Elements of Art tackles the biggest issue facing casual gallery-goers: how to interpret great artworks quickly and easily. Have you ever sat in a gallery and wondered, ‘Why is the Mona Lisa so small?’ ‘Why do some paintings have gold frames, while others have none at all?’ ‘What do the materials used say about a work?’ Most importantly, ‘What am I really looking at?’ This book answers these questions and more to help make gallery visits more meaningful and enjoyable. Covering a range of works spanning the 1100s to the present day, it leaves no stone unturned in interpreting famous artworks. The book is divided into two easily digestible segments: Part One introduces the key elements of all art, providing readers with a basic toolkit, while Part Two puts this toolkit into practice by breaking down 30 great works by artists from Michelangelo to Frida Kahlo.