Books in the A Closer Look series

Materials and working practices influence a painter just as much as contemporary intellectual and cultural developments. This title helps readers develop a painterly eye by learning to recognize different materials and methods of application and to appreciate how these features contribute to how a painting looks.

How do experts spot masterpieces? Paintings are not always signed or noted in historical records, so how can we tell an obscure gem from an altered image? Through a series of examples and processes, this title draws the reader into the complex issues confronted by gallery professionals.

Frames often catch the eye of visitors to galleries, yet labels and catalogues rarely comment on them. This informative guide offers insight into the various forms of frame housing some of the finest paintings in the National Gallery Collection. It includes some of the finest examples of the frame-makers craft.

Discusses and describes the material nature of paintings, how they age and the main types of conservation treatment carried out on panel and canvas paintings, along with some of the problems involved in cleaning and restoration.

How faces are captured shows in striking ways the artistic aims of those who painted them. But how can the depiction of a face suggest a personality? This book tackles this and other questions, and introduces such issues as the ideals of beauty and how portrait painters have captured a likeness and convey character.