Critical Terms for Art History, 2nd Edition Paperback – April 1, 2003

you will find books such as this one. A Ph.D. is not required to understand it, but it will give you an intellectual workout, as it is not a beginner's handbook. You need to have read some art history (beyond the "what, where, when, who" level), and some art criticism, to see the rationale behind its chapter headings. It is also not a book about works of art as such, but about the special terms and concepts used in current interpretive writing on the "fine" arts (primarily arts of Western European derivation, but the contributors are sensitive in handling the cultural bias of their sources). ALL of the authors are distinguished authorities on the topics they discuss. I think it is a strength of this book that they do not share a homogeneous intellectual background, or ideological bias, and also that they are not all the same age, but made their greatest contributions at different points in the recent (roughly, between 1970 and 1990) "crisis" of art historical writing. The most useful feature of this book, to my mind, is that it provides carefully argued contextual analysis of critical terms which either 1) have a long history of use (and therefore need unpacking before we can grasp the "unconscious"--sometimes contradictory--values they impose on the works to which they're applied), or 2) have been recently introduced to enable an informed critique of traditional art history. The cumulative effect of the various essays is to demistify some of our more cherished assumptions about the value of art: its timeless messages, its inspired origins, its spiritual uplift, its higher expressiveness/beauty/perfections. In other words, if you hope for a "feel-good" treatment of art critical standards, this is not your book. And yet, if you can accept that making and using works of art are social activities, and like the other products and customs of human societies, are constantly in flux even as they depend for their existence on inherited techniques, formulas, and ideals, then this book will provide a wonderful "relief map" of the intellectual foundations of current art history/art criticism.

Had to get this book for my art history class. It is a fantastic source of information. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Art or Art History.

Useful reference tool for the art historian, organised into five categories, each with essays by 'names' in the art history world. Black and white illustrations are memory joggers, and an indicator, in case you were in doubt, that this book is intended for a serious audience with a good grounding in art history.

It's a great Art History book with many engaging articles in it. I had to have it for my theories and research class and I liked it a lot.

a must have for art history ones

Extremely erudite and discursive. It is interesting but slow to read.

I bought this as an ebook to keep track of my notes and highlighting while jumping around from chapter to chapter, since I'm using it for a grad school course. It has been quite useful.

My book was definitely still suitable for my needs but it had more handwritten notes in the margin than I would have expected. Also the index was falling out.

As expected.

Really useful book. Excellent selection of current, relevant and highly quotable texts. Always one of the first things I pick up when researching a new topic.

My 19th Century Art professor introduced me to this resource when I was looking for additional texts on gender and gaze. I fell in love with the text. I have recommended it to many others. Think of this book as a resource you will return to repeatedly. I have not read each essay consecutively, but rely on it for particular topics regarding my research.

Excellent!

Thank you.