“Lives of the Artists” by Kathleen Krull

Masterpieces, Messes and (What the Neighbors Thought)

Family reading for ages 10 and up.



Review #134

The 20 artists discussed are:

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519),
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564),
Peter Bruegel (1525?-1569),
Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625),
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669),
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849),
Mary Cassatt (1845-1926),
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890),
Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945),
Henri Matisse (1869-1954),
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973),
Marc Chagall (1887-1985),
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968),
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986),
William H. Johnson (1901-1970),
Salvador Dali (1904-1989),
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988),
Diego Rivera (1886-1957),
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954),
Andy Warhol (1928-1987).

This is a short book with mini-biographies that focus on the subjects' personal lives and eccentricities rather than chronologies of their masterpieces. A few notes on major artworks follow each biography.

Each chapter begins with one of Illustrator Kathryn Hewitt's distinctive portrait paintings, handsome caricatures of the artists and a few significant or distinctive objects indicating their interests and individual traits.

I’m way over 10 and still found this book to be very interesting!
Basically, I think the book will encourage younger persons to want to read more about the artists.