History of Art, Volume One (Fourth Edition, Revised and Expanded)

H. W. Janson; Revised and Expanded by Anthony F. Janson

ISBN 10: 0133884481 / ISBN 13: 9780133884487

Published by Prentice Hall / Harry N. Abr, 1991

About this Item

Classic and highly regarded survey of Western art by H. W. Janson, revised and expanded by Anthony F. Janson. This is Volume One of the Fourth Edition, covering the history of art from prehistoric civilizations through the medieval period. Extensively illustrated with 577 illustrations, including 250 full-color images, maps, architectural diagrams, and timelines.

A standard reference for university art history courses, museums, artists, collectors, and anyone interested in the development of Western art and architecture.

This copy is in very good condition. Hardcover binding is solid with clean, bright pages and no writing or highlighting noted. Cover shows light shelf wear consistent with normal use. Corners are lightly bumped. Overall a clean, attractive copy suitable for study or collection.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1783035380796

Bibliographic Details

• Title: History of Art, Volume One (Fourth Edition, Revised and Expanded)
• Publisher: Prentice Hall / Harry N. Abr
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0133884481
• ISBN 13: 9780133884487
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 4th Edition
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Now the definitive survey of Western art is available in a deluxe, one-volume slipcased edition -- an appropriately elegant presentation for a matchless classic.

This new History of Art is bound in rich cloth and stamped in gold foil, and placed in a slipcase bearing Botticelli's Primavera, a favorite painting of artlovers everywhere. Inside, the Fifth Edition Revised includes such useful features as parallel discussions of cultural developments and art movements from ancient Greek times through our own era, and a gazetteer of art museums and architectural sites.

Of course, the book's sumptuous five-color reproductions and rich black-and-whites far surpass in number and quality those found in any other survey. History of Art is truly without peer.

Review

For thousands of art lovers both amateur and professional, aesthetic life began with Janson, as H.W. Janson's History of Art is often called. In the first edition, published in 1962, Janson spoke to that perennial reader he gently called "the troubled layman." His opening paragraph revealed his sympathy: "Why is this supposed to be art?" he quoted rhetorically. "How often have we heard this question asked--or asked it ourselves, perhaps--in front of one of the strange, disquieting works that we are likely to find nowadays in the museum or art exhibition." Keeping that curious, questioning perspective in mind, he wrote a history of art from cave painting to Picasso that was singularly welcoming, illuminating, and exciting.

After H.W. Janson died, in 1982, his son, Anthony F. Janson, took over the daunting task of revising his father's book. Janson the elder would be thrilled with the beauty of this fifth edition, which tips the scales at more than seven pounds. Thanks to advances in printing, it teems with reproductions--736 in color and 500 black-and-white--that would have been far too costly 35 years ago. At an even 1,000 pages, it is an inch thicker than its 572-page progenitor.

Sojourning through this book, a reader is offered every amenity for a comfortable trip. Because Janson never assumes knowledge on the part of the reader, a recent immigrant from Mars could comprehend Western art from this text. The only assumption the Jansons have made is that with a little guidance everyone can come to understand the artifacts that centuries of architecture, sculpture, design, and painting have deposited in our paths. Countless readers have proven the Jansons right--and found their lives enriched in the process.