Art history book of the week

A Wordly Art, the Dutch Republic 1585-1718, by Mariet Westermann, Yale University Press

 

A great account of Dutch art in its golden age, with a special chapter on portraiture.

Picture from www.amazon.co.uk

Art history book of the week

Modern Art 1851-1929 by Richard R. Brettell

A period marked by significant historical, social and economic events, among them World War I, saw at the same time a radical change in art and artistic creation. The road from Realism to Surrealism seems very long; less than 100 years however were needed for the artists to pass from the first to the latter and a great number of styles evolved during this same time. This book aims at throwing light to most of them looking at the same time at the social context that gave rise to them.

Picture from: www.amazon.co.uk

Art history book of the week

Courbet by James Rubin (Phaidon)

 

A basic text for the work of one of the most important realist painters. Rubin manages to discuss not only the artist and his work but also what gave rise to them. Courbet can not be seen outside the political, social and economic context of the 19th century and his paintings are clearly associated with the world in which he lived, whether this was his native Ornans and its inhabitants or the nude females of his later life. Rubin recognizes this close association throughout the book creating an interesting and higly informative biography of the artist.

Art History book of the week

Renaissance Siena: Art for a City by Luke Syson, Alessandro Angelini, Philippa Jackson and Fabrizio Nevola, Yale University Press

I have not read the book, but it's definitely on my wish list for the New Year. Here is a summary from Amazon UK:"Sienese art was very deliberately shaped and sustained by the patronage of powerful and wealthy families, such as the Petrucci, Piccolomini and the Spannochi, to provide an artistic language for an ambitious city. These commissions drew on Siena's famed decorative traditions and introduced the influences of foreign artists, such as Signorelli, Pintoricchio and Raphael. Rarely enslaved to the emerging naturalistic convention, a direct line can be traced from Sienese artists such as Vecchietta and Francesco di Giorgio to Matteo di Giovanni, Neroccio de' Landi, Pietro Orioli and Beccafumi. These artists combined exquisite colour, decoration, sinuous line and delicate beauty, with ambitious compositions and figure style. This beautiful catalogue reveals Sienese painting, drawing and sculpture as one of the most distinctive, elegant and moving schools of Italian art, created during a period of fascinating power shifts within the city itself".

Art History book of the week

The Art of Ancient Egypt by Gay Robins, Harvard University Press 

An excellent introduction to the basics of ancient Egyptian art covering the whole period of Egyptian history and discussing the issues of canon, function and most importantly what art meant for the ancient Egyptians. It is a magical trip to an art thousands of years old from a civilisation that has acquired the status of legend in the modern world. And at the same time, it is a successful attempt to place these works of art in the social, religious, cosmological and political context of the people that created them. 

Picture from www.amazon.co.uk

Art History book of the week

The Northern Renaissance by Jeffrey Chipps Smith (Phaidon)

The Northern Renaissance is often a neglected style as it coincides with the Italian Renaissance which receives more attention. This book aims at bringing this period in the spotlight, presenting some of the most impressive works of painting, sculpture and architecture and discussing artists from Germany, the Low Countries, France, Britain and Austria. The works of art are not only discussed in terms of their stylistic characteristics but are at the same time placed in the historical context of the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance ideals and the discovery of the new world. The book is lavishly illustrated and easy to read providing thus a very good introduction to Northern Renaissance art.

Art History book of the week

Dialogues in Art History, from Mesopotamian to Modern: Readings for a new century

Published from Yale University Press, this book includes essays that address issues in Art History from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt to Mexico and Peru and from the Islamic world, China and Japan to the Renaissance, 18th and 19th century Europe. The Illustrations are good and there is an emphasis on the historical aspect of art, something that is often neglected in the theoretical frenzy of the last decades.
The book is impressive (in both size and time span) and offers views from some very interesting art historians of our times.

Art history book of the week

Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man and his times by William Wallace (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

One can find many faults at biographies as a way to write art history. However, it remains one of the most popular forms in the field due mainly to the appeal they have to wider public.
This book achieves a lot: it is very well written and therefore easy to read, it is informative and scholarly and presents to the reader a complete view of Michelangelo and the era he lived and worked in. It's only problem is that it has few illustrations and therefore one needs to look for them elsewhere.

Art history book of the week

Gardner's Art through the Ages

A good book that introduces the student and/ or art lover to the history of art through the ages. It's alredy in its 13th edition and the authors have tried to include everything, from prehistoric to modern and post modern art.

The illustrations are some of the best I've encountered so far!