Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume II

by Fred S. Kleiner

Author and award-winning scholar-professor Fred Kleiner continues to set the standard for art history textbooks, combining impeccable and authoritative scholarship with an engaging approach that discusses the most significant artworks and monuments in their full historical and cultural contexts. GARDNER’S ART THROUGH THE AGES: THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE, VOLUME II includes nearly 100 new images, new pedagogical box features, images that have been upgraded for clarity and color-fidelity, revised and improved maps and architectural reconstructions, and more. Over 40 reviewers -- both generalists and specialists -- contributed to the accuracy and readability of this edition. A unique scale feature will help students better visualize the actual size of the artworks shown in the book. Within each chapter, the "Framing the Era" overviews, timeline, extended captions, and the chapter summary section titled "The Big Picture" will help students review for exams.
Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Genres: Textbooks, Art, Art History, Nonfiction

608 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Cara Lynn]

Ughhhhh. It’s finally over

[Diane]

It’s good, it’s fine. Useful introduction to western art. Now, though, I would very much like to read a book about the rest of art, from the overlooked knitting, embroideries and tapestries of women throughout time, to so-called eastern art, for the approaches to perspective and realism are so different.

[Julia]

idk it’s a textbook 🧍🏻‍♀️ I definitely would not have read this if i didn’t have to for classes but it’s nice learning about artworks i’ve seen before and their historical contexts etc etc. also im gonna dual degree in the history of art and architecture lol so clearly i enjoyed this a little

[Karen]

done with the semester and therefore with this textbook. i think it was pretty good as far as textbooks go. i feel properly introduced to a broad survey of “western” art from the renaissance to nearly the present day.

[Rachel]

This is the textbook I use for Art History class. The book does somethings well and some things less well. Architecture seems to be handled well, but I'm less fond of the introduction that asks some questions but leaves other things out. I want to set up a framework for how my students approach art history. I think this book is more readable (and a more enjoyable read) than Stokstad, but there are some concepts or ways of phrasing issues that some of my community college students find difficult.
I rarely find myself disagreeing with the text's explanation or choices, but it does happen. In particular, I would have divided the 20th century into twice as many chapters and sorted the works into the uS/Mexico and Europe, especially before 1945. I understand why the book chose not to, but It would help my students sort the information into more manageable pieces.
Additionally, I thought the sections on feminism and post modernism in chapter 25 were too slim. The book doesn't mention postmodernism specifically except in architecture. It can be understood, perhaps, that earthworks and performance art are postmodern but no sculpture, paintings, or installations are discussed in this chapter after postmodernism is introduced.
The 15th edition makes an effort to include women artists and women's stories at least in passing, throughout the text (thanks feminist art movement).
I read and teach wester art history so non Western perspectives don't show up in a significant way until the last chapters--by design.