A Text Book of the History of Painting

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in ebook Art

173 pages chronicling the history of painting from cave paintings to the modern era. Fully illustrated.

Art History For Dummies

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in Art History

Art history is more than just a collection of dates and foreign-sounding names, obscure movements and arcane isms. Every age, for the last 50,000 years has left its unique imprint on the world, and from the first cave paintings to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, from the Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia, to the graffiti-inspired paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, art history tells the story of our evolving notions of who and what we are and our place in the universe.

Whether you’re an art enthusiast who’d like to know more about the history behind your favorite works and artists, or somebody who couldn’t tell a Titian and a De Kooning—but would like to—Art History For Dummies is for you. It takes you on a tour of thirty millennia of artistic expression, covering the artistic movements, major artists, and indispensable masterworks, and the world events and cultural trends that helped spawn them. With the help of stunning black-and-white photos throughout, and a sixteen-page gallery of color images, it covers:

  • The rise and fall of classical art in Greece and Rome
  • The differences between Renaissance art and Mannerism
  • How the industrial revolution spawned Romanticism
  • How and why Post-Impression branched off from Impressionism
  • Constructivism, Dadaism, Surrealism and other 20th century isms
  • What’s up with today’s eclectic art scene

Art History For Dummies is an unbeatable reference for anyone who wants to understand art in its historical context.

The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in Art History

This second edition of Carol Strickland’s The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern offers an illustrated tutorial of prehistoric to post-modern art from cave paintings to video art installations to digital and Internet media.

Featuring succinct page-length essays, instructive sidebars, and more than 300 photographs, The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern takes art history out of the realm of dreary textbooks, demystifies jargon and theory, and makes art accessible—even at a cursory reading.

From Stonehenge to the Guggenheim and from Holbein to Warhol, more than 25,000 years of art is distilled into five sections covering a little more than 200 pages.

The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern