From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History [Paperback]

James Smith Pierce (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0137830289 | ISBN-13: 978-0137830282 | Publication Date: January 1998 | Edition: 5th

For freshman and sophomore courses in Art History Survey (1 or 2 semesters) and Introduction to Art. Designed as a comprehensive supplement to Janson's History of Art, Sixth Edition, Hartt's Art, Fourth Edition, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Eleventh Edition, and Stokstad's Art History (Revised) - but also appropriate as a stand-alone brief reference text - this handbook defines the most common terms used in discussing the history of visual arts, relating them to specific works illustrated in these standard texts.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Preface

ART must ultimately be explained in terms of art, not art terms. The description of visual form, the definition of stylistic categories, and the decoding of ancient myth and symbol, while fascinating pursuits in their own right, are of greatest value when they are mastered with the aim of comprehending the unique expressive power of individual works of art. This handbook has been prepared with that end in mind. Terminology and iconography have been defined with reference to specific works of art. This is done by keying entries to the splendid collection of over 1,200 reproductions in the sixth edition of H.W and A.F Janson's popular and accessible History of Art. Thus, terms, processes, principles, subjects, and symbols are not only defined verbally but can be studied as they appear in particular contexts and in historical sequence.

For those who may have Marilyn Stokstad's Art History (revised edition), the fourth edition of Frederick Hartt's Art or the eleventh edition of Fred S. Kleiner and Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner's Art through the Ages, a list of identical or similar illustrations in these art history surveys, paralleling those in the sixth edition of Janson's History o f Art, is provided at the very back of this book. By consulting this table of parallel illustrations, most of the Janson figure numbers referred to in the entries in this book can also be located in current editions of Stokstad, Hartt and Gardner.

The numbers in italics found in the various entries (e.g. 19-25) refer to figure numbers in the sixth edition of Janson's History o f Art; numbers preceded by "fig." refer to the illustrations in this book. Words in italics are cross-references to other entries. If a term is printed in italics, a definition of it will be found in alphabetical order in Chapter One; mythological beings will be found in Chapter Two; the subjects of Christian art, arranged by category, will be found in Chapter Three; saints, in Chapter Four; and Christian signs and symbols, in Chapter Five.

Following Chapter Five is a chronological list of leading painters, photographers, sculptors, and architects from the fourteenth century to the present. Entries indicate birth and death dates, nationality, customary media employed and places where the artist is known to have worked. An especially useful feature of this list is the simplified phonetic indication of the common pronunciation of the artist's name. Following the Chronology are maps locating art centers commonly mentioned in surveys of art history. Keys to the vast storehouse of digital imagery now available on the internet have been provided in the Directory of Museum Websites preceding the Index. The comprehensive Index not only alphabetically lists all entries from the five chapters but also includes the hundreds of terms defined within the major entries.

Simplified phonetic pronunciations are provided for unfamiliar names and terms, but they are only approximations of polite usage, introduced to prevent only the most ear-shattering barbarisms. In many cases, other pronunciations are equally acceptable. When a word has been taken over directly from a foreign language, it may usually be given the proper foreign pronunciation without raising too many eyebrows. Thus, "tablinum" (tably'num) may even more "correctly" be pronounced ta-blee'num. In Chapter Four, the English names of saints are followed by their customary Italian, French, Spanish, and German names when the foreign form is markedly different from the English. An explanation of symbols, indicating French and German sounds not used in English, will be found preceding the chronological list of artists.

I am particularly indebted to Paulette Perone, who helped prepare the original list of entries; Arthur Irwin, who made many of the original architectural drawings; Catherine Hartkopf, who typed the original manuscript; the late H.W: Janson, who kindly consented to read the original manuscript and gave me the benefit of his wise counsel; and all those students at Case-Western Reserve University, the University of Kentucky, Dartmouth College, and Colby College, who, over the years, insisted that I define my terms.

J.S.P. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Included in this edition:

• table of parallel illustrations in Stokstad's Art History (Revised Edition), Hartt's Art (Fourth Edition), Gardner's Art Through the Ages (Eleventh Edition), and Janson's History of Art (Sixth Edition)
• additional iconographical entries and examples
• update of previous entries relating to ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art
• expanded chronology of painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects with phonetic pronunciations
• index, including terms and subjects defined with major entries

A comprehensive supplement to Janson's History of Art, Sixth Edition, this handbook, which can stand alone as a brief reference text, defines and explains the most common terms and concepts used in discussing the history of visual arts. The handbook places art terms, processes, and principles in historical contexts with references to more than 1,200 illustrations in the Janson text.

Among its many features, this handbook:

• offers a dictionary of terms, processes, and principles, together with an extensive discussion of basic perceptual concepts and fundamentals of visual literacy
• presents a dictionary of the iconography of ancient art
• covers Christian subjects and their iconography in chronological order
• focuses on Christian symbols and attributes of saints
• provides a more complete, systematic treatment of the media, techniques, processes, and visual principles than explored in the standard art survey texts
• includes maps and line drawings to illustrate concepts in the text

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div; 5th edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0137830289
• ISBN-13: 978-0137830282
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,542,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete for a beginner ..., March 26, 2003

By 

"ciudadlejana" (Hato Rey, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History (6th Edition) (Paperback)

I recently purchased this text along with Janson's History of Art (5th ed.). Although this handbook was written with Janson's 6th edition in mind, it has not taken away from my cross-referenced learning experience. Throughout the text, there are references to examples (illustrations) in History of Art (or other popular art history texts) which help in applying the "theory" (if you can call it that) with the "application."

The text has a wide range of art terms key to the study and analysis of art history. The section on Christian subjects, signs and symbols has helped me decipher the icons depicted in Christian-themed pieces of the Renaissance.

My copy of the text is bound somewhat backwards towards the end. The Index and Artist Chronology pages, for example, are divided and unordered ... but it does not take away from the text's usablity!

All in all, I believe this text has been a great investment.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Abacus to Zeus, February 23, 2000

By 

E.A.Estes (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History (Paperback)

In Abacus to Zeus, you will find a wonderful, concise, approachable 'quick and dirty' reference for those new to studying the visual arts. James Pierce brings together many of the pesky, essential--and formerly, ellusive--details in an accessible reference. Deffinitions with illustrations, terms and stories of mythology, religious art,and a chronology of artists and architects (complete with pronunciation guide--indespensible for those of us who remain unilingual) work well together to make this book a find!

3.0 out of 5 stars Satisfied, February 6, 2011

By 

SRD88 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History (Paperback)

Respectable shipping speed, cost felt high for a simple book that acts as a dictionary for artistic terms but it is what it is. Unless you are an art enthusiast this book may not be very necessary.