The History of Art in 50 Paintings

Delphi Masters of Art #36

by Peter Russell

Scare yourself silly with our new anthology of 25 ghost stories, offering some of the most chilling and haunting classic stories ever told…

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction

506 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2018

About the author

Peter Russell M.A., D.C.S., is a British author of ten books and producer of three films on consciousness, spiritual awakening and their role in the future development of humanity. He has designed and taught personal development programs for businesses, and has remained a popular public speaker.

In 1965 he was awarded an Open Exhibition to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, to study Mathematics. In 1969, he gained a First Class Honours in Theoretical Physics and Experimental Psychology. He then went to Rishikesh, India, where he trained as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In 1971, he gained a post-graduate degree in Computer Science. From 1971 to 1974, he studied for a Ph.D. on the psychophysiology of meditation at Bristol University.

Reviews

[Noah Goats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifty lovely paintings (along with many additional pictures to help put those in context) with a couple pages of helpful and interesting writing attached to each one. This is a good little book.

[Rishabh Thakur]

This isn't a review, rather it's a listing of some observations and thoughts that popped up.
1. I am tending towards Raphael in the high renaissance sweepstakes over Buonarroti or Vinci.
2. Tintoretto's version of The Last Supper spoke more to me; maybe because he reduces the event from the monumental to the most ordinary.
3. Can anyone confirm if Amrita Shergill was influenced by later impressionists like Cezanne or Gauguin?
4. Kandinsky seems to be the anti-Mondrian of abstractism.
5. Dunno why I found Gauguin's portrait of van Gogh "The Painter of Sunflowers" more interesting than the latter's "Sunflowers".

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to the (western) history of art and as an ebook it is very inexpensive. The book is arranged in chronological order. For each painting, there is a three or four-page introduction to the artist and a description of the work itself. This is followed by reproductions of the piece both as a whole and some of its parts. I appreciated this book. It was inexpensive but gave a good introduction to each work without unnecessary detail. Because it includes an entire range of art, most readers will find some works more interesting and relevant than others. Although I don,t know the field at all, this book seems to be a good introduction.

[Alexander Van Leadam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Any selection of just 50 paintings from the modern era is bound to disappoint by its inevitable omissions but that's not the problem. It's rather that the book is not a history, as the title suggests, and that the presentation of the paintings is variable in structure and content. As for the format, I'm far from sure that an ebook is suitable for paintings if it doesn't afford the opportunity to view them in full scale at least. On the other hand, ebooks are more accessible than the coffee-table and similar versions, often poorly printed, that used to be the norm in the previous century.

[Madhan Rajasekkharan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up as an Art 101 beginner introduction.

Serves that purpose to a large extent showcasing some key artists and their major art works and dissecting them. But it restricts to explaining the artwork and its nuance and doesn’t give context of the period, the artist and the history which I was hoping for.

Nonetheless a good book if you want to get introduced to some key artwork over the last 500-600 years

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't an in depth book on art, and I really didn't want it to be. Just a nice introduction to fifty great masterpieces with a little explanation and some pictures of the paintings. I liked the closeups of the paintings with were a nice touch. I will go on to read other more in depth books about great art, but this was a good start. Sometimes I need a break from the other stuff I read whether medicine or history, and this was fun.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

The 50 paintings included in this book are certainly important to the history of art. Before each painting is presented there's a short essay about the painter and work. Then a picture of the painting in its entirety and then various details. I was very surprised that no work by Picasso was included, but otherwise it's a pretty good survey of art from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.

[James Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Art From Some Of The World's Greatest Artists

This book looks at some master works of art and the artists who produced them. For those who have little knowledge of art It is a great introduction. If you are reading it in a tablet the colours and details of the individual works of art are utterly sumptuous.

[Elizabeth J · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting perspective

I enjoyed this book with the discussions of the artists and their pivotal paintings that changed the direction of western art, and the events that were behind these works. Some of these paintings were new to me and some were old favourites, and it was an interesting read.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great way to learn about some of the biggest pieces of art that are most often talked about. It covers things from Da Vinci's The Last Supper, Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling to The Mona Lisa to Modern Art pieces. It is a really good overview book.

[Carolyn Deboer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice compendium of significant pieces through time with a 2-3 page description and extra photographs with details of the images. A portrait of each artist is also included. It was nice to read in small sections to relax before sleep.

[Elke Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, limited by its number, review of art's important works, with a brief explanation of the work, the artist, and at times the period. Great start to getting to know some works of art.

[julia alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

history of art in 50 paintings

Great historical snapshot of the Canon.

[Ardjan Kopliku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to painting

I enjoyed this quick run through 50 important paintings that show the evolution of painting in time and through different styles.

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful introduction to some of the major artists in the Western canon, one painting apiece, with a short biography, context and style. Liked the additional photographs of details in the paintings, and the occasional one of the museum in which the painting is located.