Nebamun’s garden, fragment of a scene from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun (Around 1350 B.C.)
Back in March, we featured a post on how to research performing arts topics and we wanted to follow it up with a brief exploration into a few of the most well-received art history books and articles ever written. Art history majors might be intrigued to learn more about the recent contemporary art sale at Christie’s, which established 16 new world records with works by 20th century modern art painters Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jean-Michel Basquiat selling for a combined $638.6 million.
We’ve included an excellent selection from the Questia archives to help students with their art history papers and finals but wanted to share additional works that might peak your interest. In the words of E.H. Gombrich, author of The Story of Art, one of the most comprehensive books ever written on the subject of art history, “there really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists. “
Our understanding of art has evolved over thousands of years dating back to prehistoric times when early man first began painting or drawing pictures on cave walls. What Gombrich maintains in his seminal work is how people today must take and review art on its own terms. For example, while discussing the various visual perspectives painted by the artist of “Nebamun’s garden, “ Gombrich says what mattered most to Egyptian painters was not prettiness but completeness. It was the artist’s task to preserve everything as clearly and permanently as possible. Egyptian painters, therefore, did not set out to sketch nature as it appeared to them from any fortuitous angle, according to Gombrich.
In our continuous goal to serve undergraduates with the highest quality content, our librarians have selected five of some of the most influential and popular art history books and articles from the Questia archive and we’re making them available to you now.
Contemporary Art
Globalizing Contemporary Art: The Art World’s New Internationalism.
Associate Editor: Lotte Philipsen
Associate Editor Lotte Philipsen’s central theme is the globalization of the world of contemporary art. In particular, Lotte asks: How has ‘New Internationalism’ in the visual arts challenged the traditional Eurocentric paradigm of the art world? The ‘New internationalism’, for Philipsen, places the achievements of the majority cultures of the world into the discourses, the exhibitions and the history of contemporary visual arts.
Medieval Art
Word and Image: An Introduction to Early Medieval Art.
Author: William J. Diebold
Author William Diebold writes about the nature of visual art in Europe north of the Alps from 600 to 1050. Diebold’s book provides a conceptual foundation, the relationship between word and image in early Medieval art. This theme or relationship plays a pivotal role because in the early Middle Ages, writing and pictures were inextricably linked.
Asian Art
Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia. Volume: 1.
Author: Marylin Martin Rhie
Author Marilyn Martin Rhie explores the beginnings of Buddihsm and Buddhist art in China, which being obscure, present a challenge to decipher from the existing fragmentary evidences. Early Chinese Buddhist art has been vaguely understood but thanks to new materials and historical studies emerging from China over the last two decades, it is time to reassess the art from these early periods.
Women Artists
“Great Women Artists: A Conversation with Catherine Morris.” Afterimage
Author: Harry J. Weil
Author Harry Weil features an interview/discussion on the topic of feminist art. Weil interviews the third director and curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist art at the Brooklyn Museum, Catherine Morris. According to Morris, “the participation and influence of women in the art is enormous.”
Art Forgery
“In the World of Forgery, No Work Is Sacred.” Art Business News
Author: Barden Prisant
The author writes about the worldwide problem of art forging. In the art world, forgery can occur in all categories from paintings to sculptures to prints and collectibles. According to U.S. memorabilia publisher, Ken Thimmel, the FBI estimates that fully 70% of the signed memorabilia in circulation is phony.