Marjorie-Ann Watts

I received a copy of this book (epub ebook) via the Library Thing Early Reviewers programme.

I appreciated how from the beginning the publisher and author made it clear that they had wanted to include all-singing, all-dancing colour versions of the paintings under discussion but that this was not possible for ereaders, where most devices still only render pictures in black and white. The lists at the end of each chapter featuring suggested pictures to look up online were helpful, although it show more is a bit of a cumbersome solution. I did though appreciate the further correspondence from the publisher, who said that in response to reader feedback they were going to include links to sites (eg art galleries) where there are examples of the various styles of art under discussion. That was a good touch, and I think shows that the publisher and author are very much open to reader suggestions about improving the book where possible.

I really liked the idea of the book - a whistlestop tour of European painting (with the odd American thrown in for good measure, particularly in the 20th century) aimed at the author's 14 year old grandson who asked so many questions about art that writing a book seemed like the logical thing to do. I did wonder if it would be a bit simplistic, but I found it a very readable and well-written introduction to art which managed to be accessible without being patronising (for example, whilst she is thorough at explaining the various schools and -isms in European art, she doesn't micro-explain every single term but assumes that the reader isn't completely without knowledge and that they can always look up terms if necessary). There are useful endnotes at the end of the book where some terms may have needed greater explanation.

I would certainly recommend this as a good introduction to European painting for those (like me) who are aware of art but don't really know much about the history and background to each movement, or how the various schools of European art relate (or not) to each other. show less

I really enjoyed this book for the vast amount of art history. It covered a huge amount of information covering not just how historical events influenced art, but also how art at times made history. I also loved the inclusion of very modern art and art movements. As many others mentioned, this book would have been greatly improved by the inclusion of actual images of artwork. I did look at some of the links provided, but eventually it became too much of a hassle to break from reading to show more search for something. Overall, I would give Making a Mark a 3, but would easily bump it up to a 4/4.5 if there were images included. show less

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program.

I put my name in the pot for Making a Mark because it sounded like it would be a helpful resource in my life. Two of my closest friends are huge art and art history buffs, and I’d like to have a little more knowledge about the field, without revealing the total depth of my ignorance to them. So a book written by a grandmother to her grandchild sounded perfect! It would show more tell me a story in a way that didn’t make me feel stupid.

Making a Mark mostly succeeds at telling the story of European painting in a way that is interesting and well-informed, but fails as a book. The writing is fine and the information is clearly laid out chronologically, with occasional detours to talk more about specific techniques and styles. It’s almost what I wanted.

But it’s an art book that has no art in it.

There is not a single picture in this book. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in finding that strange, because the day after the book was emailed out to the Early Reviewers (ebooks, yay!), there was another email from the publisher explaining that no, we didn’t get faulty copies of the book. The book really had no pictures.

They gave their reasons for this omission as a combination of the rights for showcasing the famous works being difficult to obtain; wanting users to go out and utilize free resources online to see these paintings, thereby raising awareness of these resources for people who may otherwise be unfamiliar with them; and the fact that most people reading an ebook are reading on a reader that only displays in black and white.

Here’s the thing — this is an ebook. Because it is an ebook, I expected more pictures than would otherwise be in an art book because the cost of printing was not a factor to worry about! To not get any was a huge disappointment, and one I think was wholly unnecessary.

If you aren’t going to get the rights to at least some of the paintings discussed in the book, don’t make an art book. If you want users to utilize free resources for most of the paintings, that’s fine, but at least include links or tell us what those resources are (in all fairness, this was a common suggestion, and one the publisher says they will take into serious consideration). And if someone wants to read an art book on an e-reader that displays only in black and white, that’s not the publisher’s problem. The reader needs to find a work-around.

I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t. Leave this one behind.

This review has been cross posted to my blog at TheChronicHobbyist.Wordpress.com show less

[Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting] by [[Marjorie Ann Watts]] both hits and misses the mark. (Pun intended.) It was offered as an Early Reviewers title and I requested it because I justed started to paint and I thought a refresher on European art would be interesting. And it was, to a point.

The author started wiith cave paintings and ended with 21st century art. Information is provided on the artists, techniques and historical events. In that area the book show more achieved what it set out to do and on that bases I recommend it.

Where it completely missed the mark was the publisher's decision to publish it solely as an ebook. An art book without pictures is not an art book. Detailed information is provided whereby the reader can look at pictures on the internet, and while this maybe helpful for some it didn't work for me. Leaving the book to search the internet interrupted the flow of the book and became a nuisance, which meant I stopped doing it. Having run a publishing company for seven years and thus have some background in the publishing process, I really question the assumptions the publisher made about the book's audience and why they short-changed both the book and it's author by publishing [Making a Mark] as an ebook.

Ebooks are useful to readers who are looking for portable libraries, who don't want to be bothered by heavy, cumbersome books, who want to be able to adjust the font size. They are great for straightforward books. But, for me, once illustrations, photos, maps and the like are introduced they start to fail the reader as the technology does not support these in a large, clear format. This is where [Making a Mark] failed me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 For the text.
⭐️⭐️ For presentation
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Overall show less