Art History Textbooks ReviewsArt History Textbooks Reviews

Excellent overview of the Iranian art scene today
Not comprehensive and maybe not all the artists one would like to see, but nevertheless a very valuable compendium of the current (vibrant) Iranian art scene.

An Important and Groundbreaking Book
Kobena Mercer has long been an important figure in the world of cultural theory and identity politics. He has more recently turned his attention to the fine art object itself. In this groundbreaking book Mercer and a range of other art historians and scholars examine the place of the black artist in the fine art arena. Contrary to art history artists of the African diaspora have played an ongoing and important role in advancing the high art paradigm of painting. Abstraction does not only mean Jackson Pollock! Here Mercer and his critical cohorts examine the role that black artists have played and continue to play in making painting and abstraction an engaging and meaningful conceptual practice.

An Insightful Look at One Artist's Enuring Contribution
Kobena Mercer has long been a strong presence in the ongoing debate and discourse around issues of race and representation in the practice of artists of color. Much of his work has focused on the postmodern moment. With this important book Mercer now brings his incisive intelligence to bear on one of the premier African American modernists, Romare Bearden. It is no surprise that Mercer has brought the same high level of intellectual acuity and observation to Bearden's work, casting him in a new and exciting light. Mercer is joined here by a host of other art historians and theorists, each taking a moment out from the continuing din of Postmodernism to reflect on how we might bring a seemingly moderninst artist into the current discussion. In doing so they rescue Bearden from the dustbin of history, and make him once again an artist worthy of continued--and renewed--attention.

This book is an important and valuable addition to the ongong discourse around the place of African American artists within both the modernist and postmodern canon. That this work was undertaken by Mercer--with his impeccable Postmodernist pedigree--makes it that much more impressive.

Lovers of Rome, read this book!
This book is very well researched and written in a manner all lovers of Roman renaissance history, art and architecture will find rewarding. The author finds within the art and architecture of Rome new details and subtleties which often seem lost in the grand depictions of this highly researshed subject. The book contains excellent reproductions of the art - especially the Sistine Chaple and the Alter pieces, a very useful map and a chronological table toward the end which is valuable for quick reference. My only negetive criticism of this fine book would be concerning the history of the earlier buildings which existed before the grand palazzos were erected. For example, I have a sub-passion for the history of the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline). I know the present Palazzo del Senatore was formerly a palace or large building constructed over the Tabularium built by Lucius Cornelius Sulla. I was looking for more information explaining Michelangelo's planning and vision (which he accomplished) for this important site. This very well may have been outside the author's parameter but I am looking for a detailed discussion of the layers of history around the buildings of the Capitol. Nonetheless, I loved this book and will often refer to it and bring it with me on my next trip to the Eternal City.

Glorious gothic visions extend modern viewpoints
I generally read art history as a gentle way to access historical information in a setting less dry than the average non fiction text. Michael Camille's "Glorious Visions" is a cool, soothing, and soaring text which leaves you feeling self satisfied for reading something informative. Camille challenges the usual art historical judgment that gothic art was merely a stiff forerunner to the glories of the renaissance and his book is replete with examples that Gothic art was a great artistic achievement on its own. The book describes the Gothic experience of vision, but Camille also brings modern sensibilities to bear on Gothic history. He examines art's darker side, including the cost of these fabulous works to the peasantry and the disturbing depiction of the poor and other despised groups (such as the Jews). This book is easily accessible, lavishly illustrated, and immediately compelling. Highly recommended to any student of art, history, or beauty!