50 Paintings You Should Know

by Kristina Lowis, Tamsin Pickeral

Spanning seven centuries, this selection of fifty iconic paintings offers readers a crash course in art history while presenting gorgeous colour reproductions that are a pleasure to contemplate. Starting with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes and continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as works by Monet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Cezanne, Dali, Kahlo, Hopper, Pollock, Rothko, and O'Keeffe, nearly every important painter is represented in this book. It features works that may be familiar to the eye, but whose histories are even more fascinating. Readers will learn about the painters who created them, the reasons for their importance and the places the paintings can be found. As entertaining as it is informative, this beautiful book is the perfect introduction to great paintings that have stood the test of time.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Banned Books, History, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

بيتكلم عن اشهر ٥٠ رسمة ف خلال من الفترة ١٢٠٠ إلي ١٩٠٠م .. بعض الصور كنت عارفاها بس حلو أنه موضح شرح لكل رسمة مع نبذة عن الرسام وموجوده ف متحف ايه حاليًا.
أحزنني وجود سيدتين فقط رسامات ف الكتاب.. مع أن ف رسامات ف أزمنة مختلفة معروفين بس يمكن مكنوش بنفس الشهرة للرسامين الرجال !
لطيف ف المجمل ك معرفة + جودة الطباعة والورق جميلة موضحة تفاصيل الرسومات 😌👌

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice quality of the prints, the content is okay if you do not have extensive substantial knowledge on art already, but nevertheless I still learned a few new things
I like how the paintings are in a chronological order, so you can see how art has evolved in the last five centuries
The language was a bit strange as if it was not translated right🙄

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

50 Paintings You Should Know, while highlighting 50 works of art, actually contains well over 50 paintings, including some of my favorites like Van Gogh's The Starry Night and Petunia No.2 by Georgia O'Keefe. Just as in 50 Artists You Should Know, this book is laid out chronologically. I find that the chronological approach is immensely helpful in learning when the various styles of painting occurred, and the timeline across the tops of the pages places this in the context of the artists' lives and famous world events.

Each of the 50 highlighted paintings is prominently featured on a left-hand page, while the facing page contains an image of the artist, along with a short timeline of his life, and a detailed description of the work. The information contained in these descriptions varies from painting to painting, but typically contains details such as the the inspiration behind the work, symbolism within it, where it hangs now, etc. It's almost like walking through an art museum with your own personal docent.

There is some overlap between this book and 50 Artists You Should Know, but there is just as much information to learn from both books. As with any art book, some paintings will appeal to most people, and some to very few. For instance, I can't say I particularly enjoy Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and I don't believe I'll ever understand the popularity of works like Autumn Rhythm No. 30 by Jackson Pollock or Black Square by Kasimir Malevich. However, I do still appreciate that this book includes these, what I would deem, less-lovely works of art, as recognizing them is still essential to anyone who wishes to be educated in art appreciation.

[Kristy Buzbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. A nice collection of important paintings, but the written info was definitely lackluster. A fair amount of typos and errors, and lots of "artsy buzzwords" that didn't actually tell you anything. Very little actual focus on why each painting was important, or why the authors chose that particular painting to represent an artist (looking at you, Kandinsky and Manet). All in all, a nice quick read, I'm sure I'll get others from this series from the library. I've missed my art history.

[Cassie Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish it got more analytical

[Dave Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I go to a museum I enjoy look at the paintings. I look at each on and it will either resonate with me or it will not. But I have always felt like I lacked context about the painting and about the artist. A painting might be a major work of the artist or it might be a minor work. I was never sure if I had the ability to distinguish. So I decided to try to begin educating myself on the progression of art and key paintings and artists. (By no mean do I intent to give myself a "complete" education on art history. Just enough to enhance my enjoyment and appreciation of art.)

This book served as a good entry point. (There are a couple of others in this "series" that I will also read before doing a deeper dive into my favorites.) I have always lacked an appreciation for Renaissance art. For me impressionism is where are has become interesting. I believe this book did a nice job of giving me more of an appreciation of the subjects and stylings of Renaissance art.

I don't know enough about the nuances and history of art to say whether this book is "good" or if it is simply a regurgitation of commonly known information about paintings that have mass appeal. And it really doesn't matter to me. I'm like someone who has never listened to jazz and has heard "Kind of Blue" and "A Love Supreme" for the first time. I have just dipped my toe into expanding my appreciation.

So I'm giving this book 5 stars because after reading it I feel like I know more about paintings and painters. That was exactly why I bought the book. As a start.

As an aside, this book has typos and errors. They should fix this. LOL

[Terri Durling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave this a five star rating but had to deduct a point because the print was very small and, therefore, hard to read. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and felt it would be a great addition to anyone’s library if you are interested in art. I have always wanted to take an art appreciation or art history course but never had the time or money. This book is well laid out and the author has done a great job detailing the facts about each of these 50 paintings and the artists who created them. They are laid out in a timeline that helps us see how much art has truly changed over the years from 1200 to 1900. The information about the paintings is not overly complicated even though many of the paintings are and perfect for a layperson such as myself. There were many pieces I was somewhat familiar with but did not know the details as to why they were created by the artists. There were a lot of paintings I had also never seen and so I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well. The pictures are pretty good but it was hard to sometimes see some of the details that are referred to in the descriptions. All in all, a short, concise book that educates one about some of the most brilliant art ever produced.

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ambitious book, the paintings included span from the 13th to 20th century. As such, there are going to be omissions. Overall, the information included on the paintings seems solid (although there is no bibliography so it's hard for an outsider to art history to double-check the information) and the prints of the images are beautiful. The inclusion of a brief glossary in the back of the book is helpful to review terms and movements specific to the art world. Nonetheless, it is very Eurocentric. For example, in the discussion around Paul Cézanne the author mentions that "he was approaching his subject matter almost in the meditative fashion of Chinese and Japanese artists." I would have liked to hear about those artists that inspired him. I find it hard to believe that there are no pieces from Japan, China, India, or South America that are iconic. Moreover, it is very male-dominated but I believe the series also has a book on female artists or paintings that everyone should know, so that point gets a pass. Despite such flaws, it is a very enjoyable read, if not only for the lovely pictures of the art.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good coffee table book about famous paintings. Large, full-page prints of the paintings allow you to really look at the artwork, and the opposite page has a short bio about the artist and some historical information regarding the painting. It feels like a virtual museum tour, and it's a good book to pick up in five-minute bursts and learn a little something about the art world. It's clearly directed at non-artists, though - there's almost nothing on composition or other art techniques, so an art student who wants to study the masters will not gain much practical information.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delightful way to learn about art. For each painting, there is an analysis of the painting's significance and biographical information about the painter. Throughout the whole book, there is a running timeline at the top of the pages giving the reader an idea of what was going on in various parts of the world while the specific painting was painted. Art is presented with a personal and a historical perspective. I learned so much while perusing some of the greatest art ever painted.

[Anny Veddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice background for european and american paintings! I wish i could keep this library copy forever. I read it with a date. we especially liked the bit about isenheim altarpiece's placement in a specialist hospital as part of the treatment! glad they included las meninas. since i can't quote the whole book, I'll just quote something from the van gogh bit "Just as we catch the train to travel to Tarascon or Rouen, so we choose death to reach the stars." hehe

[Adnan Soysal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick jump into master pieces of art of painting.
One would have a feeling how the art of painting evolved through the different schools of painting in time.

[Kristineeee Girard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much information, and the style of writing is boring

[Carmela Dutra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice introduction into the world of art. The book starts Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes and continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Entering into the impressionist period with works by Monet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Cezanne. Nearly every important painter is represented in this book. Readers will learn about the painters who created them, the reasons for their importance and the places the paintings can be found.

[Reuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each work is dealt with in a 2 or 4 page format, with a large, color photo of the work. All are European and, later, American oil paintings from between 1210 and 1963. A one-page summary gives information about the artist, the featured painting, and sometimes one or two additional paintings by the same artist.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly lunch-sized essays. Despite the fact that the writing was uneven -- and unsigned -- each essay delivered something worthwhile. Stops with Warhol! Frida's in but Diego's out! And nobody between Jan Vermeer (1660s) to Jacques-Louis David (1790s)!

[Meaghan Steeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great!! I learned a lot and it felt so refreshing to have some of the blanks about famous works I'd seen but knew little to nothing about filled in.

[Shellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful pictures, concise interesting passages. Felt like a brief refresher course in art history.

[boredroom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Help me appreciate the subjective values of paintings and art.