What Great Paintings Say. 100 Masterpieces in Detail

Hardback

Main Details

Title What Great Paintings Say. 100 Masterpieces in Detail
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Rainer & Rose-Marie Hagen
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:762
Dimensions(mm): Height 340,Width 244
Category/GenreTheory of art
Painting and paintings
ISBN/Barcode 9783836577496
ClassificationsDewey:759
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Taschen GmbH
Imprint Taschen GmbH
Publication Date 18 November 2022
Publication Country Germany

Description

This important addition to our understanding of art history's masterworks puts some of the world's most famous paintings under a magnifying glass to uncover their most small and subtle elements and all they reveal about a bygone time, place, and culture. Guiding our eye to the minutiae of subject and symbolism, authors Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen allow even the most familiar of pictures to come alive anew through their intricacies and intrigues. Is the bride pregnant? Why does the man wear a beret? How does the shadow of war hang over a scene of dancing? Along the way, we travel from Ancient Egypt through to modern Europe, from the Renaissance to the Roaring Twenties. We meet Greek heroes and poor German poets and roam from cathedrals to cabaret bars, from the Garden of Eden to a Garden Bench in rural France. As we pick apart each painting and then reassemble it like a giant jigsaw puzzle, these celebrated canvases captivate not only in their sheer wealth of details but also in the witness they bear to the fashions and trends, people and politics, loves and lifestyles of their time.

Author Biography

Rose-Marie Hagen was born in Switzerland and studied history, Romance languages, and literature in Lausanne. After further studies in Paris and Florence, she lectured at the American University in Washington, D.C.Rainer Hagen was born in Hamburg and graduated in literature and theater studies in Munich. He later worked for radio and TV, most recently as chief editor of a German public broadcasting service. Together they have collaborated on several TASCHEN titles, including Masterpieces in Detail, Pieter Bruegel, and Francisco de Goya.