Great Art Explained: The Stories Behind the World's Greatest Masterpieces [Hardcover]

Art appreciation made accessible, relevant and entertaining; writer, curator, and YouTube sensation James Payne demystifies great works of art. James Payne's YouTube Channel Great Art Explained gained a huge and appreciative worldwide audience. This beautifully put-together book is simply the best introduction to the lifelong pleasure and rewards of looking at pictures since Gombrich. An instant classic. Art history without pretensioninsightful, engaging, and addictive... This fascinating new book reveals the stories behind 30 of the worlds most iconic paintings and sculptures...in a straightforward, engaging way without any confusing or off-putting art jargon... Each chapter delves into not only the art itself but also the artists life, as well as the works place in their wider oeuvre; in other words, why it should be considered 'great...' An excellent combination of scholarship and accessibility, making complex art history clear, human and utterly compellinga must-have addition to any art lovers bookshelf. Like walking through an ambitious museum ... in which visual examples are accompanied by a gifted narrator who provides a voice-over which gives information picture-by-picture... What I find most masterful in Payne's account is his uncanny ability to move swiftly from one example to the next one, in a way that builds upon the support of full large, excellent color plates. In his hands, thirty works provide an instructive perspective on world art history, as it is seen now. [A] colorful survey of 30 artworks... The breadth of works highlighted, combined with Payne's knack for condensing massive amounts of biographical, historical, and technical information, makes this an excellent introduction. Art lovers will be entranced. A beautifully persuasive work to remind you to look a little longer and to be enchanted by the stories each painting can holdit tells us not to be afraid of art and what it can do to usthis book will transform the walls around yolóm