Good and balanced view on the history of art. First half is very Europe heavy but the second part takes you around the globe and talks about a lot of different mediums.

The color coding on the pages for the second half that relates to the first section is clever and useful for anyone who wants to learn more about art. Some of the “consider this” sections are a bit obvious but I can see why they’re included if they want to hit a wide breadth of audience and previous knowledge.

The writing isn’t pretentious and it is all presented in a very readable manner. Didn’t include some artworks I consider to be very famous and influential but then also introduced me to others so in the end I’m not upset about it. I think when you’re working with limited space it’s impressive that it wasn’t only things I had seen before.

Susie Hodge's Elements of Art is an ideal choice for someone who is an enthusiastic newcomer to the world of the visual art. It is readable and concise, packed with information, yet not imcomprehensible. It gives the reader insight in the vast history of visual arts, but manages to balance on the thin line between being informative and overwhelming, always staying safely on the informative side. The reader gets to learn about the technical aspects of a painting, such as scale, color, light, movement, medium, technique, content, location, time and the artist. Each of those is given a specific color code, which is used in the second part of the book where actual paintings and artistic works are analysed, to mark down which aspects are applicable to that particular work. This largely contributes to compactness and comprehensibility and makes it much easier to navigate in the book.

I especially loved the "Consider this" box that contained various tips how to enhance one's experience and interaction with various pieces of art. It also provides a lot of side information, such as the science behind discovery of certain hues.

I very much enjoyed the author's choice of artworks to analyse. She chose the very famous ones, the less famous ones and some that were completely unknown to me, carefully selecting artists from all over the world. However, since the book does not have the ambition to become a sweeping all-encompassing Bible of the visual art, the choice is limited, as it should and must be.

All this is paired with beautiful graphics, colours and photographs, making this book a lovely potential gift for an amateur art lover. As far as I am concerned, it is a fascinating, inconspicuous book that has a great educational value.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗜 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

This is a non-fiction book about art, divided into two parts. The first part, ‘Elements’, comprises approximately 30% of the book, while the second part is titled ‘The Artworks’.

Part One delves into the technical side of Art, discussing the mediums, techniques, scale, and colours that were available or utilized.

In Part Two, we are introduced to various artists and one of their art pieces. The author goes in-depth about the elements used in each piece of art. She typically selects 3 or 4 of the elements to explain how they interact with each other and the overall effect they produce, dissecting the work of each creator.

This book was instrumental in helping me analyze and explore certain artists, and to better understand even those I initially didn’t favour.

The author has included a well-balanced mix of artists, both male and female. I was particularly pleased to see one of my favourites, Artemisia Gentileschi, featured in this book. While the book primarily focuses on paintings, it also covers other topics like photography and sculptures.

I read the eBook version, but if the printed version is as well-executed in terms of colour representation, it’s definitely worth purchasing in print.

4.3 artsy Stars for this book!

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓.

Some of us aren't born as artists and thus, we may only have a slight acquaintance with art. If that's the case, this book is an excellent introduction. The book covers most or all of the basic aspects of art for a beginner without being text-heavy or technical. It also includes examples of a number of famous works to examine and hopefully understand a bit better. This could work for older children and teens in school as a basic text too.

Overall, a lovely work. Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for giving me an advanced reader copy. I have written this review voluntarily.

This book gives the reader tools to examine and interpret art. It covers lots of elements in detail such as light, movement scale and medium. I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite paintings included in this book and learning new things about them.

Elements of Art does exactly what it says it will do in the description. It gives the reader the tools necessary to examine and interpret art. The elements, such as light, movement, scale, and medium, are described in detail and sections are color coded. The book even includes a section demonstrating the use of the elements to interpret works of art. I enjoyed the book and I’ll use it as a reference book.

First of all, a big thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, and Susie Hodge for giving me the chance to review this book prior to its publication. As always, my reviews are honest and the only incentive I receive is I get to read books early.

WHERE WAS THIS BOOK in all my years of art and art history classes I took. I loved the breakdown of the Elements of Art. This is written in a way that is easy to digest. It’s also colorful, which compared to most art texts, is a blessing. I enjoyed the art selected to be referenced in this book as well. It was well thought out and had unique pieces that not everyone would be familiar with.

Overall, I enjoyed this read - 5 out of 5 stars from me. And if you are someone who wants to get into art / wants to know more about some classic and newer art forms; well this book is definitely for you. Actually let’s be real, anyone could pick up this book and understand its content and that a major success. Bravo Susie for writing a stellar text!

interesting breakdown of famous paintings. I learned about a few of my favorite paintings, including Frieda Karol and Van Gogh. I am notmuch f9r art history, but it is always good to expand knowledge.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I develop instructional units where students analyze not only literature but visual art as well. We live in a time where A.I. will do as much of a person's thinking as the individual allows, but we still need art to feel connected to others and to have our feelings validated. This book has allowed me to speak about art in a more confident and generalized way. For instance, while discussing Saurat's use of stroke and color, I can compare it to other Impressionist artists too. My students seem to enjoy having the broader knowledge.

A very basic, entry-level introduction into art theory, really not jumping out among the many other entries in this genre at all. There is some variety in the pieces chosen to be analyzed (from ancient artifact to modern sculpture), but in the end, these were just some of the most famous artworks one can think of.

As an Art History minor, I thoroughly enjoy all things art- different styles, artists, periods. "The Elements of Art: Ten Ways to Decode the Masterpieces" offered a wonderful survey of the elements that make up art and features brief studies of some of the most famous works of art. I enjoyed the brief overviews of "medium," "movement," "light," and "color," to name a few, leading into a brief study of how those elements make up some of the most famous works of art, such as "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt and "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso (two of my favorites).

This book is concise but very informative and is a great introduction to the world of art or a good touch up on concepts you may be familiar with but have not explored in some time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review was shared on Goodreads.

A great book, filled with information that is useful to anyone interested in art. Filled with interesting little tidbits.

A creatively designed book which reproduced works of art - this book is a great introduction to appreciating art in a deeper way. It is clearly written and could be both a beginning point and also a review guide for the seasoned art lover.

I thought this was a great read for those looking to deepen an interest in art. As an ex art history student I hold a greta passion for art, but a lot of my knowledge has slipped away.

This book was a lovely reintroduction and I think it would make a gret introduction for others too. It has a good balance of information and brevity to appeal to those with traveling plans to the great art museums of the world; feeling more informed when they arrive.

I enjoyed the layout with an overview at the start and then appllying those interpretations to specific art works.

It was also chockful of female artists, which isnt always the case and as far as I could tell a diverse group of artists too.

There were some repetitions within the writing that I would have liked to have been picked up at the editing stage, but they didnt take away from the overall impact of the book.

Thank you @netgalley and Francis Lincoln for the opportunity to read the earc.

I personally think that thisnis a good book for beginner artists who wants to learn the basic elements for art but if you are like me whose degree is under Fine Arts, this book is just a good refresher for you as well. Although I like the 2nd part where it shows well-known artworks and it discusses how the elements are used in each of them which I think helps you develope your eyes and analyzing artworks in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily 💙

A very beautiful book delving into the world of art - techniques, artists, paintings, details all done perfectly. The information is easily digestible and understandable managing to never overwhelm the reader no matter how new they might be either to a newbie in the art world or a newbie to reading non fiction. An absolute recommendation!

If you are a beginner to appreciating art in a manner further than just looking at a piece and going 'ooh pretty' then this is a perfect book for you. After the introduction that explains the various elements of art (I appreciated the brief segment on pigments, as a painter, paint maker, and collector of pigment information, the history of certain pigments being mentioned is always important.) it presents various pieces of art and demonstrates how to appreciate them using the elements discussed early on. I am a dabbler of art history and have read quite a few books on how to look at pieces of art, but they are universally advanced, I really appreciated how this is for the casual art fan who might go on to become a hardcore art historian nut. It makes art approachable! I also really liked how the art displayed is varied, it isn't just the European classics, you have some pieces from antiquity, modern pieces, photography, sculptures, performance art, and art instillations. I do wish there was a little more focus on art from outside of Europe and the Americas, but I am glad that there was some, a lot of books just completely overlook other cultures, so I was glad to see at least one piece each from China and Japan.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for letting me share my honest opinions of this eBook.

Compared to a lot of my other art books, this is a lot shorter read.

The book is divided into two parts, the first third covers ten topics (or elements) to improve one’s reading of artworks, each one ends with a series of questions to get the reader thinking. These topics range from scale to colour to artist.

The remaining third gives a generous example of artworks and demonstrates how to read it by focusing on a couple to a few of these elements. The last few pages have a timeline, glossary and index. Each chapter is accompanied with images and covers a lot of information succinctly.

And though I was reading an early eBook version that wasn’t working as well on my Nook than on Netgalley’s app, I could envisage how this could be a fun accessible way of reading artworks.

My favourite part of this read is the inclusion of many, many women artists.

This book also made me smile, almost ten years ago (shy of a couple of weeks) I got this kindle book Everything You Need to Know about Art to help me read artworks better. It is also by Susie Hodge. If this book, The Element of Art ... , was available back then then I would have got this one.

What a fun and educational read for aspiring art aficionados and curious life long learners alike. The first half of the book outlines ten key elements of composition -- scale, light, movement, medium, etc. The second half allows the readers to become observers and practice what they've learned in a mindful guided exploration of some of the greatest works of all time from Van Eyck to Picasso.

A great gift for any art lover in your life!

Susie Hodge is author of more than 100 books on art history, artists, and art appreciation. These books range from introductions to art for all ages to stories of artists and their works. This book falls under the category of art appreciation- a term I dislike because it implies that you can’t “appreciate” art without learning something about it. But rather than talking down to the reader (as, alas, many do), Hodge speaks in a practical yet sophisticated voice that gives readers some of the tools they need to delve deeper into works of art.

The first section of the book is devoted to discussing ten elements that make up all art: scale, color, light, movement, medium, technique, content, location, time, and artist. Some of these can be studied without knowing much historical context or art techniques, but all of them can deepen understanding when you know more.

The second section of the book examines specific works of art against these ten elements. I was impressed at the diverse array of works chosen; included are female, male (and most likely non-binary) artists, works from several historical periods, and different cultures. Well known artists like Michelangelo and Andy Warhol are included, but so are Amrita Sher-Gil and Jenny Saville. She takes an exploratory approach rather than simply telling the reader what to think.

The one criticism I have of the book is that, although it states that its intention is to make “the casual gallery visitor” understand and get more out of a trip to a museum, a lot of what she shares only proves that knowing context and artistic techniques is necessary in order to fully understand art. For example, she explains Jan Van Eck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” by informing the reader of the rich symbolism that is contained in the painting that would have been known to the people of the time. Interesting stuff for sure, but how is a “casual gallery visitor” supposed to discover these things without additional study or taking extra time to listen to audio commentary as they proceed through an exhibit?

As a professor who has taught arts “appreciation” for over 20 years, I very much appreciate this book. I’m still trying to discover, however, how we break through the barriers for preventing more people from enjoying the wonder of art.

Thanks to Quarto and NetGalley for the opportunity to examine this ARC in exchange for my honest review.