The core of Michael O'Toole's study is the contention that semiotics can assist in the search for a language through which our perceptions of a work of art can be shared.

Drawing on his background as a linguist, O'Toole analyses in detail a number of major works of art to show how the semiotic approach relates a work's immediate impact to other aspects of our response to it: to the scene portrayed, to the social, intellectual and economic world within which the artist and his or her patrons worked, and to our own world. It further provides ways of talking about and interrelating aspects of composition, technique and the material qualities of the work.

The examples, illustrated with colour plates, range from Botticelli's Primavera, Barbara Hepworth's sculpture, buildings by Aalto and Le Corbusier, and paintings by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. The volume is essential reading for students of the visual arts, of semiotics and cultural studies, as well as for art curators, and those teaching art appreciation and art and design.