Fort Morgan Public Library

"Robert Langdon, professor of religious symbology at Harvard, is in Paris to give a lecture. At the reception that follows, he is scheduled to meet with a revered curator from the world-famous Louvre museum. But the curator never shows up, and later that night Langdon is awakened by authorities and told that the curator has been found dead. He is then taken to the Louvre—the scene of the crime—where he finds out that baffling clues have been left...

Art critic Waldemar Januszczak unravels the secrets behind eight masterpieces of European painting, searching out art experts, literary and artistic allusions, and historical records to expose long-held secrets within the gilded frames.

The development of the arts in Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era is an astonishing record of cultural achievement, from the breathtaking architecture of Gothic cathedrals to the daring visual experiments of the Cubist painters. We all have our favorite artists, periods, or styles from this immensely rich tradition, but how many of us truly know the full sweep of European art? How many of us can connect the dots of influences and inspiration...