History of Art, Introbooks Team
History of Art, Introbooks Team
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History of Art

Author: Introbooks Team

Narrator: Andrea Giordani

Unabridged: 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: IntroBooks

Published: 04/09/2016

Categories: Nonfiction, Art


Synopsis

What we know of Art History today actually has its roots back to the 19th century, but what the study is about, dates back to the ancient world. The art historians depend on the semiotics, formal analysis, iconography and psychoanalysis for understanding the history of a piece of art. After the World War II when photographic imitation and printing techniques improved, reproduction of artworks became easier. Technologies as such have tremendously helped the study of Art History to progress in profound ways, as they have facilitated easy evaluation of objects. Thus, the study of visual arts can be described as a practice that involves understanding social significance, context and form of art.The chronological pillar of the study is the commemorative history of beautiful creations commissioned by public or religious bodies or prosperous individuals in Western Europe. A renowned example is “canon” which remains prominent to this day, and even has its mention on the history textbooks. However, there has been an effort made since the 20th century, to define the study to be more comprehensive of non-western art.In the modern years, Art History has come up as a study that focusses in educating people how to assess and construe works of art established on their own perception. Often, Art history has been criticized for its biased nature, because every individual has their own point of view of seeing and defining things. The study of Art History teaches you to appraise what you see based on the art forms that you know already. This eventually develops your aesthetic understanding of a piece of art.Those interested in the study of Art History are taught how to evaluate artefacts by numerous methods. It is difficult to understand the subject without knowing about the methods. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on November 25, 2016

I actually have the massive 8x11" size version of this book which an aunt gave to me decades ago. It is both highly readable (as much so as Gombrich) and full of gorgeous illustrations. It is not too academic so perfect for the layman and worth far more than merely a coffee table ornament. It is nat......more

Goodreads review by Dave on August 20, 2011

I can't believe I read the whole thing--haha! It was for AP Art History class in high school--I loved it. Our teacher was fantastic and over 1 year, we went through this whole book, adding notes in the margins on almost every piece of art in the book. It's a huge book that probably gave us all spine......more

Goodreads review by Nathalie on August 20, 2009

Actually I read the 5th edition that was revised and expanded by Anthony F. Janson and was published in 1995. I read the book from cover to cover all 903 pages of it. I have been interested in art all my life and this book covers all aspects of it from pre-historic to modern, at least up to 1995 whe......more