The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia

Smithsonian Visual Encyclopedia

by D.K. Publishing

The most visual and comprehensive encyclopedia for children that charts the evolution of the world's greatest cultural achievements in painting, music, photography, and dance, supporting the arts in STEAM education.

Kids can trace the development of painting, from prehistoric cave drawings to the Mona Lisa to contemporary street art; read the story of music, from classical and jazz to rock and roll; find out about photography, from the early pinhole camera to digital imagery; and put on their dancing shoes for some ballroom, ballet, modern dance, and more. Stunning full-page images bring each subject to life, and clear text and annotations provide comprehensive, age-appropriate coverage.

Full of amazing facts, clear explanations, and stunning photography, The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia is the essential introduction to the cultural world for children.

Series Overview: DK's Visual Encyclopedias are the first substantial series of encyclopedias aimed at young children, designed to excite and entertain, while offering a comprehensive overview of core subjects. From science and the human body to animals, the ocean, space, and more, each book combines fun facts, amazing pictures, and crystal-clear explanations to take kids into the wonders of our world.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Education, Childrens, Art and Photography

304 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2017

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfect starter art book. Simplified, color examples that span the time table for paintings, sculpture and more. Select authors are discussed in details the movements more so. I would recommend this book to adolescents or adults with no background in the arts.

[Jaime Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book with thorough information, well organized and pictures I could spend all day examining and enjoying. So love this one! Excellent homeschool resource or just because you appreciate art. ❤️‍🔥

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got a copy for my niece and I think she will learn a lot from it. Absolutely gorgeous book! Great intro to the arts for kids.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been a lot better if they had created separate books for each category. Half the book is about painting and then the rest skims over sculpture, photography, music, and dance.

[Katelyn Ilijevich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia is a great look into art of all generations. It has five sections where you are given a glimpse into the subjects of painting, sculpture, photography, music, and dance. All five sections showcase a handful of professional and famous works of art belonging to their category. The painting section is by far the largest of the five taking up more than half of the book, vibrant pictures and interesting facts fill these pages. Second is sculptures, in this category you are shown everything from ancient artifacts to modern-day art. Although it is the smallest section, the photography section is sure to give you lots of fantastic information about including the types of photography and inside looks of the camera. Next up is the music section, my personal favorite. Here you are shown baroque music to the Beatles and everything in between. Lastly, we get to the dance portion where ceremonial dances and break dancing are given their time to shine along with many other categories of dance. All in all, The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK Publishing is a wonderful way to get introduces to the arts.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Well Done! It's DK, so I would expect nothing less!

The book is divided down into sections on Painting (heavy on this area), which includes movements, people, Japanese Printmaking, and more! There are also small sections on: Sculpture, Photography, Music, and Dance.

Included are color photos and historical information on paintings, including the Medium used, a brief 2-page detailed section on the Evolution of the Camera, including where and when the camera was first produced and the type of material (film, etc.) used. The music section showcases the periods, the classical composers, the instruments (broken down by category - woodwinds, brass, strings, keyboards, and percussion.

The sections on Sculpture and Dance show the time periods (sculpture) and types of dance. They also showcase the artists and show a history of when periods / types were developed.

At the end of the book is a comprehensive Glossary and Index.

Fabulous!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books by DK publishing. They are so informative and the combination of photography and consumable facts make reading these books so engaging and enjoyable. This is a great introductory book into all forms of art and it covers paintings sculpture music and dance. I love books like these that give you a foundational knowledge that inspires you to do additional research on the topics that interest you. It was fascinating to see the evolution of art and music and dance throughout the centuries and how essential the arts are to the human experience.

[Jessica Ranard · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and interesting visual encyclopedia of art, music, dance, etc. I read this because I knew very little about different art periods and styles, and wanted to learn more. Mostly, this encyclopedia focuses on visual arts and talks about anything ranging from the renaissance to cubism to impressionism to islamic art to jazz music and bollywood. I mostly flipped through the dance sections and music sections just because, I don't really care about knowing the exact definition of what percussion music is. Anyways a solid read.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this encyclopedia for the painting. I continued for the photography and music sections. Other sections included are sculptures and dance.

The Painting gives a summary of various styles (lighting technique, realistic, messy, distorted lines, etc.). Select famous are have a full spread or half a page. Each scene is explained. I went away with more details than I did when I actually visited the Sistine Chapel. This encyclopedia gives the reader a closer look.

[Charny85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.It is absolutely full of beautiful art and information.
It covers painting, sculpting, photography, etc. The bulk of it is on painting.
There are several painters who are highlighted and are given double paged spreads of their work and information on their life.
Definite recommend.

[probably · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational.

[marin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The format and organization was very good and easy to follow along with. Gave a variety of arts including popular ones, from different places around the world, and information about the artists.

[Cecile · Rating 2 out of 5]

As usual for DK, beautiful pictures couple with erroneous text. I will not be using this for our art history.

[Kevin Demel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good starter book to learn about the arts.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part was the sculpture part. Though they didn't include my favorite one.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome resource and includes all different kinds of art. Recommended.

[Danika Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the overview and learned new things. There was a lot left out, but for a basic overview, it was good. Who knew that a digeredoo is a brass instrument? Fascinating.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is a pretty good introduction to the world of the arts and it included a lot of really interesting facts. Some sections, like sculpture of dance maybe could have been a little more complete, but I really enjoyed this reading, and ESPECIALLY IN QUARANTINE, it felt good to read something that was both educational and enjoyable to relax and get my mind off things, but learn interesting stuff at the same time.