Great Art Explained: The Stories Behind the World’s Greatest Masterpieces

Debut author Payne adapts his YouTube channel of the same name for this colorful survey of 30 artworks. Payne’s approach varies depending on the piece: contending that the Mona Lisa is so familiar that it’s been severed from historical context, he highlights what made the painting groundbreaking for its time, namely the subject’s direct gaze at the viewer—women in Renaissance portraits “just didn’t do that”—and the hazy backdrop. For other artists, Payne debunks persistent myths, including that Hilma af Klint’s abstract paintings were never intended to be exhibited (she struggled to show them for years before landing a group show in 1913), that Georgia O’Keeffe meant her flower paintings as sexual metaphors, and that the figure depicted in Edvard Munch’s The Scream is screaming. Payne admits that he’s “not an art historian by training” and works from secondary sources, so while nothing here will surprise those well-versed in the subject, the breadth of works highlighted (ranging from an 11th-century Chinese scroll to a 2019 multimedia work, and including lesser-known artists like Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui), combined with Payne’s knack for condensing massive amounts of biographical, historical, and technical information, makes this an excellent introduction. Art lovers will be entranced. (Oct.)