A Pictorial History of Western Art PDF
Preview A Pictorial History of Western Art
1 A MENTOR BOOK ® A PICTORIAL MW1002 $1.50 HISTORY OF WESTERN ART ERWIN 0. CHRISTENSEN Features 377 illustrations. Includes background information on all periods—from prehistoric times to the present. K Tn'c>*t*£> kle-s-i-*Y A Pictorial History of Western Art ERWIN CHRISTENSEN O. isDirectorofPublicationsof theAmericanAssociation ofMuseumsinWashington,D.C. FormerlyhewastheCurator ofDecorativeArtsandTheIndex ofAmericanDesign atTheNational GalleryofArt.Heistheauthor ofEarlyAmerican WoodCarving, TheIndexofAmericanDesign, PrimitiveArt,andPopularArt in the UnitedStates. A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF WESTERN ART Erwin O. Christensen ® A MENTOR BOOK from jNJEW AMERICAN LIBRARY TIMES MIRROR NewYorkand Scarborough, Ontario The New English Library Limited. London For a fuller understanding of the history ofWestern art, this book should be used together with Mentor Book MQ357, entitled The History of Western Art. One book parallels the other without duplication in text or illustrations; together they contain 768 illustrations. Bracketed material throughout the book refers to background information in The History of Western Art (Mentor MQ357). © Copyright 1964 by Erwin O. Christensen Sixth Printing Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 64-19434 MENTOR TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES- REGISTEREDTRADEMARK MARCAREGISTRADA HECHO EN CHICAGO,U.S.A. Signet,SignetClassics, Signette, MentorandPlumeBooks are published in the United States by The New American Library, Inc., 1301 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, in Canada by The New American Library of Canada Limited, 81 Mack Avenue, Scarborough, 704, Ontario, in the United Kingdom by The New English Library Limited, Barnard's Inn, Holborn, London, E.C. 1, England. Printed in the United States ofAmerica Designed by Klaus Gemming Contents Preface 6 Introduction 8 i Prehistoric Art in Europe 11 ii Egyptian Art 19 in Ancient Near Eastern Art 36 iv Greek Art 55 v Etruscan and Roman Art 94 vi Early Christianand ByzantineArt: a.d. 100-1453 119 vn Early Medieval and RomanesqueArt: IOOb.c.-a.d. 1150 131 vin Gothic Art: 1150-1400 147 ix Renaissance Art: 1400-1600 162 x Baroque and Rococo Art: 1600-1800 256 xi Modern Art in Europe: 1800-1960 313 xn Art in the United States 399 Notes 465 Selected Bibliography 468 Index 473 Preface This book takes the reader on a tour through about five thou- sand years of Western art. It begins with the origins of art in the prehistoric period and ends with the art of today. Those works of art discussed in some detail are also illustrated; all important periods and leading countries are included. Archi- tecture, sculpture, and painting are emphasized, but the decorative arts and the graphic arts are also represented. Much care was spent on the selection of illustrations. With a wealth of art to choose from, each work had to be rep- resentative of its own period and to contribute in style and subject matter to the total panorama as well. Well-known masterpieces were included, even though they have been often reproduced. There are also works by unknown artists that have never been illustrated in this kind of book. Most of the works here discussed or illustrated are by outstanding artists, but there are many others of equal merit that had to be omitted. To condense the history of art into a given number of pages is an agonizing task. Much one would like to include has to be left out; otherwise it would be difficult to say much about anything. The history of art would become a string of names and dates connected by generalities and unsup- ported by interpretations or illustrations. In this volume most of the text deals with the illustrations. The best photographs obtainable were used; at times the one photograph that would result in the best reproduction was selected from several. 6 PREFACE 7 To cover the history of art in a book of this size may be compared to a trip on a plane. As the plane in approaching its goal descends at reduced speed, you begin to see in- dividual houses and the people on the streets. Much the same is true of our flight through time as we approach the art of our own period. Turn the pages of this book. When you are less than halfway through, you have covered, of the five thousand years, all but the last five hundred. Thereafter the pace becomes more leisurely. The works of art often belong to the same century or decade, and some are contemporary. More pages are given to the art that begins with the Renais- sance than to the earlier periods. It is modern art and its origins in the Renaissance with which we are chiefly con- cerned. For a more detailed account of the pre-Renaissance pe- riods, the reader should turn to The History of Western Art MQ (Mentor 357), which deals more fully with the earlier centuries; it too brings the history of art up to date and sup- plies background information for all periods. Introduction Man owes his gradual rise to civilization in a large measure to the development of his hand and eye. The two used to- gether in complex tasks produced tools and weapons; with their aid man learned to cope with a hostile environment. At an early stage in his development man's basic dissatis- faction with his lot drove him on to ever greater efforts. He took pride in his upright posture, which gave him a sense of the significance of verticals as denoting firmness and domination, horizontals suggesting repose. The ascending curve of the rising sun gave him joy; its descent brought on despair. Man's preference for symmetry was based on his body, which is symmetrical throughout. Thus art became related to the human body; its basic lines and forms are imbedded in experience and have become part of our human heritage. In a world invested with myth and magic, man's life was only beginning to be controlled by reason. His lack of experience set limits to what was within his realm. Other basic elements of experience, like con- ceptions of space and preferences for colors, were gradually developed and eventually used for purposes of art. What sustains the artist beyond the necessity of earning a livelihood is important. The medieval artist worked in a spirit of self-denial and humility. The Renaissance artist gloried in art as an expression of his own personality. To elevate him- self through art drives the modern artist to explore the pos- sibilities of discovering new beauty. This means strife and often frustration but also joy and release from tension. 8
The list of books you might like
