The Dictionary of Art: 34 Volumes [Hardcover]

Jane Turner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0195170687 | ISBN-13: 978-0195170689 | Edition: Latest ed.

Boasting well over 6,000 contributors from 12 countries, the Dictionary offers its readers authoritative and comprehensive global coverage.
A resource for both art and cultural studies, the Dictionary serves as a unique guide to all the visual arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, drawing, printmaking, as well as the decorative arts. The Dictionary ranges far both geographically and historically; it features unparalleled coverage of Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Mongolia, China, India, the Islamic world, Japan, Korea, Native North America, Pacific and Aboriginal Australia, Pre-Columbian America, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Ancient Near East, and Ancient Rome. Providing depth as well as breadth, The Dictionary of Art examines important art forms and key issues of design, taste, function, and patronage, illuminating them in light of the cultural context in which they developed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most ambitious art-publishing venture of the late 20th century, The Dictionary of Art is an awesome single source on world art....It is an invaluable acquisition for any serious art lover, indispensable for libraries or schools."--The New York Times Book Review

"A major triumph...the outstanding reference tool for many generations...essential for every art, academic, and large public collection."--Library Journal

"As you browse it, you realize what an unprecedented effort of distilled and integrated scholarship it represents....No more complete guide to the world's art exists; this is especially true of the range of cultures outside the West, both old and modern, such as Aboriginal Australia, Oceania, or Ancient Egypt....There's no art publication in existence that gives the reader such richness of detail and coherence of organization."--Time Magazine

"One of the most important publishing efforts for related disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, theater, and the history of culture."--Booklist

"The largest and most comprehensive reference tool on the visual arts that has ever been published."--Choice

About the Author

Jane Turner is a specialist in Dutch and Flemish Old Master drawings. In addition to her work as Editor of The Dictionary of Art, she is preparing catalogs of Northern drawings for the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32600 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Latest ed. edition (February 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195170687
• ISBN-13: 978-0195170689
• Product Dimensions: 31.5 x 22 x 21.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 187.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,835,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential reference work, January 31, 2009

By 

A. Weiner (Upton MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dictionary of Art: 34 Volumes (Hardcover)

The articles in this multi-volume dictionary of art, artists, schools, and art centers offer a place to begin further research into individual topics and artists. Those I have used, dealing mainly with 16th-18th century European artists, have been written by experts who have generally published in the specific area about which they write and come with a brief bibliography of current works for further research. This set has saved me hours of random searches and led me to many interesting art historians and critics very economically. Essential for advanced students and art appraisers.