Thames & Hudson publishes a revised edition of Julian Bell`s `What is Painting?`
(Artdaily.org)

What is painting? Julian Bell, writer and painter, is able to answer the question with a broad brush. His book thinks big about the medium that has generated more thought and discussion than any other. It explores old, deep problems. Are there reasons to be suspicious of pictures? What makes us think that one painting is more `real` than another? What does it mean if we say painters `express themselves`? Bell`s book also gives fine-brush attention to issues that are live in the contemporary art world. Till recently there was much talk about `the death of painting`. Why did that discussion arise and what happened to it? Where does the interface between painting and photography now stand? Can we make sense of the appeal of `bad` painting, or for that matter do we know what we mean by `beautiful` nowadays? The original edition of What is Painting? appeared in 1999.