Art History: A Very Short Introduction

by Arnold, Dana

• ISBN13: 9780192801814
• ISBN10: 0192801813
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This clear and concise new introduction examines all the major debates and issues using a wide range of well-known examples. It discusses the challenge of using verbal and written language to analyse a visual form. Dana Arnold also examines the many different ways of writing about art, and thechanging boundaries of the subject of art history. Topics covered include the canon of Art History, the role of the gallery, 'blockbuster' exhibitions, the emergence of social histories of art (Feminist Art History or Queer Art History, for example), the impact of photography, and the development ofArt History using artefacts such as the altarpiece, the portrait, or pornography, to explore social and cultural issues such as consumption, taste, religion, and politics. Importantly, this book explains how the traditional emphasis on periods and styles originates in western art production and can obscure other critical approaches, as well as art from non western cultures.

Author Biography

Dana Arnold is Professor of Architectural History at the University of Southampton and Director of the Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
List of illustrations	p. xv
What is art history?	p. 1
Writing art history	p. 29
Presenting art history	p. 54
Thinking about art history	p. 76
Reading art	p. 90
Looking at art	p. 105
References	p. 113
Further information	p. 115
Glossary	p. 117
Index	p. 121
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