Completely rewritten and reorganized, this groundbreaking edition weaves together the most recent scholarship, the most current thinking in art history, and the most innovative digital art library. Experience the new Janson and re-experience the history of art.
The Portable Edition of Janson’s History of Art, Seventh Edition features four lightweight, paperback books packaged together along with optional access to a powerful student website, www.myartkit.com, making the text more student friendly than ever. Janson’s History of Art is still available in the original hardcover edition and in Volume I and Volume II splits. The Portable Edition is comprised of four books each representing a major period of art history:
Book 1: Ancient Art includes chapters 1-7
Book 2: Medieval Art includes chapters 8-13
Book 3: The Renaissance Art Through the Rococo includes chapters 13-22
Book 4: The Modern World includes chapters 23-30.
Long established as the classic and seminal introduction to art of the Western world, the Seventh Edition of Janson's History of Art is groundbreaking. When Harry Abrams first published the History of Art in 1962, John F. Kennedy occupied the White House, and Andy Warhol was an emerging artist. Janson offered his readers a strong focus on Western art, an important consideration of technique and style, and a clear point of view. The History of Art, said Janson, was not just a stringing together of historically significant objects, but the writing of a story about their interconnections, a history of styles and of stylistic change. Janson’s text focused on the visual and technical characteristics of the objects he discussed, often in extraordinarily eloquent language. Janson’s History of Art helped to establish the canon of art history for many generations of scholars.
The new Seventh Edition introduces the authorship of six distinguished specialists narrating the history of art for today’s students. The contribution of multiple authors allows an expert's understanding to permeate each and every part of the text with a currency in art historical thinking and an enhanced discussion of context. The result is a complete rewriting and a weaving together of expert knowledge into a meaningful and powerful presentation of Western art.
Penelope J. E. Davies
holds a B.A. from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. from Yale University and is currently Associate Professor at the University of Texas in Austin. Her research focuses on public art and architecture and politics in ancient Rome. She is author of Death and the Emperor: Roman Imperial Funerary Monuments from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius (Cambridge University Press 2000 and University of Texas Press 2004, winner of the Vasari Award, as well as articles and essays on ancient Rome.
In her own words, why she joined the project:
“I joined this project hoping that the new edition would bear witness to a constantly evolving dialogue about art, in which formulating new questions is as important as finding new answers. The new edition also necessitates balancing an accepted canon of ‘great works’ with new additions to reflect changing definitions of art and artists, and to incorporate recent discoveries – a responsibility to be approached with caution. The project has proved challenging at every step, but tremendously invigorating and rewarding.”
Reviewer quote:"Professor Davies has managed to include and condense the basic developments of these ancient art traditions in clear, interesting and well-integrated prose. Throughout, she never fails to introduce the various theories and ideas about these works of art and indicate what we don’t know, as well as controversies ... The result is an authoritative, lively and challenging text that cannot fail to stimulate and challenge university undergraduate students and prepare them for subsequent chapters in this new book." David Gordon Mitten, Harvard University
Walter B. Denny
is Professor of Art History at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and also currently serves as Consulting Curator for Islamic Art at the Smith College Museum of Art. He received his B.A. from Oberlin College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.While his research interests concentrate mainly on the art and architecture of the Ottoman Turks, his teaching and consulting range from Museum Studies and Orientalism to serving as guest curator for a wide variety of museum exhibitions. In addition to exhibition catalogues, his publications include books on Ottoman Turkish carpets, textiles, and ceramics, and articles on miniature painting, architecture and architectural decoration.
In his own words, why he joined the project:
“For me, introducing students to the history of art for the first time is the most exciting, the most worthwhile, and the most important task that any art historian can hope for. After thirty-five years of teaching, I welcome the chance to participate in a project where I am able to introduce a large student audience to the beauty, the breadth, the complexity, and the challenge of Islamic art. I hope that Islamic art, a mirror reflecting an important and often misunderstood culture and society, will provide students with a way to understand and appreciate the achievements and the aspirations of Islamic people today, as well as an understanding of their important and deeply-rooted historical accomplishments in the visual arts.”
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