10 000 Years of Art

Following on from "The Art Book" (1994), "30,000 Years of Art" provides anoriginal and accessible way of looking at art. On its publication in 2007,"The Daily Telegraph" described it as 'a bold new publishing event thatpromises to redefine the parameters of art history'. In this mini formatedition of the book, 500 great works of art from all periods and regions inthe world have been carefully selected from the original book and are againarranged in chronological order, breaking through the usual geographicaland cultural boundaries of art history to celebrate the vast range of humanartistry across time and space. The book presents art in a way differentfrom other art history compendia, revealing the diversity, or in many casessimilarity, of man's artistic achievements through time and around theglobe. Ordered chronologically, the resulting timeline of works leads tocompelling browsing: surprising juxtapositions offer intellectual pleasureand a sense of wonder and discovery. The selection of works from across theworld, arranged in the sequence in which they were made, takes the readeron a global and historical journey, responding to such questions as 'wheredoes the earliest art appear?' What were artists creating in China orAfrica while Rembrandt was painting portraits in Leyden? How were similarsubjects - equestrian themes, landscapes, religious scenes - manipulated byartists in Aztec Mexico and Medieval Europe? While artworks from ancientGreece or the European Renaissance or pre-Columbian Americas will beinterspersed with contemporaneous works created in Africa, India or Japan,an extraction of the Greek or Renaissance or American works could standalone as an essential abridgement of the finest art of that period orculture. The selection of works is non-hierarchical and includes both fineand decorative arts - most commonly painting and sculpture, but alsotextiles, masks, ceramics and jewellery. Primarily functional arts(furniture, architecture, industrial and graphic design etc.) are notcovered. Each work is accompanied by key caption information (date, title,place of origin, style or culture, medium, dimensions etcetera), and a textthat provides critical review of the work, placing it in its art historicalcontext and thus explaining its contribution to the development of thehistory of art.500 great works of art from all periods and regions of the world.Conceived and edited by Phaidon Editors? Jacket colour may vary.? A pocket guide to world art from 8,000 BC to the present day? An accessible, informative and fun compendium of world art that presents500 masterworks from all cultures in chronological order, demonstratingwhat was being made all over the globe at the same time? Only here can you find Leonardo's Ginevra de'Benci next to an inkpainting from the Chinese Ming Dynasty, or Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignonalongside a face mask from Gabon? Each work occupies a unique place in the history of art and is arepresentative example of the art of its culture? Concise descriptive texts set each work in context, explaining its placein the history of art? A comprehensive index and a glossary make this book an invaluablereference tool and teaching resource