National Gallery of Art Washington

A celebration of European painting from the thirteenth to the early twentieth century.

The National Gallery, London, houses one of the finest collections of western European paintings in the world. Its extraordinary range includes masterpieces from the early medieval and Renaissance periods to Post-Impressionism, by artists such as Leonardo, Raphael, Holbein, Titian, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Monet and Van Gogh. This beautiful book presents more than 275 of the Gallery's most treasured pictures including some outstanding recent acquisitions. Each work is richly illustrated, many with full page details, and accompanied by a concise, illuminating text. Like the collection itself, the paintings are arranged broadly by date, offering an unrivalled overview of European painting through seven centuries and allowing the reader to make fascinating connections across this uniquely representative collection.

An introduction by Gabriele Finaldi provides a history of the Gallery from its beginnings in a London townhouse to its present landmark position in Trafalgar Square.… (mere)

This book is the catalog of an exhibit put on by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. As a specialized publication it may be difficult to locate. However, it is worth the search if you are interested in the bronzes of this era. Used copies may be expensive, but interlibrary loan is a possibility for those who would like to read the essays and examine the excellent photos. Because the metal could be melted down for other purposes, bronze sculptures are less common than marble or other stone. In addition to a description of each piece in the exhibit, grouped by various themes, the book contains essays on the techniques, history, uses and materials. I had not realized that such sculptures usually had inlaid eyes and insets of copper, silver or different bronze alloys to give color to lips, wounds or bruised, or nipples. The authors also explore the idea that Greek artists created deliberate forgeries of classic and archaic works for the Roman market.… (mere)