Reading art actually is not a one-dimensional process — there are always several possible interpretations of the same work. Consequently, the purpose of this book is not to return to the 19^th century and its dominant academicism which — in matters of art — embraced only one point of view. To the contrary, this book takes the reader on a critical journey exploring all of diverse approaches to art from the 18^th century to the present.

Art critic Jean-Luc Chalumeau, Chief Editor of Verso Arts et Lettres magazine and a former senior lecturer at « Sciences Po » and the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), is teaching a course on how to read art at the Institut supérieur des carrières artistiques (ICART).