Reviews for On a Painted Ocean: Art of the Seven Seas

The average rating for On a Painted Ocean: Art of the Seven Seas based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-11-07 00:00:00 Ron Gaudet Iii I hope my 3-star rating here isn't misleading. I really enjoyed this exploration of fashion as depicted in portraits selected from England's National Gallery. The author chose beautiful and varied paintings, mostly of English royalty (consider the source) in their finest garments, and did a fairly good job pointing out costume details and likely reasons behind clothing selection. In a perfect world, this book would have had a greater range in the sitters' professions and social class, and lengthier, more detailed write-ups. But all in all, I would highly recommend this book to students of fashion history as a beginning primer in understanding portraitature and the clothing depicted in it. Not all of the clothing painted is accurate, or even real, but it all conveys a message to the viewer that the painter intended to be read and received correctly. As time goes by, and our lives and language differ from the time the portrait was painted, a considerate viewer will educate themselves on the messages to be read before judging the sitter depicted.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-02-24 00:00:00 Nick Castruita I loved it! Great photos and details!