Art: A Visual History

by Robert Cumming

Overview

Discover the secrets behind Botticelli’s dream-like designs, admire Klimt’s gold-laced erotic surrealism, and explore the emotion of Van Gogh’s swirling brushwork as you journey through the ages of Western art.

Art: A Visual History offers a clear insight into artists, themes, paintings, techniques, and stories. With input from experts in their field, this comprehensive book covers a long time frame, from early art in 3000 BCE to contemporary work, with features on the major schools and movements as well as close-up critical appraisals of 22 masterpieces. 

Over 650 artists are featured alongside large, full-color images of both iconic works and lesser-known gems, providing an expansive view of art history. A firm foundation in the subject is ensured by an exhaustive glossary of terms.

Art: A Visual History addresses the pertinent question "what makes great art?". Combining detailed yet accessible text alongside crisp reproductions, this indispensable volume is a must-have for anyone with a passion for art and art history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781465436610
Publisher:	DK
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Robert Cumming worked at the Tate Gallery in London before moving to Christie's. He is now an independent writer, lecturer, and organizer of exhibitions and television programs.

Editorial Reviews

"With its solid, accessible information and hundreds of excellent, full-color reproductions, this is ideal for high school or college students as well as any art lover or museumgoer." — Library Journal (Starred Review)

From the Publisher

★ 09/15/2015
Cumming, in his introduction to this book's precursor, Eyewitness Companion: Art, explained that his goal was to produce a "friendly companion [and] an entertaining and practical aid for looking at art," and that is his goal here, too. The book is arranged chronologically, with each section devoted to a period of time or a major art movement—early art, the Renaissance, the English landscape tradition, etc.—and beginning with a single-page discussion of the major aesthetics, techniques, and works in that movement, followed by entries on individual painters, sculptors, and other visual artists of the time. Major artists are covered in a page or two, but most in a couple of paragraphs that list the person's nationality, primary medium or media, and key works. Brief insets discuss movements within movements (e.g., Les Fauves in modernism) or techniques, and there are occasional quotations and time lines. The main difference between this edition and the earlier one (other than the titles) is its livelier page formats and cut-away slipcase that is based on an artist's palette. VERDICT With its solid, accessible information and hundreds of excellent, full-color reproductions, this is ideal for high school or college students as well as any art lover or museumgoer.—Marcia G. Welsh, Dartmouth Coll. Lib., Hanover, NH

Library Journal