Pictorial space

Emma — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

For more than six centuries, European painters have been ambitious to depict objects as if they possessed volume, placing them in a space that seems equivalent to the real space of our world. This “fiction” was central to the artist’s purpose. Through a close examination of paintings from the 1400s to the early 20th century, including works by Uccello, Vermeer, Titian, and Monet, Nicholas Penny explains in this latest title in the National Gallery’s Closer Look series how artists sought to make the fiction of pictorial space compelling, not only through the use of linear or aerial perspective, but also through the choice and intensity of color, the variations in light, and the texture of the painted surface.

Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Frames

Emma — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Frames often catch the eye and arouse the curiosity of visitors to galleries and museums, yet labels and catalogues rarely comment on them. Nicholas Penny conveys his interest in the history of frames, the design and techniques of frame-making, what frames do for paintings, and the part they play in the decoration and often the architecture of an interior. The emphasis is on the changing function and varied purpose of frames as well as the different styles of ornament, materials, finishes, and techniques used. This Closer Look guide is illustrated by frames from the National Gallery’s magnificent collection.

Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Penny, Nicholas – The Bell Bookshop

Pictorial space

Frames