A Snail's Perspective. Descriptions of the Unobvious

One of the brightest French art historians of the second half of the 20th century, Daniel Arasse (1944–2003), in his small book, first published in 2000, subjects several classic works of painting from the 16th to 17th centuries to close analysis, including such well-known pieces as Titian's "Venus of Urbino" and Velázquez's "Las Meninas." Structured in the form of letters to a student, written casually and engagingly, the book shows how significant, at first glance, the most insignificant details can be in art and how fruitful the iconological approach with elements of semiotics proves to be in relation to them.