This should have been a good book. Art is such a wide field, and opinions hotly contested even among experts: anyone who likes art or is interested in learning more would welcome a guide to this complex world. But the author writes in a bone dry voice, and is long winded= making even simple sentences a slog to get through. In the end, this book seems written more for his benefit than others.

If you can't take one of the author's six-hour seminars, this book is the next best thing. With 45 color illustrations of key works, it attempts to cover the highlights of art history in a way that the reader can learn skills to discover the rest. The style is light-hearted and informal, but not excessively so. It even has phonetic pronunciations for unfamiliar names and terms. Even if you know nothing about art before reading the book, it will build your confidence and interest to explore more about art.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The text of this book is basically an adaption of a six hour lecture series on art by the author, which is nice, because most people don't have access to attend the lectures (I would love to, however). The tone is not exactly conversational, more casual and not full of terms and references you won't get, but not dumbed down either. Wisniewski helps put art into context, letting the reader see art with new eyes and a fresh perspective. A book to have, keep, and mull over.

#TheArtofLookingatArt #NetGalley

Gene Wisniewski adapted his 6 hour seminar on art history into this book and he did a pretty good job. I'm not sure exactly what I expected when I downloaded this ARC, I was hoping he would discuss specific paintings and artist and explain why they were so important to history. He does this a little but focus is on
When was the first art made?
Who decides which art is "for the ages"?
What is art's purpose?
How do paintings get to be worth tens of millions of dollars?
Where do artists get their ideas?
And perhaps the most pressing question of all, have human cadavers ever been used as art materials?
I wish there were a few more illustrations. I liked the writing style, more conversational than lecture. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Gene Wisniewski is an art lover, and The Art of Looking at Art is evidence of that. This book is adapted from the author’s seminar, The Six Hour Art Major Seminar. This is important to keep in mind, as the style of the book is as conversational and discursive as seminars tend to be. He moves easily from Jacques Louis David to the Harappan civilization of the Indus River Valley. He interrupts his discussion of the Italian Renaissance to discuss the work of Tim Noble and Sue Webster. These chronological jumps can be novel and show how artists have used wide ranging techniques to elicit a human reaction - regardless of the century.

The book is ambitious, seeking to address art history, the art market, celebrity in art, and how to approach and look at artwork. And, while the author touches on all of these topics, there is a lack of depth to the treatment of each. It would be an impossible task to present an in-depth exploration of all of these specialities in under 300 pages. Ultimately, this book is an excellent overview or high-level summary of the major movements and issues in the study of art and the art market.

This book claims to be for all audiences, but I think it is best suited for novices or those new to art and art history. It is overly general for the expert or anyone who has studied art and art history at the college or university level.

The strength of this work is in its conversational and approachable tone. Wisniewski never condescends to his audience. He reveals why the average person should care about historical and contemporary artworks in a way that is highly pragmatic and clear.

The later half of the book is the strongest. The author explains the elements of art - color, proportion, line, value, and texture. I may have preferred to have this section at the beginning of the book rather than the end. It would have given the reader some additional tools for viewing and analyzing the artworks reproduced in the book. His discussion of contemporary artists is much stronger and more interesting than his treatment of historical artworks - which seemed overly generalized. Due to the wide range of topics, the author often introduced a compelling question or problem, and then abandoned it in order to move on. For example, in describing Manet’s 1863 painting Dejeuner sur l’herbe, Wisniewski points out influences from Titian. He asks the reader to consider why Manet was referencing the artist, but then moves on without exploring that influence any further.

This is an entertaining and easy-to-read introduction to art and the art world. The footnotes are an excellent source of additional information for the interested reader. I enjoyed the book overall, even if I was underwhelmed by its summary treatment of art history in general.