A World History Of Art

by Hugh Honour, John Fleming

Paperback. Pub Date: 2009 Pages: 996 in Publisher: Laurence King Publishing. Since its first publication this book has been hailed as the most up-to-date and wide-ranging history of art ever published in a single volume This quote from Andrew Graham Dixon describes the book: Spanning continents and millennia. ranging from man's earliest cave paintings to the works of Picasso and beyond. this is a hugely ambitious book. But thanks to the eadth of their scholarship. the depth of their enthusiasm and the enviable freshness of their writing. Honour and Fleming triumphantly accomplish the herculean task they have set themselves. Sympathetically expanded by Michael Archer. who ings the story forward into the twenty-first century. this thumping slab of tome is without doubt the most compelling total history of art ever written This Revised Seventh Edition expands the original cover...

Genres: Art, History, Art History, Nonfiction, Reference, Art Design, Architecture

996 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1982

About the author

A self-taught English art historian.

Reviews

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very disappointed with this book which claims to be a World History of Art but is, in fact, just a slightly tarted up standard history of Western European Art. It acknowledges the art of non-European cultures in short chapters but completely ignores the art of Eastern Europe - or even the existence of that part of the continent altogether. It sticks to traditional periods of history and Art movements without looking at substratas within those movements (Historicism, for example, is barely covered under Romanticism and so its link to the 19th Century growth of Nationalism is completely missed). There is barely any glance at the growth of Industrialism, or the impact of Colonialism and the development of Art (apart from a few politically-correct comments) or of the impact of the First World War on European Art. Everything is main stream - exactly what I would have expected to find in a book written decades ago! This is just not acceptable in this day-and-age.
The overall presentation is also poor so that it is difficult to actually locate specific themes and topics, within a historical period, easily. I have a copy of the MacMillan Encyclopaedia of Art which, whilst not claiming to be some great academic work, does a much better job in accessibility. My Mitchell Beasley History and Culture volumes are more thorough.
Very disappointing. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone.

[Lachezar Petkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, well... The most obvious advantage of this book is you could beat the shit out of somebody with very little effort (even with the paperback version). Having said that, it's certainly not a coffee table or bed book either.
Other than that - its a great reference book. Obviously doesn't cover everything for every period in the history of art, but is a great starting point.

[Petra]

I find really hard to rate books that I read for university so I might leave this unrated. This massive book goes through the whole history of art, focusing on European history of art. The book tries to touch the world around Europe but I have to say that those parts were very few. It is almost impossible to put the whole world's history of art in one book so I completely understand how the book focuses on certain eras and countries that the writers consider more important than others. However, I really wish the writers would have tried to put more effort telling the reader about female artists instead of just acknowledging them with some lines and then continuing back to male artists. The female artists, often, are noted as wives and friends of famous male artists instead of individual human beings. A World History of Art has been a very ambitious project both for the writers and the readers and it was a lot more easier to go through than I believed it. The writing is easy to understand and the pictures are brilliant addition to the text.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of many I was required to use to study a few different Art History modules. It is absolutely fantastic, extremely comprehensive, very detailed but has been written simply and is easy to follow, despite its size! Even though this was a required text book for my studies, I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in art, it will not disappoint!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is huge. A full A4 page spread and three inches thick. It's full of essays on the history of World Art. It is also 15-20% composed of images. It is not the type of book you can read cover to cover, more likely to dip in and out of chapters which are of use or interest.

There were some really interesting chapters on prehistoric civilizations and interpretations of what is known about them from their art. Art can provide a - somewhat blurred - window into the lives and cultures otherwise unknown to us. Especially prehistoric cave art which has been around way before the invention of writing. There is are a lot of chapters dedicated to ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt as well as prehistoric cities such as Babylon. There is even some indication of what it was like for women in those times given occasionally.

Due to the scale of the subject there are also probably many types of art from cultures which are missing. It is simply not possible to fit them all into one book. Having bias myself for Scotland, I found it disappointing there was not a single reference to Scottish Art in the index or subsequent chapters on Celtic artwork either.

I'm sure if I was in prison/hospital and had the time I would attempt to finish it.

[Leena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painavin opus, jota oon tähän asti joutunut tenttimään! Tiedot monipuolisia ja kuvavalinnat hyviä, mutta paikasta toiseen siirtely yhtä tuskaa. Kuljetteluvaikeus ehkäisee tehokkaasti mm. tiedon omaksumista, kun kirjaa ei voi napata spontaanisti mukaan kaupungille lähtiessä. Lukuasennotkin on aika rajalliset, koska hauis ei riitä pystyssä kannattelemiseen. Avaa varovasti ettei sormet litisty kannen ja pöydän väliin! :D

[Mavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must (read have and own) book for artholics ...awesome no no its great

[Jack Caulfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice broad history of art, generously illustrated, not the most engagingly written but not terrible. Certainly I have a much clearer picture of the development of the artistic tradition now, which is all I wanted from it. (I still don't get modern art, but that's not the book's fault.)

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay *technically* i didnt read the whole textbook but when you spend a semester struggling through different sections i think it counts for my reading goal this year. Also it was fun to tear into it in tutorials and note the bits that are biased claims. Thanks Honour and Flemming.

Edit: SORRY WHAT HONOUR WAS A “self taught British art historian”??? Yeah sure okay, that checks out.

[Iiris Penttilä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read half of it for an exam

[Sana Abdulla]

I want to read it, but will i ever?

[MarjaHannele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oikein hyvä oppikirja taiteen ystävälle. Painonsa vuoksi toimisi myös messevänä kumautusvälineenä!

[Raquel C. Arco · Rating 5 out of 5]

HONOUR H., FLEMING J., Historia Mundial del Arte. Madrid, Edit. Akal, 2004.

Desde su primera publicación, el presente libro ha sido saludado como la Historia del arte más completa y puesta al día publicada en un solo volumen. A lo largo de sus capítulos, dicha historia se presenta como parte esencial de la evolución humana, ofreciendo una información que abarca desde las estatuillas talladas en Europa central hace 30.000 años hasta el arte digital del cambio de milenio. El volumen se centra en los ámbitos de la pintura, el mosaico, el dibujo, el grabado, la arquitectura y la fotografía, pero sin olvidarse de los tejidos, las monedas, la cerámica, los esmaltes o la orfebrería. Y ofrece un enfoque global que abarca no sólo las artes de Europa y América, sino también las de Asia y Oceanía. La profundidad, la elegancia y la fluidez de la que hacen gala los autores se ve complementada con más de 1.400 ilustraciones -entre las que se incluyen mapas y planos-, seleccionadas con el fin de representar los principales estilos de expresión artística.

[Dwayn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a decent literature source for art (in the western-world) and would be of use when studying art.

However, eventhough the sheer volume of this beast of a book could classify it as a weapon, out of the many, MANY pages it consists of only a few talk about non-western art. Which is disappointing for a book calling itself a "general" history of art.

This book is also practically unreadable for someone with dyslexia. (Tiny font; huge chunks of texts; hard to separate important information from the "fluff" around it.)

Would still reccomend it, like one would reccomend an encyclopedia or a dictionary. Boring and hard to read, but usefull and detailed.

[Nosemonkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much essential for any art-lover's shelf. Just make sure it's a big and sturdy shelf. Almost big enough to act as a coffee table by itself.

I mean, I've not read every word - it's huge, and much more a book for doping into... But as a single-volume, accessible history of world art - with very few gaps, and regularly updated with new editions - I doubt this can be surpassed. Except perhaps with full colour photos for everything (black and white reproductions always make art books feel rather old fashioned...)

[Rania El Ouafi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the whole book. It's giant, but even the parts I got through were super interesting. A World History of Art by Hugh Honour is packed with artists, movements and styles from all over the world, and it's been fascinating to discover names and works I hadn't heard of before. It's like a visual and historical treasure trove, and even dipping into it here and there makes you appreciate the scope and diversity of art across time and cultures. Definitely a book that rewards exploration, even if you can't tackle it all at once.

[❀Nelly❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lättförståelig, bra grundläggande exempel på de största verken och byggnadsverken i historien och förhistorien. Den har också gett ett utomeuropeiskt perspektiv, särkilt Östrom och Kalifatet, mellanöstern. Även något av sociokulturella, politiska och religiösa perspektiv, även om jag önskat mig mer av det för teori och metod, inte endast den historiska bakgrunden liksom.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for my course. I definitely learned a lot and for it was it was well written. Definitely enjoyed how the pictures tied into the text. That made it easy to follow along.

HOWEVER if I have to read about penetrating one more building I think I’ll cry…

…

..

AND ANOTHER THING. What’s the deal with women artist being referred to as someone’s wife or daughter? It’s really not giving.

[Lieke✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this over the span of the whole year for my art history class. Nice and compact overview of (most part) western europe art through the ages. They explain every subject in a clear way and show good examples.
Definitely a must have for art history students!

[Serrah Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect world history book for those who loves art. It's hard to finish the whole book, but I do enjoy reading some parts of it.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel uitgebreid boek over de kunstgeschiedenis. Boeiende stukken, maar ook af en toe echt worstelen om er door te geraken. Veel illustraties, jammer genoeg niet altijd in kleur.

[Anna Batog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise but super detailed and with somany illustrations! Fascinating to read about asian and south American art which I never learned much about. Recommend!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a whistle-stop tour of global art history; it’s fine, but some of the choices for inclusion/omission are a bit random. It’s also over 10 years old now and could do with further revision.

[Jack Eriksson · Rating 2 out of 5]

incomprehensive

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The obvious homoeroticism makes it so much better

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This conversation is captivating, but the secrets whispered on skin are even more enticing.

[Kformanssi Artti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kun tarkoituksena on mahduttaa esihistoriasta nykyaikaan koko maapallon taide noin 900-sivuun,niin parhaassakin tapauksessa arvosana olisi ollut korkeintaan nelonen.nyt laitoin arvosanasi kakkosen:Viimeiset pari,kolmesataa sivua tuntui siltä että yksi tähti riittäisi,niin avoimeksi propagandaksi teksti meni, esteettisten termien sisällön merkitys tuntui matkan varrella muuttuvan koskien eri teoksia ja tyylisuuntia.Teksti eikä kuvat onnistuneet perustelemaan tätä termien käytön muutosta.Muutamalla postmodernilla viittauksella täydennettynä kirja on liiaksi modernistista propagandaa että siitä olisi hyötyä.en varmaan muuten lukisi kirjaa ellei sitä olisi lusittava tutkintovatimuksissa...

[Heta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but partially boring. Surface-level knowledge of many things, deep insights of nothing. The first edition felt horribly outdated, the new one was better. Finally I gave up and bought the Finnish translation. Reading it in your native language makes it more tolerable. Also fixed the issue of "too much book and no muscle to transport with" by taking photos of pages with my phone to read on the go. Not the most handy way but better than carrying the whole book. Anyway, there's nothing quite much like it.

[Artemis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost the Perfect book for anyone who likes art. I didn't finish the whole book obviously, it's so grand, but I really like reading several parts of it, it's really so complete and everything. Lovely.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow you really couldnt find more detailed book about art history. I havent read it all yet but it talks about art from non western view of point which is great. It includes every great artist and every period in history, so far the greatest atr history book I've read.