The Art Book

The best single art book there is, simply because this is the most fun and non-threatening way to enjoy art. Makes a fabulous gift for difficult to please friends--it has worked on even my most picky friends. Get it! It's a great coffee table book you can actually pick up.

Give this book to your children. Why? Because you will find out if they really have any interests on the arts. If NOT, read and see it for yourself - it's a real treasure and it will show you more about The Arts as you may see visiting galleries, museums etc. in a lifetime. If YES, when your child shows interests, read and see it too, talk about and who knows, maybe you have an artist in your family or - even this is possible: YOU are the artist! I am an artist, an Installation Art Sculptor and learned from this little handy guide how to look on art. I read it in two days from "alpha to omega". Now I know: THE ART BOOK is my book and my gallery. I wonder why our kids don't get it in schools. They would know about The Arts in some hours more than most of the teachers. Is art education needed? When yes! How much it will cost? THE ART BOOKS itself will give you a good answer. Buy it! Give it to your children, friends .... and to art teachers as a guide. Sincerely - Jan A. Loeffler, Yes2Art originator.

For people who are interested in art, but don't want to get bogged down with a long series of dates and other supplemental materials, this book is the way to go. It provides nearly full page reproductions with some key facts to get you started sorted alphabetically. As an art student, I can tell you that this is one of the best art books I have purchased. You might also want to check out "The Photo Book", "The 20th Century Art Book" and "The American Art Book", too. They're all great for a quick and painless introduction to various artists. Also, the university's professors use these books quite often to provide with examples. Check 'em out! :-)

I've used this book countless times for research, etc. It's a reference guide to 500 artists, and on one small page gives what is usually their most famous piece (Leonardo da Vinci "The Mona Lisa", Klimt "The Kiss"), a description of it, a few major details of the artist's life, date and place of birth/death, and also the names of other artists that fall into the same category. At the end of the book there is a glossary of terms, a list of artistic movements, and a museum directory. The reproductions are of very high quality and take up about half a page. It's a great book just to look at, but for someone who wants to gain knowledge of the subject, and for students, this marvelous little book (it's only 5 + 6 1/2 but quite thick) is a must. Phaidon did a splendid thing putting out this volume...you'll love it !

This valuable little book, at approximately 6-1/2 by 5 inches, packs a lot of information and pleasure into a little package. Five hundred artists, from Agasse to Zurbaran, are represented. Each painter or sculptor gets one page that features a full-color print (covering about two-thirds of the page); a paragraph of text that discusses the artist's work in general, the specific work depicted, and cross-references to similar artists; information about the artist and the piece, including the artist's place and year of birth and death, the work's title, date, medium/materials, physical dimensions and current location.

Presented alphabetically, rather than chronologically, this dynamic little tome makes great browsing, and helps you to look at art in a way we don't usually -- outside of its historical context. The paper and color plates are of the first quality and the text is informative. It's fun to see which work was chosen as typical of your favorite artists, and it's fun to try and guess the period in which an artist worked before you read the information.

Because so much is fit into such a small volume, some readers may be frustrated at the small print, though the font is quite clean. The book closes with glossaries of technical terms and artistic movements and a directory of museums and galleries, organized by country, that includes address, phone number and a list of the book's works that they own. (Maybe the next edition will also include web sites?)

Phaidon Press has done you a service by publishing this pithy treasure. Buy it now!