Rating: 
Summary: Should be Story of Jesus Painting
Review: More than two thirds of the book is dedicated to paintings related with Christianity. And the real arts are either completely ignored or dealt carelessly. For example, The whole Van Gogh's paintings are described in mere four pages, while each of so may Christian related paintings by some obscure painters, is shown using four split pages. If your religion is Christianity and your objective is to investigate Christian paintings, this book should be fine. But for the rest of us who are not Christians, this book is not worth reading or looking at. There are so many other good art books out there without religious bias. This book is not about painting as described. It is about the Christianity religion disguised with "Painting".
Rating: 
Summary: Sister Wendy's signature style + Lush artwork = Great Book
Review: The expanded version of "The Story of Painting" features an exponentially larger selection of artwork and commentary from Sister Wendy; both being a plus that benefits the reader.This is not a dry, scholarly work, and I suspect the author would not desire it to be viewed that way anyway. What "The Story of Painting" brings to the reader is a very approachable style of writing and some of the most lush artwork you will see in any book on this subject. I was particularly surprised to see many works that I had never seen in any other book of this kind. Some were a revelation (like Tintorretto's "The Last Supper"), while others allowed - via the detailed closeups featured in the book - a closer inspection of brushstrokes and technique not normally covered in other historical painting overviews. "The Story of Painting" begins with short section covering works before the medieval era, mostly Greek, Roman, and Etruscan, then kicks into high gear before ending with the 20th Century. This concluding section is one of the weaker parts of the book, but I think it can be argued that the latter half of that time period has not produced many of the glorious works featured in other parts of the book. Too much time deconstructing art and not enough making soul-stirring paintings, I suppose. As with any Sister Wendy art book, you get the sage, grandmotherly insights into the works from a woman who deeply enjoys art. Other books impart a barrier between the works, the critical evaluation of them by the author, and the reader. Sister Wendy smashes that piece of artifice and seeks to draw people into the works themselves, not to critique them and simply move on to the next, but to give life to each work. She does this admirably, in my opinion. From time to time she does take more time to dissect a piece and look at it elements apart from the work as a whole, and in each evaluation she lends her knowledge of iconography and symbolism to help the reader fully understand the painter's intent. Very helpful. When compared with other art books, it becomes even more rare as it also might be one of the few books of its kind that would work well as a primer for parents sitting down with children to examine the works together. Lastly, the book itself is classic Dorling Kindersley: bright, white, glossy paper; easy to read, well-spaced typesetting; beautiful and large illustrations; helpful sidebars; and just an overall feel of quality. It's quite hard to find fault with the book. And as an expanded version of the original, it works faultlessly. This hefty tome practically defines the phrase "coffee table book". At 736 pages in length, its sheer heft would make it a fine weapon against your least favorite sneering, art critic! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing work of art -- and teaching art
Review: The first time I came across Wendy Becket's "The Story of Painting", I was taking some History of the Art classes and I thought this book would be very useful for my lessons. I was completely wrong. It was not only useful for my course but also for my everyday life as an art enthusiast. Now, three years and much more experience later I still have this book at hand because I always want to check something about a painter or a work. Her stile is unique and easy. Although the book is chronological developed, one can pick a picture at randon and read and learn about it. It deals with the whole history of painting since the primitive humans to the late 20th century artists. It is packed with beautiful colourful paintings that are a refresh for the eyes - some readers may find funny what I said hence the fact I am writing about a of about art, but I myself have some art history books in which most pictures are black & white, what can be very frustating. In the begining of every section, there's a very complete timeline showing historical and artitics events of each era. And in every single page there are some margin notes about any relevant point related to the main picture such as times, characters, literature... But the most important thing, to me, is the study of the paintings. They are very detailed and easy to understand even for those who always complian not understanding art. Evey tecnical term that the writer uses is explained in an easy way. It seems to me that the only thing that this book misses out is sculpture. But it is not actually a problem, once the book is about painting. I feel that after reading and studying most of this book - I haven't read everything yet- I've never looked to a painting as I did before. Now I know how to analyze and really enjoy it. I highly recomend this book for those who when contemplating a painting can only say " OH! That's beatiful!",because everybody says so. This book will give you background to say why a painter is good or not.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing work of art -- and teaching art
Review: The first time I came across Wendy Becket's "The Story of Painting", I was taking some History of the Art classes and I thought this book would be very useful for my lessons. I was completely wrong. It was not only useful for my course but also for my everyday life as an art enthusiast. Now, three years and much more experience later I still have this book at hand because I always want to check something about a painter or a work. Her stile is unique and easy. Although the book is chronological developed, one can pick a picture at randon and read and learn about it. It deals with the whole history of painting since the primitive humans to the late 20th century artists. It is packed with beautiful colourful paintings that are a refresh for the eyes - some readers may find funny what I said hence the fact I am writing about a of about art, but I myself have some art history books in which most pictures are black & white, what can be very frustating. In the begining of every section, there's a very complete timeline showing historical and artitics events of each era. And in every single page there are some margin notes about any relevant point related to the main picture such as times, characters, literature... But the most important thing, to me, is the study of the paintings. They are very detailed and easy to understand even for those who always complian not understanding art. Evey tecnical term that the writer uses is explained in an easy way. It seems to me that the only thing that this book misses out is sculpture. But it is not actually a problem, once the book is about painting. I feel that after reading and studying most of this book - I haven't read everything yet- I've never looked to a painting as I did before. Now I know how to analyze and really enjoy it. I highly recomend this book for those who when contemplating a painting can only say " OH! That's beatiful!",because everybody says so. This book will give you background to say why a painter is good or not.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This book has brought life to painting and the history of art for my 10 year old daughter. She has looked at other art books before, but has never paid too much attention to the explanations written in the text. This book has held her attention, it is different from others because Sister Wendy gives such vivid descriptions of the artists and especially of their paintings. I am thoroughly enjoying reading this book with my daughter. There are some nude pictures in it, as another reviewer mentioned; nevertheless, they are in good taste and beautiful. Sister Wendy gets 5 stars from our family!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This book has brought life to painting and the history of art for my 10 year old daughter. She has looked at other art books before, but has never paid too much attention to the explanations written in the text. This book has held her attention, it is different from others because Sister Wendy gives such vivid descriptions of the artists and especially of their paintings. I am thoroughly enjoying reading this book with my daughter. There are some nude pictures in it, as another reviewer mentioned; nevertheless, they are in good taste and beautiful. Sister Wendy gets 5 stars from our family!
Rating: 
Summary: I just love Sister Wendy!
Review: This book sells itself, of course, with the beautiful paintings from throughout history. But I have just a couple of problems with it: First, I question the choices of some of the art in the book. Or should I say not in the book. Of course, they couldn't put in every painting ever done, but I think there are some too-obviously missing pieces. Second, I miss Sister Wendy's warm humor. The material seemed clipped, as if the editor just crossed out everything funny, just to shorten the material. Well, not everything -- some of it managed to find its way in. On both of these counts, I must say I would rather have had two volumes and included more paintings and more of her commentary. This one is just not enough. But still, if you were brought up to admire fine art, as I was, you will LOVE sitting down with this book. .
Rating:
Summary: I just love Sister Wendy!
Review: This book sells itself, of course, with the beautiful paintings from throughout history. But I have just a couple of problems with it: First, I question the choices of some of the art in the book. Or should I say not in the book. Of course, they couldn't put in every painting ever done, but I think there are some too-obviously missing pieces. Second, I miss Sister Wendy's warm humor. The material seemed clipped, as if the editor just crossed out everything funny, just to shorten the material. Well, not everything -- some of it managed to find its way in. On both of these counts, I must say I would rather have had two volumes and included more paintings and more of her commentary. This one is just not enough. But still, if you were brought up to admire fine art, as I was, you will LOVE sitting down with this book. .
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