NEW WAY OF SEEING: THE HISTORY OF ART IN 57 WORKS

What makes great art great? Stepping away from biography, style and the ‘isms’ that preoccupy most art history, Kelly Grovier tells a new story in which we learn from the artworks, not just about them. Looking closely at each work, he identifies an ‘eye-hook’ - the part of the artwork that ‘bridges the divide between art and life, giving it palpable purpose and elevating its value beyond the visual to the vital’ - and encourages us to squint through this narrow aperture to perceive the work’s truest meanings.