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The 12-Hour Art Expert

Everything You Need to Know about Art in a Dozen Masterpieces

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Brimming with examples from across the artistic spectrum, this is the perfect primer to hook future art enthusiasts." Publishers Weekly

Interested in art but feel under-informed? Curious but afraid you might not "get" it? Already a fan and wishing to immerse yourself in a fun, engaging, informative and informed read that will refresh and top up your Art History 101 and Introduction to Art courses from college?

The 12-Hour Art Expert: Everything You Need to Know about Art in a Dozen Masterpieces avoids the common approach of throwing hundreds of images at a reader and expecting them to learn from and memorize them all.

Instead, the book will guide its readers through a brief series of masterpieces of Western art—from cave paintings to sharks in formaldehyde. This book twelve chapters teach readers about art, the art trade, and art history in a thorough (though concise) fashion.

Each chapter is linked to one notable masterpiece, with references to others, giving readers a fixed, digestible number of objects that they will get to know in depth, and which they can use as a lens to understand the thousands of other, related objects that they might encounter in the future.

Museums can be daunting, and art presents a strange new language, one that certainly intrigues but is often intimidating and foreign. This book, written by one of the world's best-known art historians uses entertaining stories to break down intimidating barriers and invites readers of all ages for a one-stop immersion into art.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 9, 2022
      “You do not need extensive training to understand art, much less to enjoy it,” asserts art historian Charney (The Art of Forgery) in this enlightening crash course. Determined to buck the “intimidation problem” that’s plagued the art world for centuries, Charney moves through 12 chapters organized around a specific masterpiece—from Bernini’s 17th century Tomb of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni to Marcel Duchamp’s subversive Fountain (1917)—to offer readers an amiable tour through art history, terminology, and styles, as well as the relationship between the price of an artwork and its desirability:“an equation for the value of art: value = perceived (rarity + authenticity + demand).” Charney also revisits his deep fascination with authenticity, dissecting the fuss around Leonardo da Vinci’s famed works—which, he writes, have become a “cultural currency”—to illustrate how art connoisseurship has engendered a thriving forgery industry. While he writes exaltingly of the art world, Charney keeps his narrative refreshingly grounded, empowering lay readers to better appreciate and understand works of art, but to also trust their instincts: “Don’t be afraid to call ‘hogwash’ (or its synonym, BS) on artworks that you’ve given an honest chance.... I do it all the time.” Brimming with examples from across the artistic spectrum, this is the perfect primer to hook future art enthusiasts.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2022
      Art History 101 was never like this! Instead of the usual catalog of images and dates to memorize, here is a wide-ranging and entertaining overview of Western art. Charney (The Devil in the Gallery, (2021) uses a dozen masterpieces as landmarks for an amazing journey through art history. He is an excellent guide, passionate, knowledgeable, and witty. Chapter titles include "The -isms Cheat Sheet in Thirty Paintings" and "When Bad Things Happen to Good Art: Conservation and Loss." Woven throughout are explanations of art techniques, movements, and forms as well as engaging discussions of art criticism over time. Sharp color reproductions are provided for the dozen masterpieces, which include Van Eyck's Adoration of the Magi, Gentileschi's Judith and Holofernes, and Duchamp's Fountain, as well as images of other, related works. Charney achieves his goal "to make art as accessible, understandable, enjoyable, and intriguing as possible for as many people as are willing to be open-minded and consider engaging with it." Anyone with even the slightest interest in art will be hooked by this fun master class in masterpieces.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • OverDrive Read
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  • English

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