Art Investigations. Images, Symbols and Hidden Meanings in Art

How to view paintings through the eyes of an art historian? And how to understand what the artist truly wanted to convey? 
Great masters of painting expressed a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions, their life experiences, and pressing issues of their era in their masterpieces, each time resorting to a unique set of visual symbols. Flowers and birds, celestial bodies, musical instruments — even seemingly ordinary objects like an egg or a wheel, included in still lifes or landscapes, can conceal a multitude of meanings. What was clear to the contemporaries of the artists has turned for us into a set of images resembling a clever puzzle. 
In this book, popular art blogger Victoria Tsibulskaya will explain the mysteries of paintings adorning the best museums in the world, from the London Tate Gallery to the Prado Museum in Spain. You will discover non-obvious details and hidden symbols, in the light of which well-known paintings acquire new, profound meanings, revealing the personal secrets of their creators: Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Velázquez, Van Gogh, Monet, and other great masters of painting. Thanks to this book, an ordinary visit to the museum will transform into an exciting game, where each painting is a riddle waiting for you to solve it. 
A large number of vivid colored illustrations will allow you to immerse yourself in a world of bright images and ideas straight from the depths of the centuries. Embark on a grand journey into the history of art and uncover the amazing secrets of masterpieces of world painting — from the genre scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder to the mythological images of Gustav Klimt!