The Story of Painting by Wendy Beckett

As someone who last took an art class way back in 8th grade and had little appreciation for any of the "masterpiece" paintings, I had little use for art books.  I enjoyed quick trips through art museums and galleries on occasion, but had no interest in *art appreciation.*  I got stuck in J. Paul Getty's Museum once--for too many hours.  Talk about dull.  (Don't egg me; I had had just turned 18 and would have rather been down on that beach there in Malibu.)  However, after stumbling into Wendy Beckett's Story of Painting at the library recently, I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting art books could be.  I just needed someone to explain it to me!  After spending some time with The Story of Painting, I think I might actually be able to appreciate the J. Paul Getty Museum.  Truly, I think that books like Story of Painting or Annotated Art can give the artistically challenged a real appreciation for the works of the great and near great; that way, when they go to an art museum, they can actually appreciate it a little more.  I think a trip to a museum prior to having a little education could be a waste of time.  Being able to know that Rubens was known for his talent with skin tones or that Monet was an Impressionist can help students to actually have something to look for or talk about while at the museum.

Here's my story.  I was waiting in line to use the computer in the children's section at the library.  So, I started to absentmindedly browse.  I happened to be looking at the art section and pulled out The Story of Painting and Annotated Art.  I paged through them and brought them home.  One painting that I kept seeming to accidentally turn to was Las Meninas.  I didn't like it.  It was just too striking or grating or something.  So, finally I read the notes on it in one of the books.  At that point, I started to gain an appreciation for the painting.  Knowing that the artist was actually painting the people in the mirror (seen in the background) was sorta neat.  Then finding out that the picture is really what the subjects of the painting are seeing as they pose was amazing.  It's really a creative painting.  In fact, I'd now like to go to the Prado to see it!

When I found out that Velázquez was the artist, I got to thinking that we had a book called I, Juan de Pareja about one of Velázquez's apprentices (actually it was his slave).  So I ended up reading I, Juan de Pareja to my 14 and 12 year old children.  They enjoyed it.  It is a good story about a slave who works for Velázquez at the royal court in Spain during the reign of Philip IV.  This Newbery Award winner covers Velázquez's painting style, his trips to Italy, his visit from Rubens, his family life--all seen through the eyes of Juan de Pareja.  I, Juan de Pareja is an excellent read aloud, especially helpful if you're doing a study of Velázquez.  The Princess and the Painter and Velázquez by Raboff are two other books our library had on Velázquez.  (painting of Juan de Pareja)

One of my favorite features of The Story of Painting is the annotated pages.  Usually consisting of a two-page spread, one side is the painting and on the facing page are comments on details of the painting.  I've made a list of the works that are annotated by Wendy Beckett and placed it in the table below.  An example of the types of topics covered in the annotated commentaries would be how the painting Da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci was set against the dark, spiky leaves of a juniper bush.  Ginevra's name is related to the Italian word ginepro which means "juniper."  Of course, much more information is presented for each annotated painting, but I can't give it all due to copyright considerations.  In another painting, Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Manet, we are directed to view some easy-to-overlook legs of a trapeze artist up in the corner.  We're also let in on the secret that Manet's friends can be seen in the audience.  These little snippets of information make art so much more interesting than it might be for the novice.  Of course, there are plenty of comments on topics for those more familiar with art such as brush strokes, lighting, perspective, etc., included in the annotated sections.
 

Each section begins with a short introduction to the period in question.  A two-page timeline that features about a ten paintings from the period is then provided.  Next starts the text, which is liberally peppered with artwork--all in color.  The photographs are well reproduced.  The text is full bodied, but easy to understand.  The historical environment is discussed in detail, such as explaining the gap of 100 years between Giotto and Masaccio being a result of the Black Death.  Influences on the artists from other spheres are also explained and discussed with varying degrees of thoroughness.  The distinguishing characteristics of artists and their paintings along with how they influenced other artists is included.  The text is detailed, but not so much so that it's not also interesting.  Wendy Beckett's conclusions don't seem wild and crazy like some I've run into by critics trying to interpret the meaning of a painting.  Her analysis and conclusions seem reasonable--not artsy or esoteric.

As for the artwork included, the major artists almost always have more than one of their paintings included.  For example:

• Cézanne, 4
• Van Gogh, 4
• Manet, 4
• Goya, 5
• Gainsborough, 3
• Vermeer, 3
• Rembrandt, 6
• Velázquez, 4
• Rubens, 5
• Brueghel, 4
• Titian, 3
• Raphael, 4
• Michelangelo, 5
• Da Vinci, 4
• Bellini, 4
• Botticelli, 3
• Van Eyck, 3
• Giotto, 3

How do we use this book?  Just as the above example of Velasquez shows.  The next artist that my 14-year-old son studied was Giotto.  I found a rather easy biography about Giotto that he read.  He then read the sections about Giotto in The Story of Painting and Gombrich's Story of Art (to get another viewpoint).  He also perused a couple of books with Giotto's paintings in them from the library.  Of course, The Story of Painting all by itself contains a whole lot of information itself and can completely stand on its own as an art appreciation book.

Originally, I checked the 1994 version of Story of Painting out of the library.  When I decided to buy a copy for us, I found that BookCloseouts.com had a copy of it for $19.99.  However, I decided to see if there was a newer version of the book out.  At Amazon.com I saw that there was an "upgraded and expanded" version, so I had to buy that so that I didn't miss any of the new pics that Wendy Beckett had commented on.  I was disappointed in the new edition, though, because there was nothing new in the book except large details of quite a few of the paintings.  No new text, no new paintings, just full-page details of paintings that are already included in the 1994 version.  A detail is a tiny portion of the painting blown up so that tiny details of the painting can be seen.  Since, we're not serious artists, these details aren't necessary for our enjoyment and appreciation of the paintings.  If only they had included some comments from Wendy as to why they chose those specific details or maybe some comments on what is so interesting about the details (brush strokes, pigments, ???), but huge enlargements of little bits of paintings are almost meaningless to me.  I'm not sure what the point is of re-releasing this book when Wendy Beckett doesn't even make any comments on the new pages.  So, if you have a copy of the 1994 version of this book, you may not want to upgrade to the newer version.  I know that I wouldn't.  (Please be aware that Amazon is calling it a 2nd edition at times.)

Another possibly negative feature is that this book is solely interested with Western Art--predominantly European with a few paintings from United States' artists thrown in.  It has a rather European view of things.  Artists from the other 5 continents are left to fill another book, I suppose.  Possibly Wendy Beckett's expertise doesn't extend to South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia.  Really, though, it's not a problem if you're aware of the scope of the book prior to purchase. 

It's a great book.  I can't say enough good about it.  Maybe it just caught me at a time when I realized that I was artistically illiterate ... no, it can't be that because I've known that for years.  I guess this book just speaks to the novice, the person that thinks of herself as unartistic and unable to understand what the great masters of art were trying to accomplish.  Wendy explains art history in an interesting way.  You don't have to have any sort of preliminary instruction to understand her.  You can just pick up the book, flip to any page, and start reading and enjoying paintings and explanations of paintings.  Wendy Beckett makes art easy to appreciate; understanding art and the artists of old is completely possible.  It's definitely an excellent introductory art history book.

The Story of Painting by Wendy Beckett If you buy a used copy from Amazon, please make sure you're getting the edition that you want!

We did much the same here at home with a little more variety!  We have used Klutz Kid Kits (clay, hemp bracelets, watercoloring), gouache paints, regular watercolors, acrylic paints, pottery wheel, construction paper, Kids Art book, how-to-draw books, Rainy Day Book, made candles, whittled soap.  My 14-year-old son has just about made it all the way through Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain--an excellent book, by the way.  (Accompanying workbook)