Painted Mysteries: Interpreting Great Paintings

In Painted Mysteries Caroline Chapman aims to encourage art lovers to look more deeply into pictures and to understand better what they see.

When looking at a painting of the Madonna with the Christ Child, do you know why Jesus is clutching a goldfinch? Or why a peacock often appears in paintings of the Annunciation? Can you use your knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology to interpret what is going on in Botticelli’s Primavera? Are you so steeped in the Bible that you know why Lot’s wife was...