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World of Art
Viking Art
With striking illustrations of all the different aspects of Viking art, this will become the definitive guide for all those interested in this vibrant art form and
in Norse history.
The distillation of a lifetime’s study by a leading authority, this new account covers all the intricate and beautiful art styles of the so-called ‘Viking Age’. It ranges in time from the first major Viking expeditions overseas around AD 800 to the general establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia some 300 years later.
An opening chapter gives the historical and geographical background. Thematic chapters then describe and discuss the six main Viking art styles, showing how they emerged from and interacted with one another.
Delicate metalwork is contrasted with elaborate wood-carvings and the famous Gotland ‘picture-stones’, while we move in scale from the Oseberg ship to decorated weapons and fine jewelry. The book’s conclusion looks at the art in relation to pagan Viking mythology, the Conversion period and the Norse sagas as well as at its legacy in later times.
Includes detailed maps. 220 Illustrations, 156 in colour
The distillation of a lifetime’s study by a leading authority, this new account covers all the intricate and beautiful art styles of the so-called ‘Viking Age’. It ranges in time from the first major Viking expeditions overseas around AD 800 to the general establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia some 300 years later.
An opening chapter gives the historical and geographical background. Thematic chapters then describe and discuss the six main Viking art styles, showing how they emerged from and interacted with one another.
Delicate metalwork is contrasted with elaborate wood-carvings and the famous Gotland ‘picture-stones’, while we move in scale from the Oseberg ship to decorated weapons and fine jewelry. The book’s conclusion looks at the art in relation to pagan Viking mythology, the Conversion period and the Norse sagas as well as at its legacy in later times.
Includes detailed maps. 220 Illustrations, 156 in colour
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 30, 2020
Very extensive discussion of Viking art and its influence.
June 21, 2021
A very well-compiled and detailed piece; however, just too dense, a tad dry, which is why I've given the book 3 stars instead of 4.
I was thrilled to have recognized several of the archaeological excavations presented in this book, as I've read many of those original reports. The author does a good job of plucking from a variety of fields—archaeology, history, anthropology...—in informing his examination of Viking Age art.
Now, I want to tackle a book on Celtic art, because so many of the motifs from Viking Age art show up in Celtic art.
I was thrilled to have recognized several of the archaeological excavations presented in this book, as I've read many of those original reports. The author does a good job of plucking from a variety of fields—archaeology, history, anthropology...—in informing his examination of Viking Age art.
Now, I want to tackle a book on Celtic art, because so many of the motifs from Viking Age art show up in Celtic art.
December 31, 2015
Really nice general survey of Scandinavian art during the Viking Age in its expansive sense, around 800 - 1000 CE. Brief and readable, with excellent illustrations, though, as always with Thames and Hudson's "World of Art" series, the book, and, consequently, the illustrations, are regrettably small.
December 31, 2015
Great overview of Viking art, with pictures and descriptions based on those pictures.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews