Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Oxford History of Western Art is a unique and authoritative account of the development of visual culture in the West over the last 2700 years, from the classical period to the end of the twentieth century.OHWA takes a fresh look at how the history of art is presented and understood. It uses a carefully devised modular structure to offer readers powerful insights into how and why works of art were created. This is not a simple, linear 'story' of art, but a rich series of stories, told from varying viewpoints. Carefully selected groups of pictures give readers a sense of the visual 'texture' of the periods and movements covered. The 167 illustration groups, supported by explanatory text and captions, create a sequence of 'visual tours' - juxtapositions of significant images that convey a sense of the visual environments in which works of art were produced and viewed. The reader is invited to become an active participant in the process of interpretation. Another key feature is the redefinition of traditional period boundaries. Rather than relying on conventional labels such as Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, etc., five major phases of significant historical change are established that unlock longer and more meaningful continuities: The foundations: Greece and Rome c.600 BC-AD 410Church and state: The establishing of visual culture 410-1527 The art of nations: European visual regimes 1528-1770The era of revolutions 1770-1914Modernism and after 1914-2000This framework shows how the major religious and secular functions of art have been forged, sustained, transformed, revived, and revolutionized over the ages; how the institutions of church and state have consistently aspired to make art in their own image; and how the rise of art history itself has come to provide the dominant conceptual framework within which artists create, patrons patronize, collectors collect, galleries exhibit, dealers deal, and art historians write. The text has been written by a team of 50 specialist authors working under the direction of Professor Martin Kemp, one of the UK's most distinguished art historians. While bringing their own expertise and vision to their sections, each author has also related their text to a number of unifying themes and issues, including written evidence, physical contexts, patronage, viewing and reception, techniques, gender and race, centres and peripheries, media and condition, the notion of 'art', and current presentations. Though the coverage of topics focuses on European notions of art and their transplantation and transformation in North America, space is also given to cross-fertilizations with other traditions - including the art of Latin America, the Soviet Union, India, Africa, Australia, and Canada. The applied arts and reproductive media such as photography and prints are also covered. The result is a fresh and vibrant account of Western art, which serves both as an inspirational introduction for the general reader and an authoritative source of reference and guidance for students.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Advisory Panel (p. vii)
• The Contributors (p. viii)
• Preface (p. xii)
• Introduction (p. 2)
• Part 1 The Foundations: Greece and Rome c.600 BC-AD 410 (p. 10)
• Greek Sculpture (p. 12)
• Greek Pictorial Arts (p. 24)
• Greek Art Beyond Greece (p. 32)
• Roman Sculpture (p. 38)
• Roman Painting and Mosaics (p. 52)
• Theory and Criticism (p. 60)
• Ancient Paradigms from Augustus to Mussolini (p. 64)
• Part 2 Church and State: The Establishing of European Visual Culture 410-1527 (p. 68)
• Early Christian Art (p. 70)
• Illuminated Manuscripts (p. 76)
• Ars Sacra to c.1200 (p. 92)
• Monumental Sculpture to c.1300 (p. 100)
• Stained Glass (p. 108)
• Painting in the Middle Ages (p. 124)
• The Altarpiece (p. 130)
• Ars Sacra c.1200-1527 (p. 138)
• Monumental Sculpture c.1300-1527 (p. 144)
• The New Painting: Italy and the North (p. 152)
• Domestic Arts (p. 162)
• The Print (p. 170)
• Part 3 The Art of Nations: European Visual Regimes 1527-1770 (p. 178)
• The International Style (p. 180)
• Forms in Space 1527-c.1600 (p. 188)
• Forms in Space c.1600-c.1700 (p. 196)
• Free-Standing Sculpture c.1600-c.1700 (p. 210)
• The Picture: Italy and France (p. 216)
• The Picture: Spain (p. 230)
• The Picture: Dutch and Flemish (p. 238)
• The Picture: England (p. 246)
• The Print (p. 254)
• The Interior (p. 262)
• Forms in Space c.1700-1770 (p. 280)
• Academies, Theories and Critics (p. 290)
• The International Diaspora (p. 294)
• Part 4 The Era of Revolutions 1770-1914 (p. 302)
• Pictures and Publics (p. 304)
• Sculptures and Publics (p. 340)
• The Print (p. 358)
• Photography (p. 366)
• Design and Industry (p. 380)
• The Rise of Art History (p. 396)
• Art Criticism and Aesthetic Ideals (p. 400)
• Art Museums and Galleries (p. 404)
• Part 5 Modernism and After 1914-2000 (p. 410)
• The International Style (p. 412)
• Alternative Media (p. 442)
• Photography (p. 452)
• Alternative Centres: The Soviet Union (p. 470)
• Alternative Centres: Latin America (p. 474)
• Alternative Centres: India (p. 478)
• Alternative Centres: African and Afro-Caribbean (p. 482)
• Alternative Centres: Canada and Australia (p. 490)
• Postmodernism (p. 494)
• Art History (p. 510)
• Critics and Criticism (p. 514)
• Art Museums and Galleries (p. 518)
• Epilogue (p. 524)
• Chronology (p. 528)
• Glossary (p. 536)
• Further Reading (p. 540)
• Picture Acknowledgements (p. 548)
• Index (p. 550)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Kemp (art history, Oxford) and his team of 50 mostly British/Commonwealth/North American authors have restructured the narrative art history text (e.g., Gardner, Janson) into five themesDclassical antiquity, 600 B.C.E.-400 C.E.; European visual culture, 400-1527; European visual culture, 1527-1770; the age of revolutions, 1770-1914; and Modernism, 1914 on. About 50 essays with perhaps 150 extended-caption subject groupings (e.g., Roman sculpture, the interior, pictures and publics, design and industry, etc., which repeat as appropriate within the larger divisions), make up the body of the text. Threads running throughout include the roles of religion and the state in the creation and meaning of art and, later, the self-consciousness of art in a world conscious of art history. Kemp has done a good job of keeping an overall vision on the page and placing objects in meaningful contexts. A number of the illustrations and comparisons are unusual and thoughtful. All in all, a refreshing reformulation of the subject that is recommended for general collections and also of interest to specialists.DJack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The dogmatic overviews of art that are the traditional texts for students in college-level survey classes and the occasional museum-goer are overthrown by this refreshing and accessible survey. Instead of foregone conclusions, renowned art historian Kemp and his 50 contributors (representing a diversity of backgrounds and specialties) offer an elasticized look at art and an understanding that poses as many questions as it answers. Instead of taking a purely visual approach (i.e., organized by style and medium along a linear chronology), Kemp focuses on social, religious and political history, occasionally showing art in situ and juxtaposing photos by subject matter, but without ignoring standard art historical pedagogy. The first section, for example, focuses on the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome, but includes a subsection on "Ancient Paradigms from Augustus to Mussolini." The final section, "Modernism and After," extends the book's western reach to include the art of the Soviet Union, Latin America and India, and discusses the roles of art museums and galleries and the evolving discipline of art history. "Ultimately, there is no reason to look at art," Kemp writes in the epilogue, "but many of us cannot stop doing it, and it clearly meets fundamental human needs visually, intellectually, and psychologically. This book is designed to assist in meeting those needs." And so it does. (Oct. 31) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

There have been numerous single-volume histories of Western art that squeeze 2,500 years of creativity into less than half that number of pages, using essentially the same chronological outline. Art historian Kemp and his 50 contributors have taken a more fluid and inclusive approach by establishing the context within which art is created and exhibited and eschewing conventional period designations for more socially oriented perspectives and thematic groupings. Specific media, such as prints, painting, stained glass, and altarpieces, are considered independently, and there is an in-depth discussion of the shift from the influence of the church to that of nations. Kemp and company do a tidy job of chronicling the rapid evolution in innovative form and image that took place between 1770 and 1914, the "era of revolutions"; and the section on the impact of the conquest of the Americas on both indigenous and European art is eye-opening. The modern era is intelligently sampled, with a strong photography section, but inevitably many facets are reduced to tantalizing glimpses, which, it is hoped, will instigate further study. Donna Seaman

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Martin Kemp is Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford