[.ca] The Annotated Mona Lisa (ISBN 0836280059)

Useful:
I've found this book to be helpful as a teaching tool. I teach from Gardner's, but this book helps me to focus my lectures, since I can't cover absoultely everything in class. My only gripe is that on the book flaps Strickland unnecessarily pans introductory art textbooks in order to bolster her own book, saying "The Annotated Mona Lisa isn't bogged down with convoluted theories or author's pet peeves," or jargon. Being someone who has read Janson, Gardner's and Stockstad, I can honestly say that these books are quite approachable and traditional, and can not be sweepingly characterized in that way. My feeling is that these statements may be a manifestation of her own feeling of alienation from the academic community; her work appears in some venues -- the Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, Arts and Antiques -- that aren't exactly on friendly terms with the academic world of art history. Fortunately, however, the actual text of Strickland's book does not resort to backhanded and reactionary gripes about other authors' approaches to art history. Strickland and authors of college-level introductory textbooks have different goals and intentions. Textbooks offer a kind of engagement with the material that is essential to any comprehensive study of art history. The author does a good job of touching on key issues, but the book could not possibly serve as a replacement of introductory texts such as Gardner's, Janson, or Stockstad. For the person with a only a casual interest in art history this book would be a very nice thing to have on hand. It would also serve well as a study aid for a student who is taking an in-depth art history course.

a wonderful introduction:
The Annotated Mona Lisa is a fabulous introduction to the history of western art from pre-history to the Post-Modern era. Artists, movements, vocabulary, and specific works of art are all discussed in enough detail to give the reader a very good foundation. The only thing lacking is that it is oriented exclusively towards Western art. Boswell has done a marvelous job on the art of the West, its a pity attention was not given to the art of Asia, the Americas or Africa - especially considering the influence these regions have had on western art through the ages. Nonetheless, a recommended resource.

Too much fun:
Sadly, I have to thank this book for sparking my interest in art history. Now that I know more about the subject, of course, I can see how simple and inadequate "The Annotated Mona Lisa" really is, but for anyone who is grossly unfamiliar with art, as I once was, this is a fine place to start. The book's coverage of pre-Renaissance art and non-Western art is limited, but the sections on 19th- and 20th-century art are fairly thorough, and certainly entertaining--you've gotta love those gossipy stories the author throws with her descriptions of every artist. I heard somewhere that someone read this book and then scored a 5 on the Art History AP exam without doing any other work, but having just taken the test I very much doubt this is true. Art History students might benefit from reading the chapter on modern art, since the AP doesn't require much knowledge about 20th century art movements beyond their general characteristics, which "The Annotated Mona Lisa" provides. The rest of the book, however, is guilty of dangerous oversimplification, and probably wouldn't be useful to serious students, though it is still way too much fun.

Great source:
I use the Annotated Mona Lisa in my 8th grade Art History class. Throughout my years of using it I have seen this as my most reliable source of information. Each period or movement is well introduced and there is a lot of information on each major artist. It is filled with many colorful quotes, all coming from people of the time period. Overall I consider this a great source and I recomend it to any aspiring art historians. im 14

Art History made Easy:
You will find no easier way to get an overview of Art History. Despite the casual looking approach of the book, after reading it, you could hold your own with any art buff by distinguishing between art movements, artists, their works and how they relate to each other. With instructive graphics and readable text, you can progress easily or skip around and digest small amounts at a time. There are helpful charts that compare and contrast works of art at a glance, for instance, distinguishing artworks done by different artists but are in similar styles. Timelines and even a map help show where artists and their works fall chronologically and geographically. A few diagrams illustrate structures and designs of relevant architecture. The photographs of the art work are adequate, since this is not a 'picture book' like those glorious coffee table books brimming with full page colour reproductions. The greatest feature is how it puts everything in perspective. Where other books of this subject matter could be dry and plod the reader through one artwork after another, this one engages the reader with it's conversational and enthusiastic tone, facilitating comprehension of both details and larger concepts.