National Gallery of Art

by National Gallery of Art, Earl A. Powell III (Foreword)

A comprehensive survey of the National Gallery's masterpieces, revised and expanded to include key acquisitions from the past fifteen years.

The permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington features works by the greatest masters of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, including Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer, Titian, el Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, Manet, van Gogh, Cézanne, and Picasso, not to mention a wealth of American paintings and an expanding array of photography and contemporary art. The museum's collection also reflects centuries of achievement in sculpture and the decorative and graphic arts.

The National Gallery of Art ranks among the finest museums in the world, and its treasures are viewed each year by millions of visitors. 315 illustrations, 312 in color.

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction, Art History

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely way to spend each day, learning a little about lots of pieces of art in the National Gallery. The full-color pictures were very good, and the descriptions of the paintings enhanced their visual quality.

[Rosenkavalier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una collezione "of the people, by the people, for the people"

Dice la vulgata eurocentrica (a cui generalmente mi piace appaiarmi) che di là dallo stagno atlantico ci stanno i caubois coi cappelloni, che mangiano gli hamburgers del Kansas City e in generale delle cose belle, ma belle veramente, della vita (tipo l'aceto balsamico di Modena) non ci capiscono molto.

Ora capita che, nella capitale dei caubois ci sia un parco mica male (il "National Mall") tutto circondato di musei gratuiti, pensati come un simbolico centro di conservazione e diffusione del sapere (anche scientifico, mi dicono, data la presenza della Smithsonian Institution).

Tra questi musei c'è la National Gallery of Art, in larghissima misura costituita da donazioni private (la principale del banchiere Andrew Mellon).
La collezione è imponente e di impronta enciclopedica, quindi una visita completa richiederebbe giorni e giorni. Anche selezionando per periodi, ci sono sezioni talmente ricche (penso ai fiamminghi) che potrebbero fare da museo a sé.

La guida (tascabile) non rende minimamente giustizia al museo e sarebbe del resto impresa difficile anche per un'opera in più volumi. Inevitabilmente è un po' scarna.
L'ho scelta per la taglia, avendo già da "inscatolare" in valigia una discreta quantità di volumi e volumetti (Washington veniva dopo New York nel mio giro e questo non ha aiutato).

Altrimenti, in valigia ci sarebbe finito un prestigioso tomo extralarge che mi ha tentato parecchio, ma avrebbe comportato l'abbandono in America di parte del mio vestiario o un contenzioso per il bagaglio con la compagnia aerea.

Sarà per la prossima volta.

http://www.pinterest.com/rosenkavalie...

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an overview of the art in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C. It is organized well, with each section dealing with a different genre and time period of art. This was helpful for me because I was able to easily find the paintings I was most interested in (Flemish and Netherlandish), spend a lot of time on them, and later review the areas I was less interested in. The comments on the art are short and the images are fairly small, but because of this the book is easy to handle and I was able to throw it in my purse and take it around with me. It is not a hugely informative book, but as an overview I thought it was enjoyable. I really hope I get to visit this museum someday and see the art in person!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this from the NGA in Washington DC and it was a book I could pull out when I had a few moments but not long enough to get into a story. Each page tells a story about the painting, the artist, the historical or social context. Take it to Starbucks or Joe Muggs instead of a newspaper.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this as my introduction to the National Gallery of Art. It was informative in teaching me the importance of works of art I did not value, it also gave insights into others that I do. I hope I will be able to revisit the Gallery and appreciate the art I read about soon.

[Artlab]

Great Museum of the World

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compact concise relatively complete overview. Reproduction are well done and text is informative without being overly intellectual.