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Every Picture Hides a Story

The Secret Ways Artists Make Their Work More Seductive
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( 90 ratings, 40 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Every Picture Hides a Story reveals the subliminal techniques used by great artists to encode secret messages and meanings in famous paintings. From Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to works by Michelangelo and Klimt, this book explores the hidden visual language buried beneath conscious awareness. With 86 full-colour images, it offers readers a fresh perspective on classic art and enhances their enjoyment by unveiling the covert symbolism that has been overlooked by most viewers and traditional criticism.
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Format: Hardback
$6364
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in arts and culture, especially those fascinated by art history, classic paintings, symbolism, and the hidden narratives within famous works. It suits both casual museum-goers and serious art critics seeking deeper insight into subliminal messages embedded in iconic artworks.

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No book, however, has ever attempted to provide an overview of the technical sophistication and arcane methods that artists worldwide have used to conceal secret meaning in their work. Every Picture Hides a Story is the first book to expose the subliminal content in the world’s greatest paintings.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Each year 11 million people trek to the Louvre to gawk at the Mona Lisa. Many visitors clutch guidebooks in hand describing the painting. For some, it’s the experience of a lifetime, one they’ll talk about with friends and family for decades. Yet some modern researchers say that the vast majority of people will never recognise the hidden messages in this painting. That’s because those hidden messages are subliminal.

Buried below the threshold of conscious awareness, Da Vinci used techniques people never notice. Not only don’t people know what they’re seeing, they would be shocked to find out.

A surprisingly large number of famous paintings fall into the same category. That is, they employ subliminal techniques to enhance the effectiveness of the work or to encode messages within portraits and landscapes. No book, however, has ever attempted to provide an overview of the technical sophistication and arcane methods that artists worldwide have used to conceal secret meaning in their work. Every Picture Hides a Story is the first book to expose the subliminal content in the world’s greatest paintings.

Titillating, subversive, and building on the groundbreaking work of pioneers of art criticism, this book will enable readers to view art masterpieces with greater understanding. And their enjoyment of these works will be exponentially enhanced.

This full-colour book contains 86 images of the paintings and their details.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as a "breath of fresh air" in art analysis, the book is recommended for its engaging and informal style, as well as its rich visual examples from 23 influential painters. Reviewers highlight its groundbreaking approach to uncovering secret meanings and its challenge to conventional art criticism, making it both an eye-opening and nourishing read for art enthusiasts.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781538161364

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 November 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield

Illustration: 85 colour photos

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 720g

Pages: 312

About the Author

William Cane is the author of more than a dozen books, among them such contemporary classics as The Art of Kissing, Fiction Writing Master Class, and Clubhouse Confidential. He has had a distinguished career as a professor of English at CUNY and Boston College, where he helped a generation of students discover the hidden content in works of literature and art. A former Massachusetts trial attorney, he is a highly sought-after speaker on the college lecture circuit. He has appeared on almost every major television talk show, including Today, The View, and CBS This Morning. A native of New York City, he lives in Westchester County.

Anna Gabrielle earned a certificate in world art history from the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC. She also holds a master’s in English, with her primary area of research focusing on the hidden symbolism in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings. A former commercial pilot for a major airline, she has studied paintings in museums on six continents. She lives in New York City.

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