How to Read Paintings: Western art explored through a close-reading of painted masterpieces

by Christopher P. Jones

How to Read Paintings provides a fascinating analysis of a variety of paintings made in the Western tradition.

**Note: Images are shown in full colour.

From works by Raphael to Monet, this wide-ranging book will introduce you to a selection of popular paintings and teach you how to understand their meaning. Along the way, the author provides the basic criteria to consider when looking at works of art, giving you a new perspective on art history.

By exploring what the pictures actually show, including their symbolism, stories and composition, this illustrated guide will make your appreciation of paintings and artworks a more rewarding experience.

Artworks include:

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich

Self-Portrait by Albrecht Dürer

Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Susanna and the Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi

... and many more.

Dip in at random or read from beginning to end, How to Read Paintings is an accessible tour of some of the most beautiful objects in art. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced art lover, this book has something for everyone.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

ebook

Published July 15, 2020

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The aim of this book is to encourage museum visitors to take their time when looking at art. Rather than running past exhibits in an effort to look at all of the art on display, take time to look at selected works in depth. As for "how to read paintings," there aren't any steps on how to do that in this book. Instead, the author examines 14 famous artworks, and these are meant to be examples of how to look at the details in a painting. Each artwork gets about 4 pages, and color images are provided for each work. The analyses of the art are written in a way that would be easy for those without an art history background to follow, so the book is quite approachable for beginners. The last section of the book is also good for beginners as it includes tips for visiting museums and galleries.

[Miltiadis Michalopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A presentation of 20 famous paintings with a brief overview and comments on them. There were many artists and artworks I had never seen before, and I feel grateful to the author for including them in his book. Thanks to his guiding, I discovered things I had never noticed before, and these masterworks re-emerged in a different light. In the last two chapters the author gives us some very useful tips on how to approach a painting and how to get the artists' message from it. It was a very good read and I recommend it to anyone who wants get familiar with the art of painting.

[Castles · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really nice little book that is great for beginners, or just people who ever wondered a little more about great painting and what they mean. in that sense, it's a great introduction.

i love the theme of taking a work of art for each chapter and just writing about it. there should be more books like that, for whatever level of art expertise the reader is at.

[Patrick S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Believe it or not, I enjoy reviewing things (as seen by my reviews of books/movies/shows/games/etc.) and one thing that I wanted to enjoy more of is how to be able to look at a piece of art and be able to see the things artists have placed in them that I may miss because I don't have the art knowledge of what metaphorical analogies are tied to things or shapes bodies make in the frame or things like that. So that's why I picked up Jones's book.

First of all, the Kindle version of this has all colored photos so reviews of the book about them being in black & white are no longer relevant. The art pieces picked come from many different time periods and artists. However, there seems to be a stopping point before the modern/post-modern period which makes sense if meaning in relative to the observer or no meaning is possible. The author does a good job of providing a background to the artists and time period the painting was done in. There is a discussion of the paintings and what can be seen and some things to notice about the painting although not in a lot of detail which is a slight benefit.

However, with all that good the book fails at its premises title. You don't get an idea of how one should read paintings from looking at these examples. From time to time there might be something of note like a mirror representing a look into the void or something along those lines. Other than these specific paintings I'm unsure if I could take that reading to other paintings let alone the same artist or even paintings in the same series. There is a helpful-ish chapter at the end of the book giving tips on how to appreciate art in a museum which was good, however, one of the tips is not to look at the plaque right away. Yet, the book provides a lot of background and time period information that lends information to many of these paintings - which seems to defeat the purpose of obtaining knowledge from observation alone.

So while the pieces picked are interesting and broad enough in scope, the fact is that you don't really get information on what the title of the book promises. The historical and biography area appreciated and I would have enjoyed it as long as it was included with a toolkit of general guidelines of how to look at a painting or obtain meaning from common symbols or main themes and derivation of meaning. A decent art book on these specific paintings but a failure on the main premises of the title. Final Grade - C-

[Lee Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially took a gamble on reading this book as my first real introduction to understanding fine art in hopes that its claim of a less linear embrace of art history would be more effective in igniting some passion for this great lack of knowledge I have on the subject. I was afraid that if we started the clock too far back, I would lose interest early on and then not really have the chance to engage with works that might appeal directly to me.

I also wanted to read an introduction like this because I was researching a character for an upcoming novel, who I imagined might compare his love to the art he studied in his life. I suppose I hoped I would take the bare essentials away, and feel adequately confident in exploring that character's mind.

Now, all timelines have been thrown off, because of what an excellent job Mr. Jones does in this short but lively collection of thoughts. Now, instead, it is myself who seeks more and more from art, who is set about this wild path of exploration and romance. The novel I feel must shift entirely - I feel the character would best follow my own trajectory now, and feel a whole world open up to them like it has for me, rather than have intimate knowledge to draw upon. I feel there's something much more urgent and real in that pursuit, and its connection to the pursuit of romance, than there is in simply 'knowing art and seeing it in things'.

That's the kind of shift this book has allowed me. I've been converted from a person who wants to know things concretely about their world, to a person who wants to continually experience the sheer overwhelming immensity of a world that always has another perspective to offer. And Mr. Jones is to blame with his accessible, honest and humbling introduction to a world that he himself is evidently still losing himself in all these years later.

[Karen Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect little book to read while I was volunteering at a community art museum. Having it printed in full color made the book much more instructive (not all art books are not in color) and some sections are even blown up so that you can see the detail that the author's discussing more clearly.

Wish more women and colored artists were included, though - Vermeer and Monet are covered SO MUCH, for example, that it would be refreshing to get other viewpoints.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good introduction to appreciating art, but it is short and lacks context. The author talks about the artist and the painting. There is little about the period, style, and surroundings (e.g., was this the first artist to paint in this style or the most notable artist in the country at the time?).

[Peter Huynh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good enough

I enjoy reading it but don't expect too much, just some info here and there about some art pieces that he considered representing different periods in art history.

[PEDRO · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of this series to learn and appreciate the history of art. This is my second book from Christopher Jones and can’t wait to start his third book.

[Ardjan Kopliku · Rating 5 out of 5]

very well written and very informative

It was a pleasure reading this book. It made me appreciate better paintings. The space dedicated to each painting is perfect.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars