Paintings in The National Gallery, London

Book Description

An exquisite celebration of the exceptional collection of paintings found in the The National Gallery, London. The works in The National Gallery, London, include masterpieces of Renaissance art, the largest collection of Velazquez outside of Spain, early Flemish paintings, Italian Renaissance masterpieces, the Italian Seicento at its height, and works by the greatest French painters. Alternate Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic overview.......2007-06-04

Context: I'm not an academic or a scholar; I'm a regular guy who likes visiting museums when I travel and I wanted to do a little researach before I left. This book worked well for my daughter and I to determine which parts of the museum deserved the most time (on a short trip) and to get a better understanding of the works. I'm not qualified to evaluate it from an academic perspective, but as a layman it was exactly what we needed.

Stunning.......2007-05-17

I have numerous large books of this ("Paintings of the")type and this one has delighted me most. The many reproductions in this book are stunning - large, sharp and vivid is the rule rather than the exception. If you own the books on the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, and Hermitage you'll love this because it outshines them.

Many thanks to the reviewer who mentioned that Bulfinch published this. I just noticed that Bulfinch also publishes Eisler's Masterworks in Berlin which also outshines the books above and is another favorite of mine. It's time to check my wishlist for Bulfinch publications and up their priority.

Excellent.......2005-09-24

Excellent quality book. The pictures are very well presented and the texts are very precise.

Another feather in Bulfinch's cap.......2000-12-18

Without question, a must-have for any serious art lover. The quality of the text and illustrations are first-rate as is expected from the arguably finest art book publisher of our time. As essential to any library as "Paintings in the Vatican" and "Paintings in the Uffizi and Pitti." Keep them coming, Bulfinch!

Greek Gold: Jewelry of the Classical World

Average customer rating:

Greek Gold

Greek Gold: Jewelry of the Classical World
Dyfri Williams , Jack Ogden , and N. Y.) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Jewelry | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt (Getty Museum Studies on Art)
Greek Gold: From The Treasure Rooms Of The Hermitage
Bedazzled: 5000 Years of Jewelry--The Walters Art Museum
Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present (World of Art)
The Great Treasures: The Goldsmith's Art from Ancient Egypt to the 20th Century

ASIN: 0810933888

Customer Reviews:

Greek Gold.......2000-11-28

This book is great. It shows detailed photographs of many pieces, and the text describes the methods of construction. There is a section showing the tools they used to manufacture the jewelry, and the way the tools were used.

Giotto to Durer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery (National Gallery London Publications)

Average customer rating:

Great review of Renaissance painting
Wonderful book with necessarily limited scope
superb introduction to renaissance painting

Giotto to Durer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery (National Gallery London Publications)
Jill Dunkerton
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Byzantine | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Gothic | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Renaissance | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Durer to Veronese: Sixteenth-Century Painting in the National Gallery
The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting
Italian Painting Before 1400: Art in the Making (National Gallery London Publications)
Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557)
Art in Renaissance Italy: 1350-1500 (Oxford History of Art)

ASIN: 0300050704

Customer Reviews:

Great review of Renaissance painting.......2006-12-13

I'm a real art geek, and I've read a lot of books on this subject. This is one of the best. It provides a wonderful review of paintings and how they were made in Western Europe before the 16th century. This was a time of great transition in style, subject matter, and materials. This was when oil painting transitioned from an ancillary medium, believed useful for a few minor aspects of a painting, to the primary means of making visual art. This book lays it all out in ways that are accessible, yet thorough. If you are going to get one book about Renaissance painting, get this one.

Wonderful book with necessarily limited scope.......2005-07-23

This is a beautiful, sumptuous book, crammed with detail and excellent colour reproductions. Other readers mightn't go for all the technical information but I can't get enough of it. I also prefer the discussions of individual works which occupy a large part of this volume -- its companion, 'Dürer to Veronese', takes a more synoptic view, which tends to obscure the fact that these are surveys of a collection.

That's my only quibble, and it isn't really with the book, which is about as accomplished at it could be -- so good, in fact, that it's tempting to read it as a textbook of the whole period. Much of the material is of general relevance, of course; but don't forget that many of the major works from this period aren't in galleries at all: they're still in the places they were meant to be.

superb introduction to renaissance painting.......2003-06-15

We are used to looking at "old Master" painting as if it were just a matter of style, but the truth is that Renaissance art was in important respects the product of a revolution in the use of binding media (water and egg yolk for tempera; oils) for pigments, and in the prepared surfaces (wood panels, paper, canvas) to which these pigments were applied. This wonderfully illustrated book distills the knowledge gained by the restorers of the National Gallery in London, from decades of well-documented, cutting-edge restorations of the outstanding Italian and northern European Old Master paintings in their care. It is much, much more than a technical handbook. Historical essays cover the categories of Renaissance painting, 1300 to 1500, and their many uses, while the second half of the book is an informative catalogue (with gorgeous color reproductions) of individual paintings by many of the best-known Renaissance artists (Botticelli, Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, to name the most obvious).

Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum

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Kings, Genies, and Winged-Bulls

Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum

Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Sculpture | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Kings, Genies, and Winged-Bulls.......2002-06-13

"Art and Empire" is a good-looking catalog of Assyrian artifacts in the British Museum. The book begins with chapters on the discovery, history and civilization of Assyria and then come eleven chapters on the museum collections, some of which are: Reliefs and Sculptures; Palaces and Temples; Magic and Religion and Literature and Science. Each begins with a nice introduction including the history of the finds.The strength of the catalog is of course the photos of the discoveries, drawings and paintings. A very informative and attractive production. Henry Layard would be proud.

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The British Museum A-Z Companion
Marjori Caygill
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1579583032

Book Description

The British Museum A-Z Companion provides an entertaining and informative introduction to the objects in the collections of the British Museum, from Achaemenid silver to Ziwiye treasure, Alexander the Great to Jean-Antoine Watteau, through Greek vases, Japanese pottery, Nebuchadnezzar, Quezalcoatl, and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

This companion includes more than three hundred entries, with each chosen object or theme fully described and illustrated in colour; most entries also include suggestions for further reading on the subject. The British Museum A-Z Companion is also comprehensively indexed and cross-referenced, making it a useful research tool for all those interested in what has often been called "the world's greatest museum of mankind's history".

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Indian Embroidery
Rosemary Crill
Manufacturer: Victoria & Albert Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Textiles & Costume | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 185177310X

Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum

Average customer rating:

The Floating World

Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Rupert Faulkner
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Prints | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Printmaking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Ukiyo-e: An Introduction to Japanese Woodblock Prints
Hiroshige
Hokusai

ASIN: 4770023871

Book Description

Ever since Japan opened its doors to the West in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Westerners have been fascinated by the exquisite art forms that flourished during the previous two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Among the most intriguing were the bold yet refined paintings
and prints known as ukiyo-e, which portrayed the popular pursuits of the time with extraordinary power. Such was the appeal of this unique art in the West that tens of thousands of superb prints eventually found their way into museum collections around the world.

The present volume highlights over 130 outstanding examples from the vast holdings of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Strikingly original and sumptuously colored, the ukiyo-e in these pages recapture the spirit of the period in which they were created. Here can be found the glamorous
courtesans of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, the flamboyant vigor of kabuki theater, and the diversities of the Japanese landscape.

The prints form a breathtaking panorama of the world of ukiyo-e from its inception to its final flowering at the end of the nineteenth century. Complementary texts by Rupert Faulkner and Richard Lane illuminate the craft of woodblock print making and explore the emergence of such versatile geniuses
as Hokusai and Hiroshige.

The lasting appeal of Japanese woodblock prints may be rooted in the richness of their imagery and the power of their innovation, or perhaps in their uncanny ability to convey the special vitality of Edo Japan. Whatever the case, this lavish volume seeks not only to pay homage to the Japanese
artists and craftsmen who took the woodblock print to unprecedented heights, but also to show the range of this astonishingly versatile art form.

Customer Reviews:

The Floating World.......1999-05-31

Unexpected earnings from the Great Exhibition of 1851 (at the Crystal Palace in London) were used to establish the following year the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world's largest collection of applied art and design. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry made his famous expedition to Japan, which had been isolated for 250 years, and set up trade agreements. Examples of Western technology (locomotive, telegraph, camera) were given to the Japanese, and Japanese artifacts to Westerners. Of particular impact were Japanese woodcuts of the 17th through 19th centuries, called ukiyo-e or images of "the floating world," tens of thousands of which ended up in museum collections throughout the world. Many (perhaps most) American and European artists and designers were influenced by the then-strange stylistic traits of these prints (crisp black outlines, bold flat areas of color, asymmetrical arrangements, and dramatic cropping), among them such people as Whistler, Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Aubrey Beardsley, and Frank Lloyd Wright. "All my work," wrote Vincent van Gogh to his brother, "is in a way founded on Japanese art." This stunning volume is a full-color treasury of 130 of those woodcuts (introduced and annotated by scholars) from the many now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. (Copyright © by Roy R. Behrens from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol. 14 No. 3, Spring 1999.)

Blue Guide Museums and Galleries of London, Fourth Edition

Average customer rating:

A great resource

Blue Guide Museums and Galleries of London, Fourth Edition
Tabitha Barber , and Charles Godfrey-Faussett
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393327299

Book Description

With some of the finest collections in the world, London's museums and galleries alone are worthy of a trip to England's capital. With the expertise of several art historians, this book offers just the sort of insider knowledge of the art, as well as the buildings that house it, that allow insight into the broad history of a collection. With new listings of acclaimed commercial galleries and reviews of museum restaurants (some of which have become destinations in their own right), this is the perfect guide for anyone who desires a comprehensive understanding of a city's art. Color diagrams, maps, and floor plans; 40 color photographs.

Customer Reviews:

A great resource.......2007-10-01

Whether visiting London for your first time or you feel you know it very well, this is a brilliant starting point to determining which museums are worthy of your time. Blue Guide is easy to read and navigate. It's very objective in its presentation. It alphabetically lists museums and galleries from the world famous to small hidden treasures and describes them in very good detail, whether it takes one or twenty pages. If you only take one book to London, take this. The concierge and free (or cheap)resources available there (like Time Out magazine) can help you with shopping, navigating public transport, dining, performing arts, etc. It will not only help determine which museums, but you'll know which bits of the museums you'll most want to see.

The National Gallery Companion Guide: New Revised Edition (National Gallery London Publications)

Average customer rating:

A must-have for any art lover.

The National Gallery Companion Guide: New Revised Edition (National Gallery London Publications)
Erika Langmuir
Manufacturer: National Gallery London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide Revised Edition

ASIN: 0300074816

Book Description

This gorgeously illustrated and completely updated National Gallery Companion Guide introduces art lovers to one of the richest and most representative collections of Western European paintings in the world. Erika Langmuir offers enlightening commentary on more than two hundred of the London National Gallery’s finest works by such painters as Piero della Francesca, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez, Ingres, and Degas as well as masterpieces by less familiar artists.

With this Guide, readers can trace the history of European painting from the thirteenth to the twentieth century; develop an eye for style, technique, imagery, and genre; and learn to appreciate the talents of artists in a variety of artistic and cultural contexts. The book takes into account the latest scholarship from the Gallery and includes discussions of the Gallery’s newest high-profile acquisitions.

Customer Reviews:

A must-have for any art lover........2003-03-28

This book is what visitors to the National Gallery (London) buy when they're there. However, it can be read at home too, since it reprints over 200 paintings in the Gallery in full color, and provides detailed descriptions of each. A great way to introduce children to art as well as good reading for -- just about anyone really.

Average customer rating:

A Reader's Guide to Writers' London
Ian Cunningham
Manufacturer: Carlton/Andre Deutsch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0233001255

Book Description

London has stimulated and fascinated writers from Chaucer, Dickens and De Quincey, to Orton, Orwell and more recently, Peter Ackroyd. Both a bedside companion and an imaginative travel guide, it leads you through the literary history of each district. Discover Boswell's Fleet Street, the Dickensian London of The Pickwick Papers and Little Dorrit and look at London Bridge through the eyes of T.S. Eliot. Packed with anecdotes about the lives of the city's writers, the book allows you to locate Dr. Johnson's favourite haunts and drink in the same bars as Dylan Thomas and Jeffrey Bernard. Accompanied by specially commissioned photographs of London today, and hundreds of illustrations of writers, manuscripts, prints and memorabilia, A Reader's Guide to Writers' London is a must for any lover of either literature or London.

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