Art Essentials: How to Understand Art

The visual arts enrich our lives in many ways: bringing innovative ideas and the pleasures of beauty and emotion, but they can also confound. How To Understand Art sets out to enhance the viewerÆs experience by breaking down the elements of art and sculpture to provide a firm basis for simple enjoyment as well as further investigation.

With 100 visual examples drawn from across the globe, the stress is on how to assess art objectively û a key skill for any art student, museum visitor or cultural enthusiast. Janetta Rebold Benton guides the reader to re-evaluate their experiences of looking at art by learning to move beyond æI donÆt know much about art, but I know what I like,Æ and shift towards an understanding of æwhy I like itÆ.

Materials and techniques are discussed û drawing, painting, printing, photography, sculpture and decorative art û making it possible to assess what can (and cannot) be done in certain media. The book also features a section devoted to six key artists wh