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The Illustrated History Of Art
Significant artistic developments from the Palaeolithic cave paintings to Superrealism are depicted.
538 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 1986
About the author
David Piper
87 books3 followersSir David Towry Piper CBE FSA FRSL (21 July 1918 – 29 December 1990) was a British museum curator and author. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery & Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford.
Under the pseudonym Peter Towry, Piper wrote a number of novels, including Trial by Battle (1959), a story based on his experiences as an officer in the Indian army, training in Bangalore and then seeing action against the Imperial Japanese Army in Malaya during World War II. He was subsequently a prisoner of war in Japan for three years.
Under the pseudonym Peter Towry, Piper wrote a number of novels, including Trial by Battle (1959), a story based on his experiences as an officer in the Indian army, training in Bangalore and then seeing action against the Imperial Japanese Army in Malaya during World War II. He was subsequently a prisoner of war in Japan for three years.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 18, 2014
It's taken me so long to get through this I ought to share a few thoughts. This is an excellent volume if like me you aspire to pretend to know a thing or two about art, covering every major topic from the earliest neolithic examples to the most recent developments at the time of its publication (1980s). These topics are given two-page spreads with colour photographs and captions, and are divided into broad chapters by historical date, sequenced chronologically. Its a heavy book that works best as a reference tool than a cover-to-cover read. To attempt to do so reveals a number of (minor) problems:
- Some of the page references are clearly off and haven't been rectified by my (2004) edition. For example one from "Picasso between the Wars" refers to p.692 - there aren't that many pages.
- The Eastern Art chapter is somewhat haphazardly placed about two-thirds of the way into the book. This seems to be a decision based on the point in history where Western artists began to incorporate Eastern influences, but this tends to skewer the perceptions of works of entire civilizations as a) being similar, which they definitely are not; and b) only significant in terms of an arbitrary meta-narrative. The main problem with this chapter is that it attempts to cover so much and yet gives the subjects a minuscule chapter (half the length of The Baroque Era which comes before it), and such little breathing space for each subject (8 pages for 3000 years of Chinese art).
- Not every photograph (about 1 in 3, maybe more) is in colour, which is important when learning about the visual arts. Obviously to keep costs down, so easily forgivable. Plus the ones in black and white are sensibly chosen (line drawings and engravings, not Rothko and Mondrian, thankfully).
- The choice of artworks can sometimes seem a little idiosyncratic. For example some of Goya or Bacon's most celebrated works are left out in favour of less well known (dare I say less interesting?) choices. This is obviously due in part to the availability of works and the author/curator's preferences which should be respected. I didn't come to learn what I already know of already.
Overall this a massive recommendation, chiefly to those who are open to the possibilities of art of all kinds and are looking for fresh information and a few new favourites. I expect it would seem too elementary to fine art students but not all of us are. The Eastern Art chapter is the biggest disappointment - this isn't called The Illustrated History of Western Art after all - but there are separate volumes, even libraries of study for those; and for the Herculean task taken for this compendium is the only real sting in the tail. I'm off to look into Indonesian tribal death cults...
- Some of the page references are clearly off and haven't been rectified by my (2004) edition. For example one from "Picasso between the Wars" refers to p.692 - there aren't that many pages.
- The Eastern Art chapter is somewhat haphazardly placed about two-thirds of the way into the book. This seems to be a decision based on the point in history where Western artists began to incorporate Eastern influences, but this tends to skewer the perceptions of works of entire civilizations as a) being similar, which they definitely are not; and b) only significant in terms of an arbitrary meta-narrative. The main problem with this chapter is that it attempts to cover so much and yet gives the subjects a minuscule chapter (half the length of The Baroque Era which comes before it), and such little breathing space for each subject (8 pages for 3000 years of Chinese art).
- Not every photograph (about 1 in 3, maybe more) is in colour, which is important when learning about the visual arts. Obviously to keep costs down, so easily forgivable. Plus the ones in black and white are sensibly chosen (line drawings and engravings, not Rothko and Mondrian, thankfully).
- The choice of artworks can sometimes seem a little idiosyncratic. For example some of Goya or Bacon's most celebrated works are left out in favour of less well known (dare I say less interesting?) choices. This is obviously due in part to the availability of works and the author/curator's preferences which should be respected. I didn't come to learn what I already know of already.
Overall this a massive recommendation, chiefly to those who are open to the possibilities of art of all kinds and are looking for fresh information and a few new favourites. I expect it would seem too elementary to fine art students but not all of us are. The Eastern Art chapter is the biggest disappointment - this isn't called The Illustrated History of Western Art after all - but there are separate volumes, even libraries of study for those; and for the Herculean task taken for this compendium is the only real sting in the tail. I'm off to look into Indonesian tribal death cults...
November 2, 2025
Art encyclopedias/timelines are almost always Eurocentric to some degree, and this one is certainly no exception; over 80% of its pages are devoted to European art and artists. African, Oceanian, and pre-Columbian American art is granted about 20 pages, all told. Korean art in its entirety is disposed of in two pages - less space than is accorded to many individual European artists.
Biases aside, this is one of the better general art histories available. It discusses many lesser-known works and movements, as well as covering the obligatory Renaissance, Romanticism, and Impressionism. (The edition I read was published in 1994, so there wasn't much info about digital art.) Photos of individual works, while mostly pretty small, are at least discernible and clearly labeled.
It's fine as a general reference for European art, but if you need substantial information about the artistic traditions and movements of any other part of the world, better keep looking.
Biases aside, this is one of the better general art histories available. It discusses many lesser-known works and movements, as well as covering the obligatory Renaissance, Romanticism, and Impressionism. (The edition I read was published in 1994, so there wasn't much info about digital art.) Photos of individual works, while mostly pretty small, are at least discernible and clearly labeled.
It's fine as a general reference for European art, but if you need substantial information about the artistic traditions and movements of any other part of the world, better keep looking.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews