Books about Various Artists
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50 Women Artists You Should Know (Amazon link)

• An overview of 50 female artists spanning over 500 years. The book is not perfect, as some of the information about the artists is limited (partly because not much is known about some of them), but it is a nice start to familiarize yourself with some of the achievements of these women during times in which men dominated the art scene.

Art: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Artists and Their Work (Amazon link)

• A nice entrance-level book to learn about some of the most famous painters from the 14th till 20th century. You can read this book a couple of pages at the time, as there often is a one-page discussion of an artist, accompanied by a large image of one of his/her masterpieces.

Frans Hals by Seymour Slive (Amazon link)

• It is not cheap(!), but if you want to learn all about the life of the revolutionary Dutch Baroque painter Frans Hals, this is the book to choose. It has beautiful, large illustrations of many of his works, and is written by the famous Frans Hals scholar Seymour Slive. You can either use it as a reference book or a coffee table book. 

Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of Water Lilies by Ross King (Amazon link)

• A carefully-researched book about the last two decades Claude Monet's life. It provides a wonderful portrait of Monet's character and determination, his social world, and the ups and downs in his life. A truly engaging book following Monet's mission to create a series of enormous paintings of his beloved water lilies.

The Judgment of Paris by Ross King (Amazon link)

• One of our favorite art books following two very different 19th-century artists, Édouard Manet and Ernest Meissonier. One is on top of the art world, the other primarily receives criticism. But things are about to change...

Van Gogh Letters by H. Anna Suh (Amazon link)

• Do you love the works of Vincent van Gogh, and do you want to understand what was going on in his mind? Then this is the perfect book to read. Spanning a period of 15 years, this book contains the translations of the letters Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo and other friends and family. The book is richly illustrated with his artworks, but also contain copies of his original letters and the drawings he made on them. It truly helps to understand the mind of this artistic genius.