The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern (Volume 1) (Annotated Series)

"The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern" is more than a crash course, a term used for its catchiness. Actually, the book is a synopsis of art history and provides the lay person concise and brief explanations of history, movements, schools, and individual artists and artwork.

I taught art history for several years at the high school level and relied on [[ASIN:0131934783 Janson's History of Art 7th Ed.]] and Wood's [[ASIN:B000X6OPX4 Art of the Western World: From Ancient Greece to Post-Modernism]] as my personal instructors. Every night I had to slog through pages of information when all I wanted was something concise and to the point. "The Annotated Mona Lisa" would have served me well.

I found this the other day and popped my forehead (as in V-8 commercials) and asked aloud: Why didn't I use this book for my background? Apparently, I bought it then promptly forgot/misplaced/had little time to use it.

Here's why this book will be a companion for anyone interested in teaching him/herself about art history:

1. Five time categories (ex. Prehistoric through Medieval) with very clear subtitles (ex. Mesopotamia: the Architects)

2. Short explanations per topic. For example, two pages are devoted to "Prehistoric Art: The Beginning," with these sub-categories: Sculpture, Cave Painting, First Architecture, Stonehenge: England's first rock group, accompanied by blocked paragraphs about Horse (cave painting), Prehistoric Treasure Trove (Lascaux cave finding), Easter island Monoliths, and photographs of the Venus of Willendorf, Stonehenge, and a horse from the caves.

3. More detail is provided as art progresses. For example, the unit on the Baroque is subdivided into Italian Baroque (3 pages), Flemish (2 pages), Dutch (5 pages), English (3), Spanish Baroque (2), and French (2).

4. To keep the reader grounded, a time line cross-sectioning world events and art history is placed at the beginning of each of the five time categories.

This is one of those must-have books for its brevity and utility. Whether you are learning from the very beginning or need a refresher course, "The Annotated Mona Lisa" will serve you well.

I bought this book to prepare for a state required exam for an art teacher certification test. The Praxis Art Content exam is required in my state to become an art teacher. I never had art in my primary or secondary school. It was not until college that I had my first formal art class. I am saying this to give you an idea of my previous experience with art, art history and choosing different art media. Pretty much everything that I knew up to this point was self taught through experimentation or research on YouTube. Even with the lack of experience, I was able to pass the Praxis exam on my first attempt.

I only had about a week and a half to study because I was taking test in between semesters. I used this book and an art history video on YouTube to prepare. After I had studied, I used the ExamEdge website to take some practice Praxis tests. Anything that I was unsure about during the practice tests, I went back to this book and studied up on it. There were literally questions on the Praxis test that looked to be pulled directly from this book, word for word.

While I bought this book to help me study for an exam, I am still keeping it. I believe that it will be a great resource in my future art classroom. It is also great to use to remind yourself about facts, art movements, etc that you may be a bit fuzzy on. It starts with prehistoric art and moves through Greek/Roman art, the Italian Renaissance and goes all the way through to modern art. It is written simply and doesn't have a lot of high-dollar words that a lot of art critics write with. While complex art language is great to hardcore art lovers, it is sometimes off-putting to your average person. This book is not like that....it is a very easy read. You will not become bored with tons of jargon. All of the important art vocabulary is there, but it is done without being boring or condescending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would buy it again.

I go to an art college and I'm majoring in art education. I bought this book in order to study for the art history section of my state's standardized test for educators license and it's proved invaluable. I've taken quite a few actual art history classes (mostly surveys of Western Art History) and this book does focuses almost exclusively on Western AH - so if you need information on African Art, Eastern, Pacific Islands, etc....you'll need another book. But this is a great review book that's easy to read (I read 10 pages a day for 20 days to study for the test and it was very very easy) -- especially if you've taken AH courses and just need a refresher.

I ordered this book because it was recommended by several users as a good overview to aid in my studying for the state board teaching exams. Having already completed my degree in 1998 I thought, not only, would it be a good studying tool without having to do any heavy reading but also a good resource in the classroom. The book was well sectioned, highlit many of the major movements as well as artists and had a large, readable print that was easy to follow without feeling like a textbook. It did not, however, entirely serve my purpose for one of the TExES teaching competencies for art was a knowledge in Asian and Middle Eastern arts. It was also missing a section in Oceania. As the title implies the book covers, predominantly, European styles with a sprinkling of Pre-Columbian, African and North American influences. Those taking the TExES (or any other Art/Fine Arts/Arts History students) should know that this is, indeed, a very good book for your classroom and personal library but should not be used a sole source for a complete art history overview.

Maybe once I read through the whole book I'll like it more, but in just flipping through it I am very disappointed in the number of pictures, size of them, and that so many are black and white. I really wasn't expecting black and white reproductions of paintings where the text right next to it is discussing the artist's use of color! We will use it, but I will have to supplement with bigger, color examples of art.

This book is good--just not what I expected. I had anticipated that each page would be formatted like the cover--a painting surrounded by annotations that explained the painting. Almost like having a guide in a museum explain what you should be looking at and why it was there. The interior book was nothing like the cover. I was a little disappointed. So just be warned, the cover is a misrepresentation of the book's content.

I used to teach undergraduate Art History. I wouldn't use this book as a textbook but it is serviceable for someone who wants a sketch of art throughout the ages. I.e., it isn't too academic.

This book is complete, yet succinct;a rare combination in one text. It is the most complete, cost-effective Art History book available. I highly recommend it for an entry level survey course.

I am currently using this as a textbook for a class. The Annotated Mona Lisa is a great product for anyone new to Art History and just as great as a review and reference for a student of Art History. The sections are clearly titled and the layout is very eye-pleasing. You aren't bogged down with excessive amounts of dates or technical information. Instead you are provided with examples of the types of art and diagrams of architecture styles. Plus, you even get short blurbs about interesting facts and comparison charts to help keep all the information straight.

I do have an adjustment to my initial 5 star review. Everything I said above remains true throughout the book, but it does get more difficult to read as you continue through the art movements. The best part about the first half of the book is how quickly she moves through the art and keeps things simple. Once she gets to the Renaissance and later movements her bias starts to show and you get too much focus on individual artists. Rather than focus on the details of movements as a whole (like at the beginning) you get more personal information related to some of the artists. Not at all an even distribution either. In fact, our class lamented that she basically glosses over famous women and tribal/non-Western art and only brings it up if it influenced one of her favored male artists. You don't even get a full page on tribal African art, but yet an artist who didn't even live to see his 30s will have nearly 5 pages.

Still a great introductory book to art. For someone who has never studied art history before this is a fantastic overview, but I highly recommend following up with more in-depth book on your favorite period.

This is a good book. But it has too few of pictures given this is a book about Art. Most of the pictures are rather small, half of them are simply black and white. I would give it 4 stars if the pictures were bigger.