08-31-2021, 10:26 AM
This is a quick survey of art history from Impressionism to the present, by a former director of the Tate Gallery in London in a talky, informal style.
The earlier chapters are very good, but it falters around Pop Art, and I skipped the final chapter. Since it is short, he skips a lot. His biggest omission is no real discussion of Expressionism at all. He also pretty much omits women completely, except for a few in the Surrealism chapter, and a few in the Post-Modernism chapter. (Perhaps this is sexist, perhaps not; he also omits many men as well, and just gives time to the big names. I think it's more likely just old-fashioned, sticking with the story as he first learned it and not updating it.)
I would recommend this if you want a quick look at art movements from the 1860s-1960s. The big downside is that he mentions a lot of artworks that aren't pictured. I knew them, or similar ones, so it wasn't a problem for me, but it could easily be confusing for non-specialists.
The earlier chapters are very good, but it falters around Pop Art, and I skipped the final chapter. Since it is short, he skips a lot. His biggest omission is no real discussion of Expressionism at all. He also pretty much omits women completely, except for a few in the Surrealism chapter, and a few in the Post-Modernism chapter. (Perhaps this is sexist, perhaps not; he also omits many men as well, and just gives time to the big names. I think it's more likely just old-fashioned, sticking with the story as he first learned it and not updating it.)
I would recommend this if you want a quick look at art movements from the 1860s-1960s. The big downside is that he mentions a lot of artworks that aren't pictured. I knew them, or similar ones, so it wasn't a problem for me, but it could easily be confusing for non-specialists.
the hands that guide me are invisible