Gods and Heroes in Art (Guide to Imagery Series)

Once again I am not overly impressed by the breadth and depth of this piece of the Getty Publications "Art" series. It might have been more properly titled; "Key Figures of Ancient Greco-Roman Legend and Mythology."Nothing about Celtic, Norse, Germanic or Slavic is included, let alone out of the center of the Greco-Roman's Europe. All of these bits and pieces are instrumental in understanding modern Western civilization and artwork, and it's roots. The simple arrogance of ignoring them in such an all inclusive title is insulting.The colour plates are the one strong point, and saving grace of this publication. While they are undersized at just under 6" x 8", some plates being as small as 1" x 3", so as to not be able to truly appreciate the masterpieces of art included; the collection is one of the most concise I've seen. I would have prefered this in a coffee table size, to be able to truly appreciate the subtles hues and tones, and complex imagery in the included art.I am not overly thrilled with the callouts and pointers on top of the artwork. "Hero throws herself from the tower in desperation after Leander's death." and an ugly line across the art to the robed body falling to the rocky reaches below. The style is overtly reminiscent of a seventh grade biology text book, which I would presume is the level this work is written to.I don't believe it is meant to be presented to a literary adult audience. If you obtain this as an equivilant of Cliffs Notes to Greco-Roman mythology artworks, then it will be spot on. Even with the authors' pompous of evaluation in the introduction of how difficult it is to understand and interpret artwork and legend and the wonderful work in making such a compilation; I still feel somewhat cheated buying it used.I feel a work such as  Celtic Myths and Legends has more worth on my bookshelf, without the colourful plates and descriptors.

A nice book with a pretty good overview of Gods and Heroes in art. The book itself is a little bit small for looking at paintings, so I usually read about them in the book then look them up at my computer. There could have been more information about each painting, but it is fine. I mostly use it as a way to discover new myths and paintings to then find out more about them on the internet.

This book is by no means in depth. However, it does operate really well as a quick reference guide to many Gods, Goddesses and Heroes. I recommend it for anyone who is looking to develop a good working understanding of many (mostly western) mythological characters.

excellent exchange

The old Masters painted with passion and perception. I wanted to learn more about the stories they painted. I would advise anyone to buy this book

This book-Gods and Heroes in Art-contains some 400 or so full-color pictures of great artistic works with concise and informative notes. As a myth enthusiast, this book is a valuable addition to my reference collection.

I loved it, it is very organized and informative, full of pictures

totally not what it was represented to be in descriptiov

Just one book in the Imagery in Art series, I think there are 17 in all, and I have all of them, plus a further 5 volumes covering art history century by century from the 14th to the 18th, all part of the same series and in the same format.While any of the books on their own can be useful in specific areas, for prompting further inquiry rather than providing in-depth analysis, it's as a set that they become an invaluable resource for the casual enthusiast. Illustrations and overall layout are beautifully and clearly done, and any of these books simply invite you in!

This is a wonderful book. A treasure to hold, so beautifully produced and laid out. As the book says it introduces readers to the important visual vocabulary of Western art. Each page carries essential information about the god, goddess, hero or heroine depicted. Each entry starts by recounting the basic characteristics of the subject. The creator, title, date and location of each work of art is identified. Each entry explores the respective mythological themes and the significance of the work in art history; and details of the artwork are explained and discussed even down to such detail as the significance of a cup or a torch that a god or goddess might be holding. For example, in one picture of Ceres in her search for her daughter Proserpina, on the side in the shadows, barely seen, is a small child pointing at the heroine and laughing. The author tells us that for his impudence the goddess turned him into a lizard. Such is the wealth of important and enlightening detail yet the text is not overwhelming; it is spare and to the point.

If you are interested in Greek or Roman history, or more particularly in mythology, this cheap A5 book with 365 pages of colour prints is a must. Each page contains one colour photo of a painting, usually with a small photo of a detail from that or another painting, of the character in question. You are told the artist, date, and collection details. You get about 150 words describing the character and where he/she fits into the mythology. The main pictures are about three inches by four, while the detail images are about one inch square. There are also concise notes on the paintings themselves. There are about 150 characters in total so you get on average two pages per character. It varies from one page for e.g. Selene to eight pages for e.g. Venus.You get an index of names and an index of artists. This enables you in some cases to see larger versions of the same pictures on the internet, or in a few cases depending on where you live and how deep your pockets are, to visit the gallery and see the original.If you are reading mythology for pleasure or for an academic course (which I hope would be a pleasure), then the image and thumbnail history not only helps to fix the character in your mind, but also helps you to see how they were perceived by (mostly Renaissance) artists.The print quality is excellent. If there were a coffee table sized edition it could easily justify a price of £100.

Very nice.