiti Leonardo da Vinci Henri Matisse Joan Miró Rene Magritte Roy Lichtenstein Pauline Boty Rachel Whiteread Steve McQueen Lexile: AD490L

This accessible book on the Surrealist movement features paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, film stills, and architecture, displaying the enormous breadth and variety of Surrealism. The Surrealist movement that developed in Europe following the devastation of World War I swept energetically through all kinds of media as artists found expression in an imaginative pictorial language. This introduction to Surrealism shows 50 unique artworks that have lost nothing of their irresistible attraction to this day. Each work is featured on a beautifully illustrated spread. An informative text highlights each work’s classic characteristics, its unusual aspects, and its significance in the Surrealist movement. Including brief biographies of the artists, this book is a beautifully illustrated primer to Surrealism.

This engaging introduction to art appreciation for kids explores art history, themes in art, and art techniques, from cave paintings to modern art. Art and How It Works takes children on a journey through the history of art, from prehistoric paintings, Impressionism, and abstract art, through to the art of today. This bright and colorful book includes biographies of major artists, such as Fra Angelico and David Hockney, and cuts through the jargon that surrounds the art world to offer a fresh and accessible approach for children. Young readers will begin to notice and explore shapes, colors, patterns, styles, themes, and techniques. By taking a close look at famous paintings and answering the open-ended question prompts dotted throughout the book, kids will discover a new way to see and appreciate the art all around them.

A curated collection of artwork spanning over 30 years by the American artist, W. Cullen Hart. Hardcover, 160 pages, full color throughout.

A former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York chooses the 111 works of art--culled from the entire history of Western civilization--that have influenced him most, reproduced in full-color and complemented by his interpretations. Tour.

There is no end of talk and of wondering about 'art' and 'the arts.' This book examines a number of questions about the arts (broadly defined to include all of the arts). Some of these questions come from philosophy. Examples include: · What makes something art? · Can anything be art? · Do we experience "real" emotions from the arts? · Why do we seek out and even cherish sorrow and fear from art when we go out of our way to avoid these very emotions in real life? · How do we decide what is good art? Do aesthetic judgments have any objective truth value? · Why do we devalue fakes even if we -- indeed, even the experts--- can't tell them apart from originals? · Does fiction enhance our empathy and understanding of others? Is art-making therapeutic? Others are "common sense" questions that laypersons wonder about. Examples include: · Does learning to play music raise a child's IQ? · Is modern art something my kid could do? · Is talent a matter of nature or nurture? This book examines puzzles about the arts wherever their provenance - as long as there is empirical research using the methods of social science (interviews, experimentation, data collection, statistical analysis) that can shed light on these questions. The examined research reveals how ordinary people think about these questions, and why they think the way they do - an inquiry referred to as intuitive aesthetics. The book shows how psychological research on the arts has shed light on and often offered surprising answers to such questions.