Andrea Kirsh
Andrea Kirsh is an independent scholar and a curator.
Kirsh, Andrea
Kirsh, Andrea
United States of America
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Description: Seeing Through Paintings: Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies
https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00110
This clear and accessible handbook introduces the nonspecialist to the physical examination of easel paintings and the historical and critical implications of such study. It takes the reader through the various layers of paintings, from support to varnish, and looks at information that might be attached to a painting’s reverse, as well as the physical circumstances of its display. The authors demonstrate how this knowledge contributes to a wide range of historical and critical approaches, including iconography, regional and colonial studies, examination of artistic intent, interactions among artistic schools, and the history of collecting and exhibition.

The book offers the only comprehensive discussion available on materials, techniques, and condition issues in Western easel paintings from medieval times to the present. It includes detailed case studies of 25 paintings by artists from Giotto and Leonardo to Vermeer, Degas, and Pollock. The book is aimed to benefit beginning or advanced students of art history and their teachers, as well as painters, collectors, museum docents, and conservators.
Print publication date April 2000 (in print)
Print ISBN 9780300080469
EISBN 9780300230024
Illustrations 268
Print Status in print