Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author Erika Langmuir, OBE, (d. 2015) was educated in France & the United States. She taught at the University of Sussex & held the Chair of Art History at the Open University. She was Head of Education at the National Galley (1988–1995). Erika is author of Masterpieces & The National Gallery Companion Guide. When we say that ‘ Love is blind’ or ‘ Time flies’ – making concepts sound like living beings – we are using the language of allegory. Painters have long relied on allegory to create ‘message pictures’. Once thought to rival literary works or political oratory in influence & prestige, such paintings, with their references to ancient myth, the Bible or astrology, all too often puzzle modern viewers. This book explains types of visual allegory in Western art, & the contexts in which they were originally created & viewed, through some of the most beautiful & intriguing pictures in the National Gallery. A Closer Look: Allegory was first published as Allegory: National Gallery Pocket Guides in 1997. View spreads of this book (2.3 MB PDF) ...

Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author David Bomford is Associate Director for Collections at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Contributors Jill Dunkerton is Restorer at the National Gallery, London. She co-wrote the best-selling Giotto to Durer & is a regular contributor to the National Gallery Technical Bulletin. Martin Wyld is a world-renowned expert in the conservation of paintings, & was formally Director of Conservation at the National Gallery, London. The preservation of works of art for future generations is a central function of the National Gallery. Historically, the care of pictures has sometimes sparked controversy, but as this expert guide shows, modern conservation emphasises long-term stabilisation of paintings by methods that alter their structure as little as possible. A Closer Look: Conservation of Paintings discusses the material nature of paintings, describing how they age & the main types of conservation treatment carried out on them, as well as providing an insight into the issues that confront the conservator. View spreads of this book (1 MB PDF) ...

Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author Marjorie E. Wieseman is Curator of Dutch Painting at the National Gallery, London. Her publications include Dutch Painting & Vermeer’s Women: Secrets & Silence. How do experts spot masterpieces? Paintings are not always signed or noted in historical records, so how can we tell an obscure gem from an altered image? Scientists, conservators & art historians use a range of methods to examine the physical nature of pictures & unravel their hidden histories. Through a series of intriguing examples & clearly explained processes, A Closer Look: Deceptions & Discoveries will draw the reader into the complex issues – not all of them fully resolved – confronted by gallery professionals. View spreads of this book (1.5 MB PDF) ...

Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author Alexander Sturgis is Director of the Holburne Museum of Arts, Bath. Previously he was Exhibitions & Programmes Curator at the National Gallery, London. His publications include Telling Time & Rebels & Martyrs: The Image of the Artist in the Nineteenth Century. Be it in portraits & narratives scenes, in allegories & paintings of everyday life, it is often the faces shown that communicate most directly in a picture, with expressions that reveal drama or character. The manner in which faces are painted show in striking ways the artistic aims & preoccupations of those who painted them. A Closer Look: Faces examines such issues as the changing faces, differing ideals of beauty, the ways in which portrait painters have captured a likeness & convey character, & how we read these facial expressions. View spreads of this book (2 MB PDF) ...

Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author Erika Langmuir, OBE, (d. 2015) was educated in France & the United States. She taught at the University of Sussex & held the Chair of Art History at the Open University. She was Head of Education at the National Galley (1988–1995). Erika is author of Masterpieces & The National Gallery Companion Guide. A Closer Look: Saints explains, through the National Gallery's comprehensive collection of religious images, the significance of saints & their role in the history of European painting. Erika Langmuir describes how saints became part of the institutions of the Christian church, the different types of saints, & the increasing importance of saintly relics in the Middle Ages. Explaining the way in which saints were created
- the process of canonisation & the promotion of candidates by religious orders, A Closer Look: Saints also provides an introduction to a wide variety of personalities, from the ambiguous penitent Mary Magdalen & the obscure martyrs venerated only by the cities of which they were protectors, to internationally celebrated figures whose sermons & deeds are well documented, such as Saint Jerome or Saint Francis of Assisi. Saints may be familiar figures in religious paintings, even to non-Christians, but A Closer Look: Saints explains in an authoritative yet accessible style the many ways in which they once played a part in religious practice & in the lives of individuals & communities. View spreads of this book (2 MB PDF)
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Special Offer: Buy any 2 books from the "A Closer Look" series for only £15. View the Series here Author Jo Kirby was formerly a staff member of the Scientific Department at the National Gallery, London. She is a world-renowned expert in the history of painting materials. She has contributed to the National Gallery’s Art in the Making series in titles on Rembrandt, Impressionism, & Degas, & also to the National Gallery Technical Bulletin. How do artists create different effects when painting? The medium they choose – such as oil, watercolour, or egg tempera – plays an important part. So too does the material they paint on, the pigments used, & even the type of brush. Using examples from the National Gallery Collection, Jo Kirby shows how a painting is made, & reveals the processes behind an array of fascinating techniques. With clear explanations & close-up photography, this book will help you see paintings with a fresh eye. View spreads of this book (2 MB PDF) ...

Van de Cappelle's scenes are often intensely atmospheric, with brooding skies reflected in calm seas dominating the compositions. The vessel on the left, probably a 'wijdschip' (a small Dutch transport vessel) flies Dutch colours. Other vessels have red & white flags, & one a blue & red flag. ...

Imaginary coastal scenes of this type recall the works of Claude. The signature would appear to be false & the picture was probably made to pass for a genuine Rosa. It may date from the 18th century when Rosa was greatly admired & his works keenly sought by collectors throughout Europe. ...

The cobbler repairs shoes while his companion smokes. A water pump is against the wall on the right. This picture has in the past been considered a work by van Ostade himself, but it is now recognised as a slightly enlarged copy after an etching by him. A ...

As well as a cockerel, hens & chicks, there is a pigeon & a finch (above left).D' Hondecoeter specialised in large-scale decorative canvases of birds. It can be compared to a similar picture (Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle) which is signed & dated 1668, and ...