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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The book that made me fall in love with art history in my freshman year of college.
H.W. Janson was my boyfriend my senior year of high school I carried around this big maroon book and decided that after 2.5 years of wanting to be an English major I would study Art History for the next chunk of my education. I know there have been problems with Janson's a) focus on Western art and b) focus on art created by dudes (see: The Guerrilla Girls) but by the time I got to it, it was on its 7th or 8th edition and it was a little better. It also helped to supplement it with Laurie Schinieder Adams' book on the same subject.
informative
inspiring
THE Definitive Art History book. I read this over the course of a 7 or 8 months and folks seem to think I know a lot about Art. The book catches “flak” for “not having enough female artists” featured, but there are indeed some, but women either weren’t allowed or encouraged to paint for much of history. This book is fantastic! If you want to not look lost the next time you go to an art museum, read this book!
I want a physical copy of this book, I really want to read it, just not digitally
As a YA, I challenged myself to read this book over the course of a summer. That I actually made it through was quite the achievement considering I'm ADD lol. I don't "remember" most of what I read, this book redefines the word jam-packed, but isn't culture what remains after you forget all else... If I'm typically iffy on facts and dates, this book provided the groundwork and understanding that define my relationship to art to this day. Internet changed it all, there is no need for such an encyclopedic work in every household, but I will always cherish its importance to me.
It's a big F*cking book!
//art history students everywhere
//art history students everywhere