Look At This If You Love Great Art: A critical curation of 100 essential artworks • Packed with links to further reading, listening and viewing to take your enjoyment to the next level

by Chloe Ashby

Look At This If You Love Great Art is a must read for anyone with a passion for exceptional art. Featuring 100 of the best artworks ever produced, inside is a collection of insightful summaries on just what it is that makes each one so vital.

Art writer Chloë Ashby talks you through the pieces that resonate with her, revealing the fascinating stories behind them and offering her considered take on why each work should be regarded as a pinnacle of artistic endeavour. With entries curated to offer a unique juxtaposition of styles, mediums and schools of art, expect a contemporary take on classic artworks, where titans of art history cross paths with under-appreciated examples from outside the traditional canon, and where rebellious visionaries blaze trails that still influence today’s cutting-edge artists.

Covering all the most important genres of art –Abstraction, Pop Art, Surrealism, Renaissance art, Impressionism and more – this engaging summary only deals with artworks that really matter and the reasons why you have to see them.
 

• ISBN13: 9780711256064
• Publish Date: 1 June 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 July 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Ivy Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Look At This If You Love Great Art is an engaging and accessible examination of 100 works of art presented by Chloë Ashby. Due out 6th April 2021 from Quarto on their Ivy Press imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is such a well written and erudite book of art criticism. Despite never having had much formal art education (music was my groove), I had no trouble understanding and following the salient points made by the author. Many of the works are so well known they've become a part of the collective consciousness. The commentary invites the reader to take a new look at them as the artists likely intended (as artworks and not as a vehicle to sell tea or cars to consumers). Additionally many of these works were previously unfamiliar to me and I enjoyed being exposed to new artists and works to follow.

The entries for each work contain the artist's name, the title of the work, the date (of completion?), and a description and commentary. Additionally, each of the entries contains further resources for a deeper look at allied artists' works, the physical collection in which the artwork resides, and books/films/podcasts which will provide further enhancing information with which to experience the artwork. The entries also include a color photo of each work which is high enough definition to get a good idea about the piece and examine general details.

The book's chapters are arranged thematically: works with strong emotional responses, nudes, revolutionary works, religion & myth, dreams & fantasy, ordinary objects, nature, political and social commentary, relational works, and land-/city-scapes.

This would make a superlative selection for library acquisition, maker's spaces, artist's studios, classroom, and home use.

Five stars. Not at all dry or inaccessible.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.