Acknowledging how architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative
arts reflect the culture and society of their time, this latest addition
to the Art Essentials series invites the reader to experience and
appreciate the entirety of Western art from prehistory to today.
Focusing on the history in art history, each of The History of
Western Art's twelve chapters opens with a question to ponder, followed
by a summary of the major historical developments of the period,
touching on social structure, political organization, migration, race,
beliefs, scientific advances, and customs. An exploration of these
themes in the visualarts reveals how art and architecture from the Great
Pyramids and Hagia Sophia, as well as pieces by artists such as Peter
Paul Rubens, Andy Goldsworthy, Guerrilla Girls, and Faith Ringgold
simultaneously shape, reflect, and document the culture of the time and
place they were created. A secondary focus explores the constantly
evolving aesthetic preferences that swing between naturalism and
abstraction, with each era and style either rebelling against the
previous or seeking to improve it.
Richly illustrated, this introductory survey by expert art historian and
museum lecturer Janetta Rebold Benton offers a succinct and engaging
introduction to some of the most important works of architecture,
sculpture, and painting in the Western tradition, reinterpreted for a
twenty-first-century audience.
