Clues to the meaning of many of the masterpieces of art history lie in a rich system of symbols, themes, and motifs that often eludes modern museum-goers. The intimate knowledge of Christian theology, Greek and Roman mythology, and folklore that was so vivid in the minds of viewers during the Renaissance is rarely part of the preparation the contemporary viewer brings to a painting. This insightful, anecdotal, portable book, with 1,000 gorgeous color illustrations, helps to fill in those gaps by decoding th imagery of more than 150 of the most influential and admired artworks of all time. Covering the works of the Italian, Netherlandish, German, and Spanish Old Masters, from 1450 to 1750, paintings by artists such as Giotto, Botticelli, El Greco, Bruegel, Holbein, Rubens, and Vermeer, all held in public collections, "How to Read a Painting/I not only helps the viewer to understand the significant details of a picture but also explains the relationship with similar imagery in other works. The guide to Old Master paintings that every art lover has always wanted, this indispensable museum companion will open the reader to a whole new experience of Western art's most praised and visited paintings.

帕特裏剋·德·萊剋(Patrick de Rynck)， 1963年齣生，古典學者和翻譯傢

丁寜，北京大學藝術學院教授，著有《接受之維》、《美術心理學》、《綿延之維——走嚮藝術史哲學》、《藝術的深度》、》、《西方美術史十五講》、《圖像繽紛——視覺藝術的文化維度》、《美術鑒賞》和《感動心靈的西方美術》；譯有《傳統與欲望——從大衛到德拉剋羅瓦》、《畢沙羅傳》、《注視被忽視的事物——靜物畫四論》、《媒體文化》、《視覺品位》和《博物館懷疑論》等