The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (Volume 1) (Annotated Series)

This Book is short sweet and to the point. It breaks down art history to key characterizations and chronological ordering. It is much lighter and easier to understand and read than others

This book was KEY in helping me study for the art: content knowledge praxis exam. Much less time consuming then "Gardner's art through the ages", this book is broken down - not dumbed down. the facts are accurate and more than half of what i read was on the test. this book paired with "the art teacher's book of list" are perfect study aids for this exam.

I don't know much about art, and I wanted to learn a little bit more. That is the reason why I bought this book. Truth to be told, I was pleasantly surprised when I read it: it teachs you a lot, but it's also entertaining and... FUN TO READ. You end up wanting to read more about art, and from my point of view that's what makes a book successful, disregarding the subject matter."The annotated Mona Lisa" allows you to appreciate paintings you have already seen in a new way (you must try to pay attention not only to de color and composition but also to the historical circumstances in which it was painted, and to the meaning hidden in the painting) and introduces you to new ones.Carol Strickland, in the introduction to this book, tells us that "There is a world of difference between viewing a work of art and really seeing it - the difference between sight and insight". In "The annotated Mona Lisa" she tries to give us an insight into what art is really about, and in my opinion, she has a good deal of success.

It has been years since I got my degree in Art History. I found this book to be a great refresher. I wish I had this book when I was in college. This book has been well thought out and well designed and illustrated. I'm looking forward to reading the author's subsequent book "The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture."

This book is wonderful for several reasons:1) clear and concise; 2) inclusive of the audience; 3) makes art very approachable; 4) places art within its historical context and development; 5) quick reference;I was exposed to this book after taking various humanities courses and found this book great. It does a much better job of making art accessable than books like Gardner and Janson. I was impressed that the book covered a variety of bases without leaving too much out.The tone of the work was inclusive and allowed anyone with an interest in understanding methods, techniques, personalities and history of art to do well towards approaching that goal. It does not approach art for the few with a rarefied tone nor does it talk down to the reader.The layout of the pages are done well and have a decent flow of text and image. It does not, thank god, go into list memorization which is the downfall of some compact versions of some topics.Highly recommended for those who play academic tournaments at the high school and college levels. The topics covered and interesting personal history found in this book will be found at all levels of play. The pricing of the paperback version will allow people to compete very well indeed.For home schoolers/educators this book is a good survey introduction and is portable enough for museum trips.Very few books do so well with so much material to compress. Very impressive. The only thing I could wish further is a music history version of this work.

In such a short book, compared to other Art History books such as Gardner's Art History, etc., one may begin to wonder what this book has omitted. The answer is basically NOTHING. The difference between Gardner's and this book is that this book is a wonderful introduction to anybody appreciative of art but lacks the basic skills at analyzing and appreciating art to the fullest. 1500pg Art History books serve as a wonderful reference but as a poor introduction. Enter "Annotated Mona Lisa" , giving readers an introduction to art combined with attention-grabbing description and prose with the history and background of several thousands of years of art from pre-historic to modern. This book can serve as a study guide to much larger books, especially for those who take college art history classes or the AP Art History class in High School. This is a genuine MUST HAVE for anyone vaguely familiar with the term "art."