If the Paintings Could Talk Michael Wilson

If the painting could talk...what tales would they tell? This hugely entertaining book is aimed at the gift market for Christmas 2008. "If The Paintings Could Talk" is an art book that is designed to read like a novel. The content is amusing, intriguing and quirky. A renowned public figure should be confirmed as author of the introduction in early 2008. This is not your usual art history or gallery guide. There are no 'isms', there is no 'context', 'interpretation' or 'theories'.Instead, this eclectic volume gets you up close and personal to individual masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. You will be astonished to read about the painting that took flight down a mountainside and the portrait who made a cameo appearance in a James Bond film, among many other curiousities. There are paintings that conceal paintings, only now revealed by x-ray or faded pigments. Meet the people who commissioned these masterpieces, and the people who brought them to the National Gallery.This book unlocks paintings' hidden histories, which until now have often buried in articles, archives or reports. Immerse yourself in a treasury of facts, discoveries and anecdotes. Many are touching, some are highly amusing, yet others are simply staggering, but all are utterly addictive reading."If the Paintings Could Talk" presents these accounts in an A - Z format, richly illustrated and skilfully cross-referenced with other entries in the book, leading art lovers on a truly serendipitous journey.

Michael Wilson is former head of Exhibitions and Display at the National Gallery, London. He is the author of numerous titles on art, particularly about French art of the 18th and 19th century.

"Packed with interest, this work is a rarity: an art book that will be read."- Christopher Hirst, "Independent", 23rd January 2009

--Christopher Hirst"Independent" (01/23/2009)