Painting The Great Masters By Number

With over 350 photos and illustrations, Painting the Great Masters by Number can help crafters re-create a masterpiece with step-by-step, carefully explained techniques plus tips and hits that make a work of art readily achievable.

A revised and enlarged edition of Painting lessons from the great masters.

This book decodes the imagery of more than 150 of the most influential and admired artworks of all time.

A book whose sales have not diminished but rather increased dramatically since its publication 45 years ago, this bestselling classic is the ultimate manual of drawing taught by the late Robert Beverly Hale, who’s famed lectures and classes at New York City’s Art Student League captivated artists and art educators from around the world. Faithfully producing and methodically analyzing 100 master drawings—including works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rodin, Goya, and Rembrandt among others—Hale shows how these artists tackled basic problems such as line, light and planes, mass, position and thrust, and anatomy. With detailed analytical captions and diagrams, every lesson is clearly delineated and illustrated. Throughout, also, is commentary that sheds light on the creative process of drawing and offers deep insight into the unsurpassed achievements of the masters.

Discover the secret symbols and meaning behind 62 featured paintings in this unique volume. Ranging from Giotto’s 14th-century painting of the Last Judgment to the 19th-century symbolist Gustave Moreau’s depiction of Jupiter and Semele, each work has been selected for its own symbolic enigma. This book’s innovative design pairs each painting with a page of die-cut windows that help the reader focus on specific aspects of each painting and features captions that highlight the most important symbols. Other works in this unique and fascinating book include Renaissance masterpieces such as Botticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment.

Painting technique is a relatively neglected aspect of art history, although technique is vitally important in the development of painting styles and movements. In this volume, the techniques of 77 of the world's greatest painters are examined in over 100 of their finest paintings. This comprehensive study shows the development of technique from the frescoes of Giotto to the acrylic paintings of David Hockney, revealing the extent to which changes of technique and the evolution of artist's material went hand in hand. Some of the unique features of the book are: -- A concise description of the career and general technique of the artist -- Actual size details indicating the scale of the work -- Diagrams showing the unpainted blank surface and subsequent sizing stages -- Illustrations demonstrating the underdrawing of the work -- Reproductions of the whole painting and a series of details -- Extensive captions to explain the relevance of each detail This book, compiled with the aid of a team of 14 technical consultants, experienced as either picture conservators or art historians, is an invaluable tool for the appreciation and understanding of the great paintings of the past and the present.