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

by Fred S. Kleiner

Experience the wonders of human creativity in GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES: THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE, VOLUME II, 16th Edition! A grand tour of the most celebrated works in Western Civilization, from the Stone Age to the modern era, this introductory text has been a classroom favorite for 85 years. Every chapter includes rich and compelling discussions of pivotal art works, periods and geographies in art history, as well as new artists and art forms. The bold illustrations on the pages look almost as good as the real thing, especially when you use the unique Scale feature to imagine a work's stature from the artist's point of view. And to keep your course success in focus, the text offers Quick Review Captions and Big Picture Overviews, as well as an optional ebook that enables you to zoom in on fine details of paintings, sculptures, and priceless art forms of all kinds.

Genres: Art History, Art, Textbooks, Nonfiction

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Cara Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ughhhhh. It’s finally over

[Diane Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.