Series: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - How to Read

An enlightening, accessible guide to understanding and appreciating European art from the Middle Ages How to Read Medieval Art introduces the art of the European Middle Ages through 50 notable examples from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, which is one of the most comprehensive in the world. This handsomely illustrated volume includes multi-panel altarpieces, stained glass windows, wooden sculpture, as well...

An accessibly written and superbly illustrated introduction to armor used for battle, tournament, and ceremony. This engaging book offers an introduction to and overview of armor in Europe from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, focusing in particular on the 16th century when plate armor reached its peak of stylistic beauty and functional perfection. Created by highly skilled armorers,...

The latest volume in The Met's How to Read series, focusing on the rich and varied textiles of Africa through forty exemplars from the nineteenth century to the present day. Across the African continent, handwoven cloth and clothing have historically been labour-intensive creations deeply embedded in local and regional value systems. These fabrics could be endlessly adapted to communal and...

This latest volume in The Met's acclaimed How to Read series explores the meaning of portraiture across time and cultures—from funerary masks to realism to abstraction. Portraiture goes far beyond capturing a likeness. Portraits speak to such fundamental human concerns as status, relationships, and identity. Featuring more than fifty works across time and cultures and in different media, from the...

Illuminating three centuries of European artistry and ingenuity, this volume in The Met’s acclaimed How to Read series provides a wide-ranging exploration of decorative arts from British writing tables to Russian snuffboxes. Featuring 40 objects from ceramic teapots to gold chalices, this latest addition to The Met’s How to Read series guides readers through a wide variety of decorative arts...

Featuring decorative, religious, and utilitarian objects from the Geometric period to the Hellenistic Age, this is the ideal introduction to Greek sculpture. Introducing eight centuries of Greek sculpture, this latest addition to The Met’s compelling and widely acclaimed How to Read series traces this artistic tradition from its early manifestations in the Geometric period (ca. 900–700 BCE) through the groundbreaking...

An indispensable introduction to the evolution of Buddhist imagery from its origins in India through its spread to China, Japan, and South Asia For more than 2,000 years, sublime works of art have been created to embody essential aspects of Buddhist thought, which developed and evolved as its practice spread from India to East Asia and beyond. How to Read...

An accessible introduction to the quintessential art form of the Islamic world How to Read Islamic Calligraphy explores the preeminence of the written word as a means of creative expression throughout the Islamic world. Aimed at a general audience, the book introduces all five major Islamic calligraphic script types, demonstrates their distinctive visual characteristics, and explains the various contexts in...

Chinese ceramics are among the most significant and widely collected decorative arts produced anywhere in the world, with a history that spans millennia. Despite the saturation of Chinese ceramics in global culture—in English, the word "china" has become synonymous with "porcelain"—the function of these works and the meaning of their often richly decorated surfaces are not always readily apparent. This...

The Chinese often use the expression du hua, "to read a painting," in connection with their study and appreciation of such works. This volume closely "reads" thirty-six masterpieces of Chinese painting from the encyclopedic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to reveal the major characteristics and themes of this rich pictorial tradition. The book examines multiple layers...

This handsomely illustrated volume is the second in a series of publications aimed at giving a broad audience deeper insight into the extensive collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum is famed for its Greek vases. Joan R. Mertens, Curator in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan, has chosen thirty-five notable examples. They reveal...

Carpets made in the "Rug Belt"—an area that includes Morocco, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and northern India—have been a source of fascination and collecting since the 13th century. This engaging and accessible book explores the history, design techniques, materials, craftsmanship, and socioeconomic contexts of these works, promoting a better understanding and appreciation of these frequently misunderstood pieces....