Oh my! What a sumptuous book. The photography is mind blowing, the describing thoroughly interesting and at times my mouth was hanging open. Superb, the book is now on my wants list. Phew!

Whenever humankind seejs some help it looks towards sky.
And when in deep hopelessness it looks downwards.
Every religion and culture teaches to look towards heavens in tough times.
Religious dones and ceilings serve as beautiful canvases and tell many stories.

This book solidifies the same claim.

It is a picture cum coffee table book cum historical manual.

It takes us to journey of world's greatest domes and their special art.
Domes in different countries and at different locations; like churches, offices, historical monuments and palaces.
Italy features prominently.

All pictures are great and realistic and each dome is described in fine detail.

Indian Badal palace dome also finds mention.
Japan and China feature once.

Their are interesting stories entwined with descriptions. It is a holistic brochure of all significant and important domes ever created.
A rare book on a rare but important aesthetic topic.
If you ate an art lover and want to choose one of your next touring spot, you need to check this work.

Thanks Quarto books and netgalley for review copy.

Catherine McCormack's The Art of Looking Up is a gorgeous, often thrilling look at some of the most stunning ceilings around the world. I was excited to see some that I had already experienced first-hand, and at least three that I've added to my list of must-see stops on my Italy-Spain trip next year. The photography and narration in this book is beautifully done. I really loved the inclusion of a vast variety of styles and materials (in the ceiling choices) selected for this volume. Sadly, I will probably never see, in person, one of my favorites here (the mosaic in Iran) so I'm very grateful have had this chance to experience it here. I hope many lovers of world travel and art find this book, as well as parents looking for interesting books to share with their children. We all would benefit, no matter where we are to take a moment, a breath, open our eyes and look up. Look all around- so much beauty in the world that we can easily miss.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s true that to see, in real life, many of the wonders featured in this book a degree on neck contortion is required. I’ve visited a number of the buildings featured here and to appreciate the most dramatic element on show you have to look up. Unfortunately, on at least a couple of occasions I seem to have, at least partially, missed out. At the Sistine Chapel in Rome the ceiling is so high I found it hard to fully appreciate the detail of the amazing paintings (and note that anyone trying to take a photograph was immediately ushered out) and at the Sangrada Familia in Barcelona ongoing construction work partially obscured efforts to fully admire the amazing work above. But in this book the superbly detailed photographs fully display the staggering beauty on show in these buildings and in a wide range of others across the world.

The photographs are amazing, both the large overviews and the detailed breakdowns. Colours are vividly captured and the overall result is, at times, mind blowing. It definitely inspired a desire in me to visit a number of these sites at some point. My favourites include the subterranean art displayed across the walls and ceilings in Stockholm’s Metro Stations and the ceramic tiles covering virtually every surface in the Imam Mosque at Asafan, Iran. Many of the images included in this book have a religious context, but some scenes are political in nature and others are hard to categorise. An informative text accompanies each. I was viewing an electronic version but I’d imagine a hard copy of this book would be a wonderful item to own and peruse at your leisure.

The Art of Looking Up truly opened my eyes to a new place of art. I know my own capital building had art in its portico but I didn't realize it was something that was done else where.
Catherine McCormack walks through places all over the world and shows you what's on eth ceiling. Don't worry, this isn't just some trek through churches; while the religious buildings are spotlighted, there are many tehri types of building with art. You get to see political building as well as tunnels through Sweden.
The art is more than just the master's of classical art. McCormack spotlights a b=variety of styles and mediums.
After reading this book, I will make sure not to just look left and right, but I will also look up!

A brilliant collection of stunning photos in a very interesting and fascinating book. I spent a long time lost in the beauty of the photos. It felt like a privilege to look at this book. I have a few friends who would love a paper copy and I think it would make an amazing Christmas present.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book is a gem. Besides being incredibly beautiful and filled with impressive pictures of even more impressive ceilings, it makes up for a wonderful collection of short stories on history and art. It gives you a glimpse in the world and lives of people who were the creators of those fantastic ceilings we get to wonder at either on the TV or in person and ti helps us understand what we are looking at.

Art is beautiful and architecture is fascinating ( I should know, I am an architect) but understanding the story, the events, the technique and all the elements that went in the creation of that object we admire is crucial both to our perception of it and to its perceived value.

This book is a must have for anyone who delights in history, politics, art, architecture and design! I would - and will- buy this for myself and I would definitely get this as a gift for family and friends!

For anyone interested in art and the history behind it, this is a must read! Catherine McCormack takes readers around the world showcasing stunningly beautiful art only seen by looking up.

The intricate detail and work involved in these artworks is amazing. Equally interesting is the history behind each of the pieces. Divided into sections of Religion, Culture, Power & Politics, McCormack's information helps the reader see things in the artwork that would remain hidden without her explanations.

It is well worth investing your time to read this book, and see wonders you may not get to see otherwise!

Many thanks to NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a gorgeous book! Beautiful pictures and interesting information about all sorts of wonderful ceilings. The subjects range from churches to casinos and everything in between, all over the world.

It's a fascinating book!

This book is beautiful, the pictures inside are magnificent and there is a good amount of information included as well. An excellent classroom resource to use as starting point for history or geographic enquiry.

This is a beautiful book, the pictures are breathtaking and the information is informative yet concise.
My Favorites were;
The Metro Stations in Sweden and The Royal Palace of Brussels, Belgium

It was really interesting to see and read about beautiful places from all around the world and my heart would jump a little when I would see pictures of a location I have visited.

This would be a great for someone who loves art, travel, history, architecture, photography... it has a little something for everyone.

I loved this book. Like lots of us I love to visit historic houses and always look in wonder at the intricate decorations that not only decorate the walls but also the ceilings. This coffee table book has varied mix of ceilings from not only historic buildings but also some very modern locations which are beautiful. This is a book not to be hidden on a bookshelf!

Beautiful photography! I look forward to seeing this in the final print version. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

Beautifully illustrated this book give an interesting perspective at looking at important buildings.
The Art of Looking Up surveys 40 spectacular ceilings around the globe that have been graced by the brushes of great artists including Michelangelo, Marc Chagall and Cy Twombly.

The photographs featured in this book are beautifully and skillfully captured and edited and complimented by top notch book design that lets the images take center stage.

I’m an award winning portrait photographer who has always loved architectural photography, but never been any good at it. The photographs in this book are captured with extraordinary skill. I imagine there were a lot of wide-angle lenses in use, but lens warping (an inevitable artifact caused by the construction of wide-angle lenses) has been expertly edited out. Special attention has also been paid to making sure the images appear on the page in a way that showcases the absolute symmetry of the architecture. This is a deceptively difficult thing to achieve. I suspect someone spent a lot of time with the perspective crop tool in PhotoShop to achieve this feat.

The elimination of lens warping in the images is so consistent, that when it does appear, it’s distracting. I found myself googling the Palazzo Faranese and looking at the overhead satellite view of the structure to see if it was indeed barrel shaped, or if the image on pages 188-189 didn’t get the same editing treatment as others in this book.

It’s also worth noting the lighting in these photographs. Ceilings that feature a mix of warm incandescent lighting and “cool” sunlight coming in from windows pose a unique challenge for photographers shooting on digital cameras due to the relative “temperatures” of the lighting mix. It’s very difficult to balance these extremes, and yet all of the photos in this collection are well exposed. The brightest areas aren’t washed out, and the darkest areas don’t suffer any loss of discernible detail.

The photo on page 22-23 of the mosaics of the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in Russia is an absolute triumph.

The collection is divided into four sections: Religion, Culture, Power, and Politics. Each section is fairly Western European-centric, but there is at least one treasure from the East and the Americas in each section. The conspicuous lack of works from non European countries could be a function of there not being a cultural tradition of decorative ceilings or it could be difficulty in traveling to those locations to photograph them due to political instability, but the reasons why the book focuses on European artworks is never addressed in the text.

The introductions to the individual artworks provide a good overview of the history of each, its context in overall art history, and its continued cultural significance. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the materials used in the construction and decoration of the works and the detailing of how the works have changed and evolved over time with restoration and alterations. I also appreciate the mix of close detail shots and wider shots that give a strong sense of place to the artworks being featured.

One final note: The lack of female artists represented in the collection is addressed in the introduction, but briefly and, in my opinion, inadequately. It simply states that the lack of women in the art form of ceiling decoration “raises interesting questions”. These questions are not actually expressed, let alone answered. This is hardly “honoring” them as the introduction states.

A beautiful argument and thorough analysis on the art and practice of looking up. “For the sky binds us to our planet but also presents a boundary that we long to break through.” The author provides an excellent art history lesson focused on teh various pieces featured in this book with the specific intent and focus around teh dynamics and context of the time period in which they were commissioned. The pictures are absolutely stunning to look at, even without the history and context, one could find joy in looking at these works of art for hours! There are plenty of pieces that if you are well traveled or knowledgeable in art history you will likely already know, but, this does not take away from the joy of reading this book or taking a detailed look at the high definition pictures on every page. A picture is worth 1000 words, the religious, cultural, political and social context of the times these works were commissioned can cover an entire book on their own. There is something for everyone to take away from this book, bound to be more detailed closeups, or new pieces to learn about, details on a work you did not know, and many perspectives and thoughts on the context of the works above us.

The colors and geometric shapes and quality of the architecture and throughtfulness of the design alongside the skill of the artists that envisioned these works is outstanding and makes for a fascinating read! The religious and symbolic context of art upon high is certainly the easiest connection realized in Art History 101, but some of the cultural reasons were interesting to me, too! I had always thought they recreated venues to mimic the old style of the renaissance, for example to show a particular theme or or protract a particular message about the venue. How surprised I was that theater halls occasionally put art on the ceiling for the wandering eyes of distracted visitors. Or casinos as a method to keep gamblers spending, akin to tactics of no clocks or windows, beautiful ceiling art!

The art is absolutely stunning and the high definition photos in this book are incredible. If you have been to any of these locations you will feel as though you are standing there again. If you have not yet had the opportunity to experience in person, the photography truly represents the colors, size, depth and scale, a true visual dessert!

Absolutely stunning book, full of full-color photos of art that can only be seen by Looking Up. There’s a beautiful metaphor here, along with detailed and fascinating historical background notes on each piece of art. The art is divided into four categories: religious, politics, culture, power.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Probably it is not easy to visit all these beautiful places in person, but one can wonder at the beauty in the world, gazing at these detailed pictures. It is almost like you can touch them and imagine being surrounded by a frieze, stain glass painting.

How poetic - the meaning of looking up and what it means to humanity - ceiling originf from caelum - sky or heaven. Next time you see surrounded open space, see the sky in it. Reminds me of the sky ceiling in Caesar Palace,Vegas. (illusory sky - quadratura from another painting)

Salvador Dali, Palace of the Wind

Gender aspect of the forgotten women painters.

You find out about the details of the painting, the challenges faced by the painters when it came to for exa - depicting 'living water'.

'weight bearing columns modelled on the hyperbolic paraboloids of tree trunks and their branches' of Sagrada Familia. Do the trees have that pattern, so they can hold the sky?

This book opens your eyes to ceiling sin many other parts of the world - Turkey, Japan.

Didnt know that Gustav Klimt did a ceiling painting.

What better place than a library to have a ceiling painting? Sweden Metrostations.

Toluca Botanical Gardens are amazing.

You might have seen Chihuly's ceiling in Bellagio.

Mocarabes honeycomb work like stalactites and stalagmites of cave.

Havent heard of badal mahal before.

Quadro riportato

And now, you can start 'looking up to this book'.