The Prestel Dictionary of Art and Artists in the 20th Century - Hardcover

Whitford, Frank

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3791323253 ISBN 13: 9783791323251

Publisher: Prestel, 2000

Synopsis

This full-color, one-volume dictionary provides a guide through the maze of twentieth-century art. Including artists, movements, photographers, techniques, styles, and turn-of-the-century precursors, The Prestel Dictionary of Art and Artists in the 20th Century draws on the expertise of over sixty art historians to give a comprehensive description and interpretation of the last artistic century. Concise entries, all specially commissioned for this book, and many illustrated with works in color, cover the questions raised by encounters with modern art. Cross-references provide links between artists, concepts, and techniques, and a selected bibliography gives the latest and best books for further reading.

About this title

About the Author

Professor Wieland Schmied lectures internationally, and is the author of numerous works on 19th and 20th century art including "Francis Bacon" and "Edward Hopper: Portraits of America". Professor Frank Whitfird has taught at the Slade School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, and has published widely on 20th-century art. He recently curated the highly successful Kandinsky exhibition at the Royal Academy. Professor Frank Zollner, from the University of Leipzig, Germany, is the author of Prestel's "Boticelli: Images of Love and Spring".

Reviews

With 501 illustrations and 1,309 entries written by more than 60 art historians, this alphabetically arranged dictionary provides an authoritative and up-to-date guide to twentieth-century art, including "artists, movements, photographers, techniques, styles, and turn-of-the-century precursors."

Written for both art professionals and the interested general reader, the articles are clear and concise. Biographical entries (the majority) briefly list the artists' biographical data, main exhibitions, and characteristics of their work. The artists who were selected for inclusion "have made a particular impact and brought innovation to their field" and range from Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, and Alfred Stieglitz to Jeff Koons, Maya Lin, and Cindy Sherman. Artistic groups and movements are included, as are significant exhibitions such as the Documenta (held in Kassel, Germany, every four or five years) and biennales (held in various cities every two years).Concepts are reviewed when "they are exclusively and immediately connected to twentieth-century art."

Ample cross-references are indicated by a small arrow preceding the term in the body of the text, a device that interrupts the flow of reading more than the standard bold type or small caps but that nonetheless gets the job done. Titles of works have been translated when possible. The copious (though mostly very small) illustrations generally appear on the same page as the articles they illustrate. When this is not the case, the location of the plate in noted within the entry. Short bibliographic references are given at the end of each entry and refer to an extensive list of more than 3,000 full references at the end of the volume. There is no index, though the alphabetical entry format and cross-references generally obviate the need for one.

This dictionary is more current than The Dictionary of Twentieth Cen tury Art (McGraw-Hill, 1974), which is excerpted from the five-volume McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Art (1969).Good for quick general information on contemporary artists and movements, it is suitable for college and university libraries, as well as for high schools with a strong visual and plastic arts programs. REVWR
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Edition details

• Publisher: Prestel
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3791323253
• ISBN 13: 9783791323251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384