Masterpieces in detail : what great paintings say
This volume presents a selection of 32 essays, each focusing on a work by a different artist, arranged chronologically from the 15th through the 20th centuries. With the exceptions of Diego Rivera, Vasily Surikov, and Edward Kienholz, the artists are all from Western Europe. Large color plates enhance the text, and a graphic technique is used to highlight a particular area of the paintings like a window and draw viewers deeper into the work. The authors discuss how these details reflect the political events, religious views, sexual mores, and social issues of the times. Each chapter focuses on one painting, with enlarged details and in-depth texts describing their significance. Taking apart each painting and then reassembling it again like a huge jigsaw puzzle, the authors reveal the history of art as a lively panorama of forgotten worlds
Print Book, English, ©2000
Taschen, Köln, ©2000