Customer Reviews

Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume I (with Art Study & Timeline Printed Access Card)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A well written textbook that keeps my interest. The information is not dumbed down only explained better. The images and time lines are very helpful and really make the text come alive. Would recommend this to anyone with an interest in history as well as art.

I just bought the hardback edition also, and it, too, has pages omitted in the introduction, although the page numbering is in sequence. Figures I-2, 3, & 4 are missing along with the text that goes with them, which is the beginning of the Introduction essay Art History in the 21st Century. Bad show for an expensive hardbound reference book. Amazon customer service was terrific about it, happily, so I am hoping to eventually end up with a correctly printed and bound copy, if the publisher actually has such a thing. I now doubt that this is the case since the second copy of the book, which Amazon shipped to me, has exactly the same defect. While in Portland, OR over the weekend I looked at a copy in Powells Books, and it also is defective. I think the publisher is ignoring the fact that they are marketing shoddy goods. I'm rather disappointed in them.

In addition, it is not helpful that when one tries to examine the paperback volume I on the Amazon site, they always substitute volume 2.

Thanks! Arrived in good shape and in time for my Art History class. Awesome!

Received this product quickly and in excellent condition. Very reasonalby priced. Will definitely use them again!

I received the book within days and have been using it for my art course.

As befits any art book, you might likely consider first the figures. Most are in colour, in high quality glossy pages than enhances the viewing. The figures give you an understanding and appreciation of art thru the millenia, as it was made by various cultures in Europe and the Middle East.

For example, from Egypt we see wall paintings and clay tablets depicting everyday scenes. While from Italy and Greece are photos of temples dedicated to the gods, along with sculptures of athletes. There is a table comparing the Greek and Roman pantheon, showing how the Romans derived much of their religion from the Greeks.

The art of medieval Europe is dominated by religious themes, from the cathedrals to the icons therein. One might perhaps have wished for a greater variety of topics depicted in the book for this period. But the author's choices were probably made to reflect the societies' values of that time.

The reading assumes no earlier exposure to the subject.

To put it simply, I got exactly what I wanted and exactly what my seller told me I would get. So my purchase order here was perfect