Product Description

This groundbreaking book challenges the assumption that great women artists are exceptions to the rule who âtranscendedâ their sex to produce major works of art. While acknowledging the many women whose contributions to visual culture since the Middle Ages have often been neglected, Chadwickâs survey amounts to much more than an alternative canon of women artists: it re-examines the works themselves and the ways in which they have been perceived as marginal, often in direct reference to gender. In her discussion of feminism and its influence on such a reappraisal, the author also addresses the closely related issues of ethnicity, class and sexuality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125913 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
Whitney Chadwick is Professor of Art at San Francisco State University. Among her other books are Significant Others and Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement, both published by Thames & Hudson.

Customer Reviews

excellent overview of womens contribution to european art
Chadwicks masterly study of women in European art is incredibily well researched. She manages to uncover the forgotton contribution of women to the arts and the context of the contemporary worlds they lived within. Her dicussion of the major ideological trends in society and the arts is impressive. While it could have included more discussion on the non Anglo-American art scene, the book has proved invaluable in understanding the complexities of women in art history.

Academic
This book presumes the reader has a good knowledge of art history etc., and goes into great depth with much detail. As I was looking for something more general I found it heavy going in places and thought the last sections devoted to modern art disappointing with quesionable examples. I think we all have an instinct for what is good art, and a lot of these simply aren't - they separate the masses from art, rather than integrate. Apart from that, it's good value, plenty of illustrations and well written. It'll stay on my shelf as a reference book I can dip into from time to time.

Women in Art
Chadwick's book is the definative in this genre, an absolute must read for anyone wishing to research this field.