Showing Distance in Art » (US)

Explores how artists create the feeling of distance in their paintings.

Children's Literature

Well-known artworks are used to point out how artists have created certain effects. In Distance, a look at St. Ives by Rogier van der Weyden gives a close-up of the man and a long distance view out of the window. Kids will notice that things are smaller in the distance. Flatford Mill by John Constable presents a vast scene that includes a river and a village in the distance. Blobs of color and indistinct images are what give the sense of distance in this painting. As with the other books in the series, there is a good selection of art representing a variety of style. The last section of the book offers tips (changing sizes, viewing a scene through a window, hazier colors, having the sky and earth meet at the horizon) and challenges kids to try their hand at painting and in particular to show distance by using these and other techniques described in earlier examples. The final section offers more information about the paintings used to illustrate the author's points. There is a glossary, list of web sites and an index. Part of a series of six books entitled "How to Look at Art." 2000 (orig. 1997), Gareth Stevens, Ages 8 up, $19.93. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot