What Great Paintings Say: Vol. 1

by Rose-Marie Hagen, Rainer Hagen (Primary Contributor)

Why should a banker, two actresses and a seamstress meet at a riverside restaurant? What was the Impressionist who painted them trying to capture? And did he have enough money to pay for his lunch? These are the kinds of questions applied to the masterpieces collected in this book. The result is an unusual account of trends and lifestyles of times past as reflected in great works of art.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Born: 1928, Switzerland

Reviews

[Yunus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good overview of the most important art paintings from antiquity to modern times. The book presents the individual painting in its historical, social and geographic context. It is written fluently and not lengthy. The book is very suitable as an introduction to art / art history.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

More re-reading my art books. I remember buying this from the Taschen store in London probably 20 years ago. It offers some interesting context & explanation to a series of paintings from 1400s through to late 1900s. I wish the selection was a little more inspiring, but the Gainsborough 'Mr and Mrs Andrews' background was interesting. I always wondered about that painting, the slight sneers and the unfinished part. Begrudging paid commission. Ha ha.

[Sosa Coleone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put it in the bin?

[Stéphane · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than painting analysis, a history book

[Xico Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Título um pouco rodeado de mentiras mas um livro lindíssimo para entender a pintura, o artista e a época ❤️

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of a very personal experience for me. The latest edition of this book was one of the very last books my dad ever bought. He was both a history aficionado, book lover and admirer of great paintings. I have this particular edition for some years now and only ever looked at some of the pictures. For the das reason of my father´s death I decided to give it a try and really turned out to be a pleasant reading experience. Both interesting and informative as well as funny sometimes. I haven't been, much into paintings until recently but this book is a really good starting point if you want to learn something about the creating progress, the bio of the artist and the time it was drawn. In addition, it tells the history of Europe from the middle ages until the early 20. century based on 80 masterwork paintings. Next on the agenda is visiting a view museum around the globe a have a look at some of this paintings for real. Luckily some of them are in the Art History Museum of Vienna. Perfect for a rainy afternoon.