This book presents a fresh, balanced and complete picture of the whole of Western painting from Giotto to Cezanne. Michael Levey has triumphantly succeeded in organizing the mass of material, in giving it proportion and in conveying by carefully selected examples the essential quality of each artist. It is not a mere "potted" version of familiar facts - every judgment is genuinely felt and personally expressed, while the style sparkles with elegance and wit. Even those readers who know the subject thoroughly will find it rewarding for the concise comments which often sum up in a single sentence a whole complicated response to a picture. It is a volume to kindle enthusiasm, and at the same time provides an immensely informative "first book" of art history for both teachers and students.

Author Biography

Sir Michael Levey who died in December 2008, became deputy keeper of the National Gallery in 1966, keeper in 1968, and finally director in 1973. He was knighted in 1981.