cover image Dan's Angel: A Detective's Guide to the Language of Paintings

Dan's Angel: A Detective's Guide to the Language of Paintings

Alexander Sturgis. Kane/Miller Book Publishers, $16.95 (40pp) ISBN 978-1-929132-47-8

In Dan's Angel: A Detective's Guide to the Language of Painting by Alexander Sturgis, illus. by Lauren Child, the angel steps out of Fra Angelico's The Annunciation (1432) to help an amateur detective named Dan unravel the mysteries of an art museum. Dan explores the meaning and symbolism in 12 great paintings by a wide variety of artists, from Rembrandt to Picasso. Child's cartoonlike illustrations accompany reproductions of the paintings, each clearly labeled with title, artist, date and source. (Sept.)