Seeing Through Paintings: Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies

This prize-winning book offers the only comprehensive discussion available on materials, techniques, and condition issues in Western easel paintings from medieval times to the present.

“An essential handbook for the pro, and also a beautifully illustrated primer for the layperson. Kirsh and Levenson teach the most valuable lessons about painting of all: how meanings, material, and techniques are bound up together.”—John Walsh, former director, J. Paul Getty Museum

“Every element of Kirsh and Levenson’s book is smart, concise, and informative. . . . [It is] the essential book on its subject.”—Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

“A long overdue book with direct relevance for modern students of the history of art.”—Libby Sheldon, Burlington Magazine

• Marketing Modernism in Fin-de-Siècle Europe
• Looking at European Sculpture: A Guide to Technical Terms
• A Closer Look: Conservation of Paintings
• The Design History Reader
• Vision and Difference: Feminism, Femininity and Histories of Art
• Art history: A critical introduction to its methods
• A Short Guide to Writing About Art (11th Edition)
• The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty
• Nineteenth Century European Art (3rd Edition)
• Canvases and Careers: Institutional Change in the French Painting World