Review of Looking at Prints, Drawings and Watercolours
This is an informative glossary containing terms pertinent to works of art on paper but as the author Paul Goldman notes the book only briefly treats photomechanical processes and contemporary trends in printmaking. The illustrations are all drawn from the Getty Museum or the British Museum collections so readers can go directly to the online digital sites at those institutions for more information. This make the book valuable as an introductory text for a course on the History of Prints and Drawings. It is also a "must read" for emerging collectors and for art lovers who desire a deeper appreciation of the complexities of the graphic arts. Used in conjunction with Linda C. Hults, The Print in the Western World (U. of Wisconsin Press) and Ursula Weekes, Techniques of Drawing (Woodstocker Books) it provides a sound overview. Unfortunately the book omits some important terms and slights the history of paper making, but again it is a handy reference and not a definitive one. While the bibliography will point readers to many valuable printed resources, a list of relevant web sites would be a useful addition. The book is printed on quality paper and the binding appears sturdy. The second edition contains basic information on conservation issues. Those seeking more information on prints should consult the website at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (N.Y.) which gives extensive technical information and many digital examples. Lynne N. Reno, Assistant Professor, Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pa.
OK, but hardly complete
What's here is good material. It lists a fair range of terms used in art on paper, with many reproductions of art showing the effects of different tools or materials. The book itself if well printed, on heavy paper that shows the sample artworks very clearly. And, as a parting benefit, it offers a helpful bibliography.
It's what's not here that's the problem. A book twice this size might have been adequate for either drawing or watercolor, and a printmaking would have needed a lot more than that by itself. What's here is good, but possibly not enough to justify this book for most collections.
-- wiredweird
more, and less, than I expected
I had hoped this book would incorporate aesthetics with art history, but that is not quite the author's intent. Instead, it is similar to a dictionary, being a 63-page volume of alphabetically arranged technical definitions, from aquatint to wood-engraving. It is also more than a dictionary, having more than 60 examples to illustrate techniques and methods.This book is neither historical nor biographical in focus, but you will learn a great deal of technical information.
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