The Beginner's Guide to Art

This guide explains world art from Paleolithic cave paintings to ancient Greek temples, Byzantine icons, Japanese architecture, Oceanic sculpture, African murals, and the 20th-century avant-garde. 345 color illustrations.

Grade 8 Up-A broad introduction to art. Following introductory essays on "Art and Life," sections on architecture, sculpture, painting, and biographies are subdivided into chapters on "Mosques," "Sculpture and Death," "The Arts of Oceania," etc. An illustrated time line at the beginning of the volume helps tie them together. This approach is a refreshing change from the chronological format of H. W. Janson's History of Art for Young People (Abrams, 1997), but it does mean a few terms and concepts (the Bauhaus School, for example) are mentioned several times without satisfactory explanation. The photos are an improvement; though sometimes smaller than those in Janson's, they are all in color. However, a glossary is woefully lacking. The biographies are succinct and readable but there are fewer artists than found in Janson's book, and are a virtual parade of dead white men. This section is supposedly about figures who "played an important role in the development of Western art," which doesn't explain the exclusion of, say, Georgia O'Keefe and Diego Rivera. And why only Western artists, when the rest of the book covers a diversity of cultures? Despite these problems, the prose is slightly less dense than Janson's, making this title better for student use. Add it if your collection needs supplementary material.
July Siebecker, Hubbard Memorial Library, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Clearly, this work is designed for the neophyte in the world of art appreciation. In simple terms, amplified by frequent color illustrations, the work traces the development of architecture, sculpture, and painting with discussions of styles and techniques. Cultural import and influence are examined in each section, and a time line serves to explore further the global scope of artistic activities. The biographies of major figures in the development of Western art range from Giotto to Moore, and all include small annotated illustrations. This work could well serve as an entree into the world of art but is only that; slight, superficial, and lacking a bibliography, it is more a gloss than a real starting point. For larger public library and high school collections.?Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.