Look At This If You Love Great Art

I can't imagine loving a book of art criticism more than I loved this book. From the beginning, its erudition and warmth and enthusiasm reminded me of another one of my favorite authors of historical, artistic, and literary history, Simon Schama. Then I saw on the page I was reading, at the time, that Ashby happened to be recommending one of Schama's books to me as a way to increase my understanding of her theme. It's a book I'd not known about before: Rembrandt's Eyes--and I immediately requested from my library.

Such lovely synergies kept happening as I read on. This book is such a treasure trove of thoughtful art criticism, history, and suggestions for further study. Each page of Ashby's book provided new leaping-off points. I especially loved the literary tie-ins that Ashby suggests about the art she's critiquing. Some of her suggestions are directly relevant, like Schama's book about Rembrandt, on the page about Rembrandt's early self-portrait; others are marvelous leaps of thought, like when Ashby suggests I read Reni Eddo-Lodges's "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race" as a way to meditate more deeply on Manet's "Portrait of a Black Woman," or suggesting I read Elizabeth Strout's novel "Olive Kitteridge" after pondering the quiet strength of Vilhelm Hammershoi's painting "Rest".

Some of the art work here was familiar, but Ashby opened my eyes to see it in new ways--to ponder, for instance, the audacity of Courbet's "Desperate Man" self-portrait painted when he was only twenty-four. Other works were completely new to me. I enjoyed the ahistorical choices Ashby made, where works were arranged through loose themes rather than chronologically. It's a book that looks for human connections across the ages rather than emphasizing historical differences.

One of the delightful if vicarious pleasures, since I read this book in covid times, is imagining a time when I might be able to see some of these works for myself--and Ashby lets me know along the way where each of the works she critiques exists in the real world. It's the right book at the right time for me. It's one of the most pleasurable times I've ever spent with a book.

I'm reviewing this book as an e-ARC thanks to the publisher but it's a keeper for me--I plan to buy it as soon as I can.

Art is one of the most personal things in life. To postulate a “100 essential art” is an individual”s view, if not a preposterous undertaking. Add to it the author’s statement: “I set my sights beyond the mostly white, mostly male canon.” To squeeze magnificent art into a tiny woke drawer irks me. The military style user guide “See this! Visit this! Listen to this!” did not do much for me either. The chapters (e.g. “You Can Leave Your Hat On” or “The Balance Of Power”) intrigued me more and made it possible to jump between styles and centuries, so that each work came as a surprise. Ashby eases us in with a Rembrandt self-portrait, a Courbet eye candy and a tranquil Hammerskøi, but do not relax yet. You get a Rothko - two blue squares on a maroon background - and It is supposed to “spark a potent response”. Nope, nothing for me.
I liked the proffered hand to walk me through paintings, with snippets of the artist’s life and their context in history, but often the tone was too coercive - you MUST feel what I, the author, feels.
In these lockdown days and months, I miss galleries enormously and this book gave me a long list of must-sees to look forward to.
One of my (lofty) ideas when reqesting an ARC of this book was to reallyreally try and understand more about abstract art. Alas, Twombly, Malevich, Rothko, Mondrian...nope, you have not convinced me of their worth. And to follow up a Pieter van Bruegel masterpiece on Icarus with the crime-scene outline of the same subject by Matisse is almost an insult.

Minus: too French-centric, too wimmin-centric, too “tick-boxy”, a fair share of what I call “p***-take art”
Plus: given me great enthusiasm to go out and seek art, dwell on viewing paintings, remember artists I’d forgotten about (Dorothea Tanning) and discover artists yet unknown to me (Caillebotte)

Typos: Bruegel (not Breugel), Akademie der Bildenden Künste (not Künst), cherubim (not cherubin)

I liked this a lot even though it was different than I expected. This is a brilliant series of very brief info on many paintings grouped together with a little whimsy. It is a jumping-off point for art and these pieces, and doesn't have any depth. It will be great for those new to art or just curious, and not for anyone with much knowledge of art. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Pros: As someone who wished she had majored in Art History, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. From the digital copy I read, I assume that the printed copy of this book will be lovely with full-page photos of the artwork discussed. When reading the author's note at the beginning of the book, I was thrilled to read her intention to feature artists who were not all white and male. This book features 100 pieces of art and connects pieces that may not at first glance seem to have anything in common. This book is fantastic for readers who appreciate further learning--it offers suggestions of podcasts and music to listen to, articles and books (fiction and nonfiction) to read, museums to visit, and additional artists and artworks to explore. After reading this book once, I went back through to make a note of all the fiction books suggested as further reading because I love reading about art and artists.

Cons: None except that this book reminded me how much I miss travel and museums/galleries during the pandemic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quatro Publishing Group - Ivy Press for the opportunity to read this book!

No modern or trendy artworks but a nice collection not all well known works with some female and minority artists. The chapter titles are fun. Feels as it is grouped to help write an essays.

Well I took to this a lot more than I did its sister volume, concerning a hundred albums you should try and like (I tried, I didn't). Here our journalist and novelist guide takes us through a hundred artworks, forming a new option of a canon, meaning there are not always the usual and expected masterpieces (the van Gogh is especially an unexpected choice), but definitely a wide range that does manage to include some out-and-out classics. So for every birth of Venus we get a Hockney, ugly modernist ideas of nudes or pastry cooks sit alongside our waitress friend whose reflection is on the wonk, and so on. I certainly appreciated being brought to Girodet's "Endymion", one of the finest works I've so belatedly come to know.

For all the erudite discussion of the works, what they mean and wherefrom they came, though, we get the usual bordering-on-useless box-outs and infobanks to go with the style of the series. So we're often told where the pieces can be see in real life, as well as what and who else we should feel in the mood to explore further. These links away, when they leave painted and sculpted art behind, to bring in anything from novels to Arcade Fire tracks, seem rather too spurious to trouble with ("like Gaugain? Then read Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'!!"). What would have been much more useful is an indication of size – I think a Hepworth is lessened without knowing the dimension, and she's not alone. The Picasso here demands us knowing the medium, but it's not even mentioned.

Design-wise, the art works are presented well – only the curse of the centrefold struggling to get them across, and my digital copy avoiding that problem, of course. Script-wise, the plaint about the lack of women's prominence in art history comes across as a bit too 'woke' and of the moment, and could have been served with one grandstanding mention and not the many it gets. You don't get anything like a history of art here – there is no way you would piece together this person with that movement and that precedent. But the melange of different creations does provide for some kind of canon, and as far as a tasting menu can go to showing off a master chef, so this book can most suitably show off some of the most beautiful, distinctive, notorious or just pointless artworks that curators and art viewers alike can possibly hold dear. But... no Dali??

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book! I read the other two in this collection: photography and music. This series looks at collections of 100-item curated lists designed to display the best of art — now that’s a hard task. To only have 100? I recognized the challenge primarily when reading the music list. Everybody is going to have an opinion on this stuff. Everyone is going to say, well, I would’ve chose X and not Y. It’s just the nature of these things.

Out of the three books I’ve read in this collection, I like this one and the music one the best. I think that the range of art work showed in this book was interesting, vibrant, and educational. I like art and I have been to the museums around the world, and yet know very little about it all. I appreciate the beauty and the talent, but I’ve never been able to match artists to paintings (outside of the famous ones) or date something by a glance. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, so I actually found it pretty valuable to see a collection like this as a primer to the subject. I am curious to see how a seasoned aficionado would like this book. I know a loooot about music and music history, so I nitpicked the music book; I wonder if artists would do the same!

In all seriousness, I liked this book a lot. I think that it provides some really great details about art and its impacts, as well as its versatility and importance.

This book would make an excellent coffee table book and a nice book to keep on hand at homes as it will make such an inspiring conversation starter. I enjoy the book's design, it is easy to read, and the additional information (read, visit etc.) is fun to explore.

Look At This If You Love Great Art is a brilliant selection of 100 pieces of famous and not so famous pieces of art. I loved looking at the pictures and then reading the extra information provided. There were so many links and suggestions for further reading and investigation. My favourite painting was by Frida Kahlo and I really appreciated all the background information provided by the author. I spent ages browsing through the book and will definitely be ordering a hard copy for my coffee table.

I love the chapter titles in this book. Here are just a few: You Can’t Leave Your Hat On; Troubled Dreams; To the Barricades and Natural Wonders. There is wit here too, as, for example, the section with leaving one’s hat on is actually about nudes. There are ten chapters in all and 100 artworks discussed.

The author’s goal was to include both well and lesser known artists. She also wanted to cover a wide time period. Both the selections and commentary held my interest.

A feature of this book that I very much liked was about links. These include the topics “see this, visit this, read this, watch this, listen to this and like this? try these.” These greatly add to what readers can get from the book itself.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to know a bit more about history. It is very well done.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Look At This If You Love Great Art is an engaging and accessible examination of 100 works of art presented by Chloë Ashby. Due out 6th April 2021 from Quarto on their Ivy Press imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is such a well written and erudite book of art criticism. Despite never having had much formal art education (music was my groove), I had no trouble understanding and following the salient points made by the author. Many of the works are so well known they've become a part of the collective consciousness. The commentary invites the reader to take a new look at them as the artists likely intended (as artworks and not as a vehicle to sell tea or cars to consumers). Additionally many of these works were previously unfamiliar to me and I enjoyed being exposed to new artists and works to follow.

The entries for each work contain the artist's name, the title of the work, the date (of completion?), and a description and commentary. Additionally, each of the entries contains further resources for a deeper look at allied artists' works, the physical collection in which the artwork resides, and books/films/podcasts which will provide further enhancing information with which to experience the artwork. The entries also include a color photo of each work which is high enough definition to get a good idea about the piece and examine general details.

The book's chapters are arranged thematically: works with strong emotional responses, nudes, revolutionary works, religion & myth, dreams & fantasy, ordinary objects, nature, political and social commentary, relational works, and land-/city-scapes.

This would make a superlative selection for library acquisition, maker's spaces, artist's studios, classroom, and home use.

Five stars. Not at all dry or inaccessible.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is probably my new favourite book - very informative and essential for anyone who loves art and even those who don’t. A brilliant introduction to an eclectic mix of artworks, some famous, some less so. It would make a fabulous gift for anyone who appreciates art or even the perfect coffee table book. I particularly like the suggested reading links, lists of other artists and places to visit associated with each artist featured in the different chapters. Highly recommend and will be ordering a hard copy for my collection of art books.

I fell in love with this art book and may buy a copy for our homeschool. It's divided into sections that each have a theme, like exploring religion or boundaries or a different relationship with the subject. Each one tells you the artist's country, birth-death, who else to look at for similar works and more, plus goes into several paragraphs about the artist and the piece. I appreciate that the author is female and includes a ton of female artists and one famous non-binary artist I had never heard of, and she gives a decidedly progressive take on the history of the artists and their work. It's easy to read, frequently fascinating, and filled with honestly great art. It does have more European art than art from elsewhere, but there's still great diversity. You'll find many of the "greats" here but also some new artists to look up. I really enjoyed it.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I have never studied art but I have always enjoyed looking at great images. I loved this book as it not only gives a description of the imagery contained in every painting but also because the eBook gives links to further information. Each page has an 'If you like this then:- See This, Visit This, Read This, Watch This, Listen to This, Like This Then Try." Each link allows you to deepen your knowledge and experience more from the Artist.

I was struck by the quote from Camille Claudel "I am as mysterious to myself as I am to others" as this was the way I thought about Art. This book helps to take away some of the mystery and allows the reader to grow.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free review copy in return for an honest review.

Like all the Quarto books, it is a great picture book. It contains 100 great pieces of art; with explaination on side panels.
It has wonderful and fascinating pieces of art ranging from modern to stone sculptures.
Most of the artworks are less known and interesting.
Captions accompanying each piece is also well researched and intriguing.
A wonderful picture book. Highly recommended.

Art is subjective. These examples of different art work should make you feel something. My favorite part of the book is the author gives you names of other artists, you may not know about, if you like a certain work of art. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and finding out more about each work of art and the artist.

This book contains art from an amazing range of artists, time periods and styles, from the traditional white male canon such as van Gogh, Monet, Lowry and Degas to lesser-known female and BAME artists such as Carington, , Kauffman, Kasuma and Himid. I came across old favourites and new artists to explore. I loved the side panels with suggestions of places to visit, books and music that link to the artist and painting and similar artists. The book is organised into interesting categories. The commentary on the art is insightful without becoming pretentious. I read a free digital advance copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review, but this is a book that I will be purchasing to go back to again and again.

This is one of the few art books I have ever read that could work well for people who know nothing about art and a lot about art.
I have visited many art museums (before Covid), and have been lucky to have seen some of the works in the book (or other works by the same artist).
The text is straight forward, filled with info. Like the store function, when you buy something "you might like...", Chloe does with artists, which I think is really great to get to know similar artists. Easy beautiful read. I recommend it :).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The title of this book says it all.

Reading this book made my heart soar. I got no further than page 25 in my digital review copy, (the page depicts a strangely unsettling Mark Rothko), before I found myself moving to Amazon to purchase my own hardback copy (on pre-order as it will be published Apr 6, 2021).

This book is absolutely sublime and I need to view it, repeatedly. ❤️

Structured unlike any art book I have ever seen before, in a way that instantly resonated deeply with me, the author takes us through a soul-stirring examination of 100 pieces of art - not all of them classically beautiful but each of them destined to touch you in some way - arranged by unique and interesting thematic chapters including: emotional rollercoasters, nakedness, pushing the boundaries, mythical creatures, dreams, and the ordinary made extraordinary. (There are more but I have to leave some for you to discover!)

Not only does each page contain a beautifully rendered photograph of each piece of art discussed, but the author has done a phenomenal job of curating the pieces displayed into the themes, as well annotating each with additional material, including: where to find the piece, more information on each artwork, and (my favorite) other literary or artworks similar conceptually.

I have never enjoyed an art book more, lingering over each page and almost reluctant to turn to the next one, so wanting the experience to continue. I found myself learning about artists I knew nothing, (or very little) about, appreciating their work in a way I have not, and most of all, just living through the art, in the moment, - really luxuriating in each piece - and letting the authors guidance inform it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advance review copy of this beautiful book. All thoughts presented are my own.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

4/5 - Really liked it.

I don't consider myself an art expert, but I do love great art. I've been lucky to live all over the world and have seen my fair share of masterpieces - in breathless moments of adoration at the Tretyakovskaya Gallery or the Louvre, or simpler but more intimate encounters in cobblestoned art shops tucked into a more quiet part of the world.

Reading this book felt like encountering both. Ashby takes the reader on a carefully curated tour of some of the world's greatest art. She covers everything from the magnificent and splendid to the overlooked, with careful attention to female and non-Western artists, as well as less-known paintings by the commonly acknowledged "greats." Each painting is accompanied with a synopsis which highlights its history, cultural relevance, or details a viewer might miss. I especially enjoyed being exposed to art I might normally have overlooked. There are also recommendations for other artists, as well as similar music or reading material. To be honest, these recommendations were a little hit-or-miss for me (for example, when Life of Pi was recommended for lovers of Michelangelo's David - that felt like a stretch). But others are delightful - listening to the "Boogie Woogie Prayer" while looking at Piet Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie" made me appreciate the painting like never before.

Overall, I think this is a great book both for experts of art and casual fans. This is a book I can see myself coming back to frequently.

Whether you are already an art lover or just beginning to explore the genre this book is an easy to follow look at some of the worlds greatest painters. Chloe Ashby does a great job of selecting a variety of artists and styles to look into. Both modern art and earlier subjects are depicted to give you a glimpse into how extensive the art world can be. I enjoyed the layout immensely and appreciated the quick and to the point summaries of each piece and artist. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a short dive into painting and sculpture.

Elephant-in-the-room thing first: list books are always going to include things that the reader doesn't agree with, there will always be the question of why did the author include that/not include this? Lists are subjective, just put on your big kid pants and don't take it as a personal affront, okay?
Having said that, I didn't feel like Ashby was presenting these works as anything but her personal choices, she set that up pretty well in her introduction. Also, I never found her tone patronizing, or falling into that annoying "you must feel as I feel, for I am the expert" thing- I found Ashby's tone very inviting and inclusive. I liked the way this book is set up- ten chapters of ten works of art, each chapter being tied together by a theme rather than an art movement or time period, which was a fun way to experience the works. Each piece came with a side bar with suggestions of complimentary books, movies, books/short stories/essays, music, or other artworks to compare and contrast, as well as suggested artists to look up if the artist in question tickled your fancy. I appreciated Ashby's efforts to include artists that weren't white dudes- they're in there, of course, but they aren't the only aren't the only artists featured. I learned some really interesting tidbits about art, looked at familiar works with a new eye, and met some new-to-me artists, and isn't that the goal of a book like this? There were pieces I didn't care for, and that's fine with me- art is for everyone, not just people with my tastes. It was still interesting seeing these works, and learning why they're considered important. Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading this, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to take an imaginary art tour.

#LookAtThisIfYouLoveGreatArt #NetGalley

Look At This If You Love Great Art is an amazing reference book compiled of the greatest art pieces throughout history. It includes most famous works of art in every time period and style. With every work of Art, an in depth look into the history and meaning of the artwork is provided, as well as the artists bio, places to visit, reading materials, and similar artist recommendations. I loved reading about all of my favorite works of art and Look At This If You Love Great Art not only expanded my knowledge of the art and the artist, but provided me with more resources to read and places to discover.

No matter if you’re obsessed with art museums or you don’t know a Manet from Monet or if you think your 4 year old nephew could do the same thing, you 👏🏼 will 👏🏼 like 👏🏼 this 👏🏼 book. 👏🏼

This book chooses one piece from 100 of the most iconic artists and shows you exactly why these works are so amazing. Each page features gorgeous pictures of the art work and a quick rundown of notable things about the artist and the piece. To go beyond that, there are also sidebars on each page to give you movie, book, artist, music, and museum recommendations based on each work. So extra!!

The absolute best thing about this book is the amount of FEMALE artists! When you’re used to reading the same old, same old in art history books about male European masters, this book is a complete breath of fresh air. I learned about some women that I’d never even heard of before that I’m for sure looking more into. A third of this book is made up of females, which is still too small a percentage, but when it’s usually closer to 5%, you notice the jump!

This book is super accessible for any art lover level and doesn’t come across as snooty. You’ve got your big name artists as well as lesser known folks too, from the Renaissance to current artists.

Bottom line: If this is sitting on your coffee table, you’re going to look all bougie and cultured. Plus if you read up on this before your next museum trip, you will for sure impress your partner. And isn’t that our main goal in life?

I thought it would be fun to see how many pieces of art in this book were the featured art in Animal Crossing New Horizons.

1 of the 13 statues from ACNH is in this collections (not a surprise that it is Michelangelo's David), and 4 of the 29 (30 for the folding screen's two sides...) paintings. Just some trivia my mind needed to know after coming across one of the paintings.

Anyway, this is a solid book for those with an interest in art. My interest is very novice level, I like looking at nice art, I like going to museums, but I don't know anything about art history outside of what I've learnt from pop culture. Links to other resources for each piece of art was really novel and was a great addition to the book.

This would be a lovely coffee table book to give or receive as a present for anyone who has a little interest in art.

I am upset at myself that I didn't know this was a series of books, and hope to get to read the others once I'm able to request books from my library again...

A brilliant starting point and introduction to art. This is a great book for those new to art or simply curious, but not really for anyone with a strong knowledge of art looking to expand their knowledge. I would recommend this book.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!