Appreciating Art: An Expert Companion

The Sunday Age

Sunday August 17, 2008

Lucy Sussex

culture

APPRECIATING ART: AN EXPERT COMPANION

Diana Newall

Penguin, $29.95

I used to have an expert companion in art, whose gallery explanations could garner an unintended audience, following us from painting to painting like a string of ducklings. This book is not such a personal tour guide, but it is eminently suitable for your next gallery visit. The focus is on learning how to appreciate art, specifically the Western cultural tradition. We may know what we like, but Diana Newall aims to educate us further. She begins with art historian Erwin Panofsky's three-part analysis of how to read a painting. Then follow nine chapters, on categories of painting, from the nude to landscape. Not all the illustrations will be familiar, even to art buffs - Newall ranges widely. Though the book is more about history than modernity, the final chapter deals with the past 108 busy years of art. While the pages are glossy, the book is not expensive, and proves an attractive production packed full of information and visual germs. It is perhaps not up to the standard of Betty Churcher's classic Understanding Art. However, if you want to learn about art, and how to enjoy it, here is an ideal gallery companion for you.

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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