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Making A Masterpiece

The stories behind iconic artworks
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( 55 ratings, 14 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
Making a Masterpiece explores what elevates artwork to the status of a masterpiece by tracing the stories behind iconic pieces such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans. It examines the historical, social, and political contexts that shape their legacy, revealing that greatness involves much more than artistic skill alone. The book culminates in the discussion of Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, a contemporary piece whose enduring significance is yet to be determined.
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Format: Hardback
$5500
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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 suits readers interested in art history, cultural studies, and the fascinating narratives that surround famous artworks. It will appeal to those who wish to understand the wider factors influencing art's impact beyond technique and aesthetics.

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A behind-the-scenes look at the most famous works of art in the world.

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

What makes a work of art a masterpiece? Discover the answers in the fascinating stories of how these artworks came to be and the circumstances of their long-lasting impact on the world. Beginning with Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, we travel through time and a range of styles and stories—including theft, scandal, artistic reputation, politics and power—to Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, challenging the idea of what a masterpiece can be, and arriving in the twenty-first century with Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, a modern-day masterpiece still to be tested by time.

Each artwork has a tale that reveals making a masterpiece often involves much more than just a demonstration of artistic skill: their path to fame is only fully disclosed by looking beyond what the eye can see. Rather than trying to describe the elements of greatness, Making a Masterpiece takes account of the circumstances outside the frame that contribute to the perception of greatness and reveals that the journey from the easel to popular acclaim can be as compelling as the masterpiece itself.

Featuring: Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli; Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci; Judith Beheading Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi; Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer; Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai; Fifteen Sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh; Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold), Gustav Klimt; American Gothic, Grant Wood; Guernica, Pablo Picasso; Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, Frida Kahlo; Campbell's Soup Cans, Andy Warhol; Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, Amy Sherald.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780711257078

Publisher: Quarto Publishing PLC

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 04 October 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Frances Lincoln

Illustration: 90 colour images

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 170.0mm

Height: 236.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 224

About the Author

DEBRA N. MANCOFF is an art historian and the author of more than twenty books on European and American art and culture. She lectures regularly at many of the major museums in the United States and United Kingdom. Based in Chicago, she is a Scholar-in-Residence at the Newberry Library.

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