The Story of Art

by Gombrich, EH

• ISBN13: 9780714847030
• ISBN10: 0714847038
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-07
• Publisher: Phaidon Press

Summary

New Format and Redesign of the World'sBest Selling Art Book"Gombrich (1909-2001) had a gift for clear, conversational language, anarrative approach, and an interest in pop culture--he even included massmedia and cartoons in The Story of Art. The book, which receives highpraise in the CAA report [a recent assessment of art history textbooks bythe College Art Association], is today the world's best selling art historytextbook, with total sales of 8 million copies."-Art News, February 2006E.H. Gombrich's warm, lively, opinionated--yet never patronizing--authorialvoice brings history to life in a way that attracts both adults and youngreaders alike.Last year the first English translation of A Little Historyof the World, originally written in 1935 in German, was a surprisepublishing success.Yet, this isn't even Gombrich's most popular work. The Story of Art has sold over 8 million copies, has been translated intomore than 30 languages and served as the standard introduction to arthistory for students around the world for the past century.Now, the bookwill be available in a new affordable format, in wide release for thegeneral public, just in time for the holidays.Phaidon Press is pleased to announce the publication of THE STORY OF ART:POCKET EDITION by E.H. Gombrich, a re-designed, re-formatted compactedition of one of the best-known and best-loved books on art ever written. This new edition combines smoothly flowing text with a clear, simple designin a convenient and accessible format.The new edition allows this classicwork to continue its triumphant progress for another generation, and toremain the first choice for all newcomers to art. Phaidon Press commissioned Gombrich during World War II to write a historyof art for young people.In 1950, The Story of Art was published and so aclassic was born.Gombrich dictated the whole text from memory, usingillustrations from books in his library as prompts.The outcome was aseminal work of criticism and one of the most accessible introductions tothe visual arts.Starting with the cave paintings at Lascaux andstretching as far as Postmodernism, the whole of art history is presentedas a chronological narrative.Using vivid imagery, storytelling and slyhumor, Gombrich's voice draws in all--the student, connoisseur, or amateur. The Story of Art has always been admired for two key qualities: it is apleasure to read and a pleasure to handle.The pocket edition is noexception.With this new edition this classic work is now as accessible asthe story inside.Gombrich's extraordinary knowledge and wisdom willcontinue to teach and inspire generation after generation.

Author Biography

Sir Ernst Gombrich's (1909–2001) standing in the world of art and his popularity with experts and a vast general readership alike remain unrivalled. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and many titles have become classics. Ernst Gombrich was born in Vienna and came to England in 1936. He spent the larger part of his working life at the University of London's Warburg Institute, where he was Director from 1959 until his retirement in 1976. His 'retirement' saw the publication of numerous books, reviews and articles, and the conferring of many international honours, including a knighthood and the Order of Merit. In 1994 the city of Frankfurt awarded him the Goethe Prize. His bestselling book The Story of Art, first published over fifty years ago, continues to delight and inform students of art around the world. Professor Gombrich's books are models of good art-historical writing, and reflect his deep and abiding concern with the standards and values of our cultural heritage.

Table of Contents

Introduction: On Art and Artists

Strange Beginnings: Prehistoric and Primitive Peoples; Ancient America

Art for Eternity: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Crete

The Great Awakening: Greece, Seventh to Fifth Century BC

The Realm of Beauty: Greece and the Greek World, Fourth Century BC to First Century AD

World Conquerors: Romans, Buddhists, Jews and Christians, First to Fourth Century AD

A Parting of Ways: Rome and Byzantium, Fifth to Thirteenth Century

Looking Eastwards: Islam, China, Second to Thirteenth Century

Western Art in the Melting Pot: Europe, Sixth to Eleventh Century

The Church Militant: The Twelfth Century

The Church Triumphant: The Thirteenth Century

Courtiers and Burghers: The Fourteenth Century

The Conquest of Reality: The Early Fifteenth Century

Tradition and Innovation I: The Later Fifteenth Century in Italy

Tradition and Innovation II: The Fifteenth Century in the North

Harmony Attained: Tuscany and Rome, Early Sixteenth Century

Light and Colour: Venice and Northern Italy, Early Sixteenth Century

The New Learning Spreads: Germany and the Netherlands, Early Sixteenth Century

A Crisis of Art: Europe, Later Sixteenth Century

Vision and Visions: Catholic Europe, First Half of the Seventeenth Century

The Mirror of Nature: Holland, Seventeenth Century

Power and Glory I: Italy, Later Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Power and Glory II: France, Germany and Austria, Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries

The Age of Reason: England and France, Eighteenth Century

The Break in Tradition: England, America and France, Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries

Permanent Revolution: The Nineteenth Century

In Search of New Standards: The Late Nineteenth Century

Experimental Art: The First Half of the Twentieth Century

A Story without End: The Triumph of Modernism

Another Turning of the Tide

The Changing Past

A Note on Art Books

Chronological Charts

Maps

List of Illustrations by Location

Index and Glossary

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.