History of Art

There are three ways of viewing art; namely, the way it has been, the way it could be, and the way it should be. This book of course follows the first, with the other two being delegated to art techniques and the philosophy of aesthetics. It is very difficult to say whether one can gain insight into a culture via the artistic relics that have been left over from it, but a rational and organized discussion of how humans have expressed themselves in the past can only inspire a deeper appreciation of art. That being said, an author must be careful in the decision as to what goes into a book on art history. Subjective preferences can seduce an author into including artworks that are representative only of the author's view, or, possibly even worse, the views of the majority of the people in the era that is studied. A work of art need not be popular before it is classified as art, but frequently it is the popular works that are chosen to be included in a work on art history. Art is a continuous source of surprise, it beckons the viewers to consider alternatives, and to formulate, sometimes with concentration and at other times with reckless abandonment, an estimate of themselves. A book on the history of art should be no different than the art which it delineates: it should also be original, and give readers a slight push off balance, get them out of equilibrium, and entice them to reconsider their preconceptions. This book does not do this, and instead focuses its attention on the artwork that would be classified as popular or familiar. It does however give an academic and very comprehensive view of the history of art from a culturally global point of view. It is democratic in its selection of geographies and the cultures in which the art originated. For that reason it could be read profitably by someone interested in the facts of art, with the goal perhaps of finding out the values and motivations of the culture in which the art was produced. Not much time is spent on the methodologies and reasons for the art taking the form that it did in past cultures. It would have been interesting to encounter more discussion on the mediums chosen by the artists, and why they chose these particular mediums, with more detailed discussion maybe of the connection of these mediums with the available technology of the time. Or, maybe more discussion on the connection of the art with the particular philosophies of the culture. Popular or not, the art pieces chosen in the book are still fascinating to look at. They are a delightful mixture of the symmetrical and the chaotic, the familiar and the fantastical, and they reinforce the belief that to live life, one must also draw it, paint it, and sculpt it.....