Describes and illustrates the works of art to be found in 1,000 towns and villages of France.

“The ideal guide and companion to visitors to Paris wishing to discover the hidden and fantastic art treasures of the historic city . . . brilliant.” —Books Monthly There’s no doubt that Paris is brimming with some of the world’s best art. But on a trip to the City of Light, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the options, get caught up in the queues and miss the backstreet gems. Fear not—armed with this companion you’ll easily navigate your way through the rich art history to the vibrant present scene, and have a ball doing so. Along with listings of the unmissable museums and galleries (where you’ll appreciate the ancients through to the contemporaries), the guide includes more offbeat places to find public and private art all over town (from design hotels to auction houses, beautiful brasseries to artist studios). You’ll pick up insider tips from local and international professionals and find out where to take a sketch class, see live street art, buy an artwork, attend intriguing art events and meet the artists. “A delight to browse through and ideal for planning day trip excursions throughout the complex and pervasive art scene that is Paris. Simply stated, planning a trip to Paris would be impressively enhanced by including a copy of The Art Lover’s Guide to Paris as a guide.” —Midwest Book Review

France holds some of the most remarkable and well-known collections in the art world. This thorough and accessible guide covers every epoch, taking travelers on a journey through centuries of wonderful paintings, architecture, and sculpture. Full-color illustrations.

Across the globe there are scores of beautiful and unusual works of art that are largely unseen or fail to receive the critical acclaim they deserve. Why? The Best Art You've Never Seen restores to view 100 wonderful treasures of world art. Ranging from Peru to Papua New Guinea, it uncovers neglected wonders in offbeat corners of the world or locked away in the store rooms of the world's great museums. Some are hidden accidentally: by a rock-fall, a shift in a trade route, or through the drift of history. Others are hidden deliberately, buried as loot or destroyed by hate - like the fabulous Mount Kailash Temple in India. Many are hidden by changes of taste, marginalized because they don't fit into established ideas of art - works by artists such as Norman Rockwell, Nek Chand, and Niki de St Phalle. Other great works, like the the dazzling Très Riches Heures manuscript and the Mona Lisa, are being virtually hidden by the demands of conservation. And there are penty of treasures still waiting to be revealed - the Q'in Emperor's tomb or Leonardo's lost fresco The Battle of Anghiari. Author and former museum director Julian Spalding takes you into a world of beautiful and arresting artifacts and reveals their amazing stories. He sets forth a surprising and unfamiliar alternative canon of works that offers a fresh and controversial take on the world of art.

The story of the country's artistic heritage, describing how works of art, both French and foreign, have been created, commissioned and collected through the centuries, and showing where they may be found today.