30,000 Years of Art | 
| Author: Editors Of Phaidon
Publisher: Phaidon Press Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $32.96
You Save: $16.99 (34%)
New (33) Used (7) from $32.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 3792
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1072
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13
Dimensions (in): 12.1 x 12.1 x 2.8
ISBN: 0714847895
Dewey Decimal Number: 700.90202
EAN: 9780714847894
Publication Date: October 22, 2007
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Product Description
30,000 YEARS OF ART: THE STORY OF HUMAN CREATIVITY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE is the follow-up to Phaidon's phenomenally successful THE ART BOOK. This is an accessible, fun and informative compendium of world art that offers a fresh perspective on the whole of art history, from 28,000 BC to the present day. It debunks art historical classifications and hierarchies by presenting 1,000 masterworks of art in simple chronological order, demonstrating what was being created all over the globe at the same time. Only here can you find the Venus de Milo next to a mural from the Mayan civilization, or Velazquez' Las Meninas next to a painting from the Chinese Ming Dynasty, an Indian jade wine cup, a ritual Nepalese plaque, a Korean portrait, and Vermeer's Milkmaid. Each work has been chosen for its unique place in the history of art, and as a representative example of the art of its culture. By juxtaposing works of art from different cultures throughout time, this is the first book to offer a balanced appraisal of world art history, revealing the huge diversity of and similarity between man's artistic achievements.
Each entry includes a full-page color image of the work and a concise descriptive text that sets the work in context, explaining its contribution to the development of art and the medium in which it was created. A comprehensive index, illustrated timelines, and a glossary of terms and movements make this book an invaluable reference tool and teaching resource.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 Great book October 7, 2008
I am really enjoying this book - but it's all but impossisble to read in bed! Truly a delight and very educational.
 Bigger is not always better July 27, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Possibly useful for children with no knowledge of art, the book is cumbersome in size and slightly loathsome in outlook. '30,000 Years of Art' lumps all creative output from both past and distant cultures into one whopping big format. That being one big picture beside one simple page of text. It renders equivalent Australian aboriginal art and French nineteenth century eroticism, an idea that I find thoroughly absurd. There are many better books around that introduce world art without ruining the distinctive character of entirely different enterprises. The best introduction to art is William Fleming's 'Arts and Ideas', the pictures are not quite as big but what it lacks in size it makes up for in depth. It covers roughly the same period and includes a brief discussion of music and architecture as well. This book reminds me of those giant roadside attractions (the big pineapple etc) that some cities cling to to create tourist interest. Like this book they represent nothing more than empty imaginations.
30,000 Years of Art June 18, 2008
This is a full color work on ancient artwork,
as well as modern art. The renditions date back
to 50,000 BC. Sample pieces are as follows:
o France- Dappled Horses of Pech at 25,000 BC
o Australia- Sash at 17,000 BC - rock pigments
o Spain- Altamira Bison limestone at 15,000 BC
o South Africa- Cold Stream Burial Stone
o Iraq- Samarra Plate at 5,000 BC
o Peru- Paracas Embroidered Mantle 50 BC
o Italy- Cubiculum Fresco at 19 BC - a colorful dress
o China- Watchtower at 100 AD
o Italy- Opus Sectile Panel of Christ (marble)
A beauty of this work is that readers can observe
Christian themes which coincide at or near the time
of Jesus Christ. In addition, a clear sense of the
people and fashions of the times is evident throughout.
The acquisition is worth the price of admission.
This book will have a wide constituency of readers
from business, academe and the arts.
Don't Miss This One! May 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A superlative review of human accomplishment in the visual arts. Intelligent, well designed. Beautifully printed and bound. Unbelieve bargain- without a doubt the single best buy of recent times!
Stunning and a reminder that nothing is really new April 14, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is always stunning to see a photograph of the approximately 28,000 year old cave paintngs. In the eeriness of a flame-lit cave, a human being probably not much different than you and me depicted the world around him or her. All we know for sure is that someone had a need to express themselves. And so humans have done so for the past 30,000 years, with a sampling of 1,000 artworks between the covers of this magnificient book.
One of the most amazing features of this book is the price. Incredibly low for such a large book with so many finely reproduced photographs of artworks. Truly a bargain - and one that belongs in every home.
Why should a book on art be in every home? Because this is a book of history. Not the history of art, per se, but the history of humankind.
In many cases, the art is actually artifact - remnants of a culture, of a civilization. (It can be argued that much 20th Century Western art is actually evidence of the devolution of civilization, but that belongs in another venue.) Virtually every culture is representedd from across the globe. The collection is relatively eclectic, especially for what we consider "primitive" cultures where what we see as "art" was for that culture merely a everyday tool.
We see from the art that much of the time, it was the province of the powerful or the rich. We can see the preoccupation of certain cultures with religion, which is actually the theme of most of the works here. That may be a result of such works often being large and more survivable. One can only imagine how much of what we would consider art today has been destroyed or plundered. Think of all the gold objects carried off by invaders or the indigenous work destroyed, such as the Mayan manuscipts burned by the Spanish or the recurrent repressions of the Jews and their religions. Of course, much art was simply destroyed because it had outlived it usefulness: many Greek and Roman bronzes were melted down over time.
We should be thankful that we have what we have and that thanks to miracles of modern technology, we can enjoy and appreciate it in the comfort of our own homes. Truly amazing.
The commentaries for each of the artworks shown are mercifully plain-spoken. The pretensiousness of academics is happily absent.
Overall, this book is an admirable overview of the history of art and really should be in every home. It is a great value.
Jerry
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