Books in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Series series

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

Works of art are eloquent intermediaries. This title provides an introduction to the painted pottery that served specific utilitarian functions and that afforded artists a medium for depicting their gods and heroes and the details of daily existence.

Features sixty-five iconic bronzes that display a range of subjects, from portrayals of the noble Indian to rough-and-tumble scenes of rowdy cowboys to tributes to the pioneers who settled the lands west of the Mississippi.

"I never conformed to any sort of fashion ideal. My idea was always to show reality, even though I started at Savile Row and ended up at Givenchy in Paris; to depict the times I live in." -Alexander McQueen, Harper's Bazaar, September 2008