The Annotated Mona Lisa

One Response to “The Annotated Mona Lisa”

1. Larisa says:

   May 14, 2010 at 5:19 am

   The Annotated Mona Lisa book is a fantastic tool when studying for Art History on its own or paired with Gardner’s Art through the Ages. This book is incredibly helpful in a number of ways. It covers works of art from 25,000BC to the 1980s including the names of the different art periods, the legendary artists at the time, and the revolutionary works of the era. Though it chronicles artwork throughout documented human history, just as the title suggests, nevertheless it is a fantastic “crash course” before a midterm, final or an AP test. It certainly does not take in all the legendary artists throughout the art eras but it does give the reader an thought of the style, beliefs and culture of the different eras. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a resource that takes a step back and looks at the larger picture of art through time. This tool offers the best ways of learning the essentials in any nearly any art history class by providing visual aids, descriptions of authors and their works, and a brief overview of the culture during the time the painting was done.
   
   This book is filled with colored and black and white pictures that include vital details and depth. Although not all the pictures are in full color, the most recognizable paintings are. For example Van Gogh’s Sparkly Night and Monet’s Waterlilies and Roven Cathedral works are in full color. One of the most helpful tools in this book is page 113 which is called “The Post-Impressionist Roundup.” “The Post-Impressionist Roundup” is full of the major post-impressionists and ways to identify them by their characteristics. It includes the authors’ names, subjects, art signature, moods, concerns, hallmarks and pictures of their brushstrokes. Artists include Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. The book also has copious side-notes on the artists’ backgrounds and life. There are many additional helpful tools like the Romanesque vs. Gothic, Roman mosaics vs. Byzantine Mosaics pages and many more that helps with identification which is the key component in most art history tests. Although there are thorough biographies of artists and descriptions of paintings, there are a few, not many, architecture aids. The aids that are included merely help identify buildings by the different patterns used by different cultures. Each artistic era has a tiny introductory paragraph of the culture and government of the time and place.
   
   Although this book includes the differences between barrel and groin vaults and the differences among the different arches, it lacks structural works of art. The Annotated Mona Lisa is comprised of are about 90% paintings, reliefs, mosaics and sculptures and less than 10% buildings. The works of art that art included are culturally, artistically, historically and formally covered very well covered. Each work has a description of how it was made, why and for whom (if applicable). The Annotated Mona Lisa is a valuable a study tool but keep in mind that this book does not include all the major works of art and should be accompanied by another art history book, like one of the many Gardner books.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5