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loonyboi's review against another edition
I can't actually give this a rating, because it's a reference book. I "read" it (by which I mean, I read the preface and flipped through a handful of entries) because this found its way on to David Bowie's list of favorite books, and I'm making my way through it.
What can I say about this? It certainly seems like an interesting reference book. I now know that the Hippogriff was not a creature of mythology, but a creation of the poets of the middle ages. That's pretty neat. Seems like there's a lot of that in this book, but I'm not actually going to read it cover to cover. It's a reference volume.
What can I say about this? It certainly seems like an interesting reference book. I now know that the Hippogriff was not a creature of mythology, but a creation of the poets of the middle ages. That's pretty neat. Seems like there's a lot of that in this book, but I'm not actually going to read it cover to cover. It's a reference volume.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
Enormously thorough listing and explanation of subjects and symbols in art, and full of fascinating detail. The title is somewhat misleading, however. It rather gives the appearance of art in general, but Hall's focus is entirely European - if you're looking to understand symbolism in Asian or African art, for instance, look elsewhere. Of the art covered, the subjects and symbols come primarily from two sources: myth and religion. Even those are somewhat limited - the religious influence is entirely Christian, as would largely be expected in Europe, and the mythology is classical. Greek and Roman sources predominate; there's no mention of Celtic or Scandinavian myth here, for instance. That being said, within these limits this appears, to my limited knowledge, a rather exhaustive reference. And though I read the whole thing through, it's one of those reference books that you could open up and dip into and find something informative and interesting on any random page. It's usefully cross-referenced, too, which makes things easier for the reader who's looking to interpret the symbols of a specific painting - a very friendly reference book that works well for the beginner, I reckon. Being a beginner myself I tried this out with a random painting, Raphael's "Madonna of the Goldfinch", and now I actually understand what all the details mean, so yay!
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