Product Description

Over two decades, this art historical tour de force has consistently proved the classic introduction to humanity's artistic heritage. From our paleolithic past to our digitised present, every continent and culture is covered in an articulate and well-balanced discussion. In this seventh edition, the text has been revised to embrace developments in archaeology and art historical research, while the renowned contemporary art historian Michael Archer has greatly expanded the discussion of the past twenty years, providing a new perspective on the latest developments. The insight, elegance and fluency that the authors bring to their text are complemented by 1458 superb illustrations, half of which are now in colour. These images, together with the numerous maps and architectural plans, have been chosen to represent the most significant chronological, regional and individual styles of artistic expression.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1416504 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 996 pages

About the Author
Hugh Honour is one of the leading art historians of our time. With John Fleming, he edited the Pelican 'Style and Civilization' series. John Fleming, with Nikolaus Pevsner and Hugh Honour, wrote The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He died in 2001. Michael Archer teaches at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford.

Customer Reviews

An Ideal Resource
As a student of fine and decorative art, "A World History of Art" has proved an invaluable resource for me. Unlike so many texts intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of art, this book is fresh and enjoyable, offering a wealth of information in a succinct and articulate manner. It is all too easy to deteriorate into ponderous, heavy prose when discussing the history of art, but Honour and Fleming generally manage to avoid the trap and move steadily and seamlessly through both time and place in discussing the progression of art.

"A World History of Art" is, primarily, an academic text and is therefore a proverbial doorstop of a book - I would not recommend it as a coffee table adornment, but would strongly encourage students or connoisseurs to consider it as a reference. It is an ideal source of general information for the university or postgraduate student, and would serve as an excellent introduction for anyone seeking to study the history of art.

very broad
a very broad, complete overlook at the total history of arts in the world from 30 000 bc up to today thru buddhist, hinduhistic,chinese, western, eastern, you name it! it seems like nothing is missing, but then again this brickstone of a book is a thousand pages long. For me as a painter i have never been more satisfied reading a book about art, it is a travel in delight.

Just what I was looking for.
The book is a brief summary of the world's history of pictorial art and a valuable reference book.

Surprisingly I received it within two days after ordering: bravo!