Art & Civilization - Softcover

Lucie-Smith, Edward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130465585 ISBN 13: 9780130465580

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 1993

Synopsis

The story of the arts in the West from prehistory to the present. Much of the book is devoted to the visual arts, and the remainder to literature, ideas, history, philosophy, music, dance and theatre. It summarizes major concepts, characterizes major personalities and defines technical terms.

About this title

From the Publisher:

From prehistory to present day, Art and Civilization tells the story of the arts in the Western world and explains how the phenomenon we now call "Western civilization" developed. A considerable amount of attention is paid to developments made in painting, sculpture, literature, theatre, music, and dance, with a full discussion of the great images of Western art and their creators. In fact, approximately sixty-percent of the book is devoted to the visual arts, twenty-percent to literature, ideas, history, and philosophy, and the remaining twenty-percent to music, dance, and theatrical presentation.

From Publishers Weekly:

In an ambitious, enormously rewarding survey of the arts in Western civilization, art historian Lucie-Smith traces the connections between architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, philosophy and music in each of a number of epochs discussed. Proceeding from Paleolithic Mother Goddesses to minimalism and multiculturalism, Lucie-Smith is always entertaining and frequently profound, whether he is discussing the "universal language" of Neolithic rock art, the Byzantine empire's "lopsided" cultural achievements, parallels in the lives of Beethoven and Goya, or Arshile Gorky as "a forerunner . . . stranded between the European approach to painting and the American view." This splendidly illustrated album features hundreds of color and black-and-white plates, plus maps, time charts, literary excerpts from Gilgamesh to Waiting for Godot , and boxed highlights (such as "The Conquest of Mexico" and "African Art and Cubism"). Lucie-Smith's acute insights and his focus on specific creative works keep his highly selective narrative lively and concrete.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0130465585
• ISBN 13: 9780130465580
• Binding: Paperback