Hi. Just heard about an interesting book entitled Seeing Through Paintings:
Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies. It is published by Yale and
the authors are Andrea Kirsh and Rustin S. Levenson.
I've not actually seen it yet, but from what I hear the focus of the book is
looking at how paintings are made and this includes book developing a better
eye for seeing the surfaces and the use of x-ray studies to view how the
painter conceived the work. Case Studies include Pollock, Caravaggio,
Close, and others. In my opinion, and others might disagree, I think
looking at how artists (regardless of medium) conceptualize their work is
important to our understanding of art and the brain, be it historical or
contemporary work
If anyone is interested, Amazon.com describes the book as follows: "This
user-friendly handbook to the technical examination of paintings has grown
out of the professional activities of an art historian and a conservator who
have been working together for many years. In a series of interesting case
studies, the authors take the reader through the layers of a painting, from
canvas or panel to varnish, in clear, readable language, de-mystifying the
world of the conservator for art historians, dealers, collectors, or
curators. Beyond presenting the necessary but perhaps dry facts, they then
relate the physical attributes of the artworks to important discoveries of
social history, authorship, aesthetic understanding and more. The case
studies will not only guide people in looking at the art of individual
artist but provide a general understanding of the physical presence of
paintings. This is one of my personal favorite's on the list (the manuscript
editor who worked on this told me she "loved" it! -- a pleasure to read).
There is no other book quite like it on the market."
All the best,
Amy
_____________________________
Amy Ione
PO Box 12748
Berkeley, CA 94712-3748 USA
Tel: 1 510 548 2052
Fax: 1 510 548 2054
Email: ione@Lmi.net
URL: http://users.Lmi.net/ione
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