ISBN: 0789468050 9780789468055

Category: Art / Criticism & Theory

Page count: 736

More than 450 masterpieces - all faithfully reproduced in superb full color - chronicle the developments and movements in painting over the past 800 years, from Gothic to Renaissance, Romanticism to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism to Modernism. Each movement is introduced by visual timelines that provide an instant overview of the important artists and paintings of that era. Sister Wendy Beckett analyzes more than 30 of the world's most famous paintings in depth, including Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Rembrandt's The Jewish Bride, Monet's The Waterlily Pond, and van Gogh's Self-Portrait. Using enlarged details of the paintings, hidden meanings and symbolism are revealed and painting techniques explained.