Overview

Newly expanded to feature additional artworks from more diverse artists Fresh commentary across the six chapters to update the publication to present day Builds on six key themes that help to draw compelling - and perhaps unexpected - parallels in the story of art across different cultures and time periods, highlighted with a clear visual identity The bestselling survey of art history, newly expanded with additional artworks and fresh commentary across six overarching themes: looking, materials, mind, devotion, power, and sex. How is art made? How can we interpret the meaning behind it? And what is the significance of the way in which it is displayed? Using six common themes that bind together art from around the globe, this lively and illuminating journey through art history seeks to answer these questions and more, drawing parallels across different time periods and cultures - from cave paintings to contemporary multi-media works. This expanded edition of Dana Arnold's bestselling survey offers new illustrations and fresh insights - the perfect companion for anyone seeking to learn more across a stunning breadth of art.

Full Product Details

9781849769471

Table of Contents

Reviews

The most compelling short exploration of the visual arts that I have read since John Berger's Ways of Seeing. -- Edward Dimendberg A wonderful introduction to art: precise, accessible and informative. The reader is expertly conducted through the major approaches to the making and understanding of art across the world. -- David Peters Corbett A highly readable introduction to art, drawing on a deep historical sensibility, engaged by the voices of the artists as well as the aesthetic criteria involved in making and looking at art. No other introduction to art addresses these basic aspects of viewing so pertinent to the age of the image. -- Catherine M. Soussloff

Author Information

Dana Arnold is Professor of Architecture at Manchester School of Architecture, UK. She is the author of Art History: A Very Short Introduction, which has been translated into twelve languages. Her recent edited volumes include A Companion to British Art, Art History: Contemporary Perspectives on Method and Biographies and Space.

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