cover image Old Masters Rock: How to Look at Art with Children

Old Masters Rock: How to Look at Art with Children

Maria-Christina Sayn-Wittgenstein Nottebohm. Pimpernel (IPG/Trafalgar Sq., dist.), $22.95 (112p) ISBN 978-1-910258-04-0

Nottebohm highlights 50 paintings in a book designed for children and parents to explore together; a dozen chapters explore such artistic themes as royalty, families, and religion. Large reproductions of the paintings appear opposite Nottebohm’s commentary about their creators and creation, and dozens of questions, set off in italics, urge readers to closely examine and consider each work. For Jean-Étienne Liotard’s Woman in Turkish Dress, Seated on a Sofa, she ponders the contents of a torn letter on the carpet: “Who do you think wrote the letter? Do you think it was the same person she had dressed herself up for?” A fine introduction to Brueghel, Delacroix, Rembrandt, and other painters that actively encourages readers to develop visual literacy through observation and imagination. Ages 7–12. (Aug.)