Art in Detail: 100 Masterpieces

by Susie Hodge

Great paintings cannot be fully understood in a single encounter. Art lovers want to revisit and reconsider the masterpieces again and again throughout their lives, perceiving in greater depth and possibly modifying their value judgments every time they look at a work. Viewing a painting as a whole is a perfectly acceptable method of interacting with art, but a deeper understanding can only be gained by analyzing the painting in detail.


Art in Detail spotlights these finer points that even connoisseurs may not pick up on quickly or perhaps at all. It covers all the minutiae that a quick glance will almost certainly fail to reveal. These include subtle internal details, such as hidden symbols and artistic tricks employed by the painter to achieve particular effects. In addition, Susie Hodge writes intelligently and informatively about relevant external influences on the artist—everything from the broad socio-economic context in which he or she flourished, to smaller local difficulties, such as the level of air pollution at the time the painting was created. This book examines 100 paintings from artists such as Pollock, Courbet, Monet, Mondrian, El Greco, van Eyck, and many others.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

432 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Meenakshisankar M · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent reference book featuring 100 masterpieces of western art across history, with detailed explanations and background information to understand and appreciate the style and the nuances. There is a good biography of the artist covering their key influences, followed by significant highlights and interpretations of the featured artwork. The good thing about such a collection is the way one can follow the evolution of styles and techniques and form a greater appreciation of the art history over the years. I recently visited the Art Institute of Chicago and was able to have a more enjoyable experience after reading this book.

[Mr Shahabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good reference for people who like a little bit more details in some of the most influential work of Art, but like every ART REFERENCE book, it never fail to remind us of how terrible some ART can really be and that some art is REALLY REALLY SHITTY and it's just THERE because some SNOBS decided that it's good enough to consider as ART

screw that shit.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like art? Then you should definitely look at this book! Or, if you are like me, and you're somewhat self-conscious about your art-uncertain knowledge - read this book! Each of 100 significant pieces of Western art (almost all paintings) from the Middle Ages through 2000s is shown on one page with a text "sketch" of the artist's beginnings and career, and then, turn the page, and the next two pages (left and right) contain insets of specific parts of the painting with historical and technique notes. Each piece is put into context for the overall arc of the development of Western art, including cubism, modernism, and post-modernism. Almost better than a museum! Another book that will make you feel smarter at the end!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautiful art book, 100 masterpieces are covered in depth. There is a brief bio of the artist, then one of their works with between 5-8 sections focuses on and explained about their significance. The book is gorgeous and makes me want to visit an art museum. After reading this, I realize I'm more of a fan of art after the 18th century, the older religious style art doesn't really strike my fancy.

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another art book read. This is one of those ’looking closer’ at art pieces books, choosing 100 examples from Western Art (all but two are paintings), grouped by centuries, except those that are pre-1500 or post-1900. At the end is a glossary.

Details and insights are interesting though. The texts look at meanings, techniques, colors used, perspectives etc. The aim is to help the reader enjoy the artworks more (at least when these works are what one might like, but luckily I like quite a few art styles – my parents dragged us to many museums in our younger days, and we caught appreciation of art that way).

Each work (when made, materials used, size, and where it is now mentioned) gets 4 pages, and there are sometimes other artworks within each that were influences, or were influenced by the main artist, or just were made around that time also. Reading this stuff slowly in early morning hours is something I would recommend to others, too – and musing on what one has read is good distraction on the way to work/studies. I have seen some of these works in earlier books I have read from this author, but what is written is different. Easy to read, fun to learn, and very much worth it.

[Schuth22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cool how intertwined science and art are, and how art up until the invention of the camera was all very realistic, but afterwards the art world became abstact and began to interpert reality more than just display it.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's beautifully produced, and, well, I love pictures, and some of the close-ups are brilliant, but there are just too many silly errors in the text. Does no-one proof read books any more?

[Syash Sticks · Rating 5 out of 5]

peak fiction

[Ian Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very Exciting Books

[Oiseau Distrait · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book in high quality printing, worth to keep for learning to read art. Love this book so much.