Search Results:

London: National Gallery Company Limited, 2017. Paperback. VG (Wraps are lightly worn at the edges; textblock edges are lightly worn/smudged; interior is clean; binding is solid.). Black and white illustrated wraps with black and white lettering; 240 pp.; richly illustrated. "Painting 'without color' has long held a fascination for artists and in this striking and original book, the authors explore how and why artists throughout the centuries have chosen to paint in black, white and shades of gray. Sometimes painters used trompe l'oeil monochromatic effects to imitate other media, such as sculpture, printmaking or photography; others have consciously limited their palette as a means of re-focusing the viewer's attention, while modern and contemporary artists such as Cy Twombly and Gerhard Richter have often found inspiration in pushing black and white to its limits, and in new directions. The authors trace the history of this art form, from the symbolism of sacred images in medieval church ritual to… Read More

National Gallery London, 2017. Softcover. Fine Condition. Clean unmarked pages, firmly bound, long semi-visible hairline scratch on front cover. Both Lelia Packer and Jennifer Sliwka eloquently present a topic not much touched upon: monochromatic painting accomplished during the past several centuries in the west. They cover a wide thematic range that is well organised by topic and not chronological, the illustrations provided are a feast for the eyes, particularly the works of Mantegna, Jan van Eyck, Ingres, Degas and Richter among others. The approach is scholarly and well documented, each topic is investigated in terms of the Zeitgeist that inspired its development along with frequent references to technique behind each piece, all is written in a succinct and comprehensible manner. Monochrome being rich and varied as a subject the book can be expanded to fill several publications.Coming to the subjective part of this critique, what I most appreciate in this book is the opening of… Read More

London: National Gallery London. Qto., 2450 pages, colour illustrated. A New copy. . New. Paperback. 2017.