Product Description

Approaches to the history of art are probably more varied - and more debated - than in any other branch of history, and a study of different historical approaches is becoming an increasingly important component of many academic courses. This anthology of art-historical writings from the Renaissance to the present day has a particular focus, for key texts have been chosen in which the authors themselves reflects on the nature of their subject and on their own methods of inquiry. Included are texts by Vasari, Winckelmann, Burckhardt, Wolfflin, Panofsky, Gombrich and Pollock, among others. The introduction gives a summary of art-historical methods, and each of the texts is accompanied by a brief commentary which places it in context and discusses the issues it raises. Also provided is a critical glossary of art-historical terms, a brief biography of each of the historians, and a select bibliography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8716 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

Awkwardly insighful
Art history and its methods is a difficult book to read, especially for someone who has little grasp of the technical terms. I read the book, hoping it would give further my knowledge of art history, as I am applying to study that subject next year. Eric Fernie's comments were helpful, as the extracts from art critics, like Vasari and Wolfflin, were sometimes challenging to read. However the later critics become increasingly painless when reading their extracts, such as Hans Belting and Griselda Pollock, though the texts still provoke creative thinking.

The book also has an extremely useful glossary of terms, in relatively straightfoward easy to understand definitions. This is a hard book to read all the way through, but I would recommend it to readers who have prior knowledge to the world of art history as it can be a useful reference book. For readers, who are new to the subject, like myself, I think starting with a less problematic book in terms of technical terms would be a better choice, such as the Story of Art, by E.H Gombrich, which I read shortly after finishing this book and was pleasantly surprised at how well he constructed his points without becoming stuck in technical detail.

A must have if you are attempting an Art History course
...but be warned, although the content of this book is excellent, the typeface (absolutely tiny) and the type colour (grey) makes reading it for more than 15 minutes at a time impossible!

A definitive aid for the art history student.
If you are serious about the study of art history, this book can provide you with a very good understanding of research methodologies. I have taken a postgraduate course in research methodologies of history of art however nothing make me understand the broad picture better than this book, I think I have learned more from this £11 book than what I learned from my first term of study.