Medieval Art

by Marilyn Stokstad

This book teaches the reader how to look at medieval art–which aspects of architecture, sculpture, or painting are important and for what reasons. It includes the art and building of what is now Western Europe from the second to the fifteenth centuries.

Genres: Art, Art History, History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, School

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Kamal]

This is not the best book on Medieval art out there. I had to read it for a class. It's serviceable but doesn't really give a good sense of how the medieval world worked. As well, it spends a lot of time dealing with the transition from antiquity to the middle ages. It doesn't have much to say about the High Middle ages. One very noticeable deficit in this book (as well as many other textbooks of this kind) is the lack of discussion or even acknowledgement of the importance of Islamic thought and scholarship on Western Europe after the fall of Rome. Instead, Stokstad presents Islamic art and architecture as being in conflict with Byzantine norms of art, which is highly misleading.

[Jessica]

Very nicely written with good social context. As a text for students, though, I wonder if there is a better option. It assumes a lot of knowledge, and the author throws around art and architectural terms without consistently defining them. There are not text-like study helps, like lists of vocabulary, bolded terms, etc. If you have an art and architectural dictionary nearby while you are reading that words best. The strength of this book is the obvious passion and love the author has for Medieval art, and her desire to place Medieval art in its own context. She evaluates it on its own merits within the faith and philosophic tradition.

[He Li]

Many very basic factual errors, particularly regarding theology and Church history.

[Madeline]

2.5 Found some errors, and it lacks some essential context.

[Rachel]

Although not intended for the layman, I believe I walked away with a bit of understanding and appreciation for the arts of this vast medieval world. Teeming with photographs, the examples provided by the author were new to me; I only found myself wishing they were in color.