A Brief History of Western Art: Color Print Edition

Author: Chi Ke
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Understanding beauty and art is an important part of cultural refinement. The most effective method of aesthetic education is to have extensive contact with art, including learning about some art history. Experience has proven that people's appreciation and understanding of beauty must be acquired through learning—it is a gift of knowledge. After experiencing the ten-year turmoil, we deeply realized that neglecting "aesthetic education" not only hinders the development of "moral, intellectual, and physical education" but also makes it difficult to cultivate well-rounded individuals. This is an "introductory" book on the history of Western art, which should strive to be concise and clear. However, discussing the history of art cannot be separated from corresponding illustrations. The currently popular one-volume World History of Art (Italy, Gina Pescecher) contains over a thousand full-color images; such "luxury editions" are rarely accessible even to professional workers, let alone the broad youth readership. Therefore, the author has limited the illustrations to around three hundred. From the perspective of history, this seems somewhat sparse; however, it also has the advantage of allowing more space to discuss and analyze works, artists, and schools, making the aesthetic characteristics of various types of art works more fully explained.
Introducing the development of art history by only discussing its ideological content without addressing artistic techniques cannot comprehensively improve one's appreciation of art. Therefore, the author has interspersed some content about techniques and the evolution of artistic methods. Comparison is an excellent way to recognize artistic features (such as the specialized discipline of "Comparative Literature" both domestically and internationally). When analyzing certain types of art works (or artists), I also adopt the method of comparing them with other works (or figures). Not only are comparisons made between foreign works, but Chinese art works are also compared. However, Western Art in Brief ultimately deals with Western art. When making evaluations, it is also necessary to consider the opinions of the original authors and Western critics. Thus, the author has made every effort to select opinions from the artists themselves or their contemporaries regarding the interpretation of works or schools—whether praising or criticizing. This enhances the persuasiveness. Of course, which opinions are chosen to be quoted depends on the author's own level and aesthetic perspective.
The quoted sentences in the book, except for a few citations from Marxist and Leninist works that are annotated, are not annotated for others. Sometimes phrases like "the commentator," "the historian," or "some people believe" are used, and these are not fabricated arbitrarily but are based on evidence. This ensures the smooth and concise flow of the entire book.