Schirmer Encyclopedia of Art (4-Volume Set) [Hardcover]

Ann Landi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Landi, currently a contributing editor to ArtNews, has edited a slim, expensive encyclopedia aimed at high school and beginning college students. Although the set consists of four volumes, it totals only 851 pages. In contrast, the recent sixth edition of H.W. Janson's survey text, History of Art, totals 997 pages and costs a mere $95. What, then, are we paying for? Good-quality paper, 300 color illustrations (though Janson does have 865), and an excellently designed reference tool. Also, unlike many art surveys, the Schirmer Encyclopedia is not completely Eurocentric; art from non-Western countries abounds. Some 400 entries (including 300 biographies) run from a few paragraphs to a few pages in length and are clearly written; small caps within the text indicate cross references. The best feature is the layout, particularly the inclusion of definitions in the three-inch margins (an asterisk in the text marks words that are defined). Volume 4 contains both a cumulative index and a "Suggested Resources" section (which includes both online resources and a topically arranged bibliography). This encyclopedia does its job well and is suitable for its intended audience. The price, however, is a problem. Many libraries may prefer to spend the $345 on some less expensive art dictionaries and art survey texts, particularly those that cover art outside of the Western tradition. Recommended with reservations for libraries with a younger clientele in need of a well-illustrated, easy-to-use, basic resource about art history; academic libraries owning Grove's Dictionary of Art can probably pass. Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Author Landi writes that this introductory work responds to increased interest in the visual arts and in visual culture in general. The set is accessible in an A-Z format and is appropriate for students in middle school through high school, as well as general readers. There are 300 biographies of artists and 100 topical articles that cover eras (Greek art, Mayan art); movements (Cubism, Surrealism ); and genres (Photography, Stained glass). Information is supplemented with many interesting sidebar articles. Art terms (plein air, triptych, ziggurat) are defined in the margins of pages where they are used. Cross-references, volume indexes, and a cumulative index make use of the set easy. Color reproductions of artworks are good. The especially strong bibliography of suggested resources, including Web sites, is subdivided by subject.

The set reflects new thinking about art, for example, the amplification of art formerly termed "primitive" and the inclusion of artists and schools outside the Western mainstream. An attempt is made to place art in its historical context, with descriptions of the political, religious, and cultural climate--the article on Mary Cassatt, to take one example, emphasizes restraints on women's freedom that she faced.

This attractive set is recommended for high-school and public libraries. For a similar audience, Oxford's six-volume Encyclopedia of Artists: From Andrea Del Sarto to Zurburan [RBB My 1 01] concentrates on Western art, covering 222 artists as well as movements and styles. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 851 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer; 1 edition (November 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028654145
• ISBN-13: 978-0028654140
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 3.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,325,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good basic guide to the visual arts, great for high school, May 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Schirmer Encyclopedia of Art (4-Volume Set) (Hardcover)

The past decade or so has seen a tremendous increase of interest in the visual arts. Museum attendance is steadily on the rise; galleries devoted to the art of our times and the art of the past are flourishing; and there are probably more artists of note today than at any other point in the history of humankind. In New York alone, it has been estimated that there are some 60,000 practicing artists. As the contemporary painter and sculptor Frank Stella noted recently, with some astonishment, "Until now, there weren't even 60,000 artists since the beginning of time."
Ours is also an increasingly visual culture, more and more dependent on signs and images instead of the written text. Television sets flicker for part of the day in most households; we cruise the Internet, encountering new forms of visual stimulus; our public spaces are littered with ever?larger billboards and neon advertisements. What a pleasure it is, then, to walk into a gallery or museum, into the relative sanity and quiet, where the eye can feast on images by artists long?gone or of the moment. And small wonder we are curious about the people who made these images, so many of which?like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Rodin's Thinker, or the woodblock prints of the eighteenthcentury Japanese masters?have become instantly recognizable as touchstones of our cultural past.
When I was a high school student, thirty?some years ago, there was no comprehensive volume that offered easily accessible information on art and artists. The standard references were H. W. Janson's History of Art and E. H. Gombrich's The Story of Art, both excellent books and still fortunately very much in use. Janson's text is now in its sixth edition, published 2001; the sixteenth edition of The Story ofArtwas published in 1995. Neither, however, is in an encyclopedic form, and each has its biases. Gombrich, for instance, offers scant discussion of photography, which in the last 150 years has gained sufficient respectability as an art form to merit museum departments and prestigious exhibitions. Like Gombrich, Janson's history takes a European perspective that does not convey the sweep of Asian or African art. Nor was there a reference that handily defined the many terms that the average student (or adult!) reader runs across in discussions of art?contrapposto, sfumato, impasto, cuneiform, apse, caryatid, and the like. One had to work with a glossary at the back or keep a dictionary of art terms within easy reach.
Because of the growth of interest in art history, scholars have started to reassess traditional ways of thinking about art and culture. What was once called "primitive" art is more carefully studied and weighed; the contributions of men and women outside the Western mainstream are increasingly recognized; and little?known artists and schools of art are steadily being evaluated and re?evaluated. Without losing perspective on what makes some artists great and many more worth the acquaintance, the contributors and editors of the Schirmer Encyclopedia of Art have kept abreast of new findings and incorporated them herein.
In addition to offering sophisticated and up?to?date information for the older student and the general reader, the Schirmer Encyclopedia of Art was designed to present information in an approachable A to Z format. The nearly 300 biographies focus on the kinds of facts and anecdotes that will be of interest to young and questing minds, while over 100 topical articles cover eras, movements, and genres. In particular, the historical overviews give a sense of what was happening in the culture at large?the way war, politics, and religion played their roles in shaping the visual arts. The paintings, drawings, sculpture, architecture, and photography reproduced here, of course, speak for themselves.
Cross?referencing within entries is indicated by a special small capital typeface. This makes it easy for readers to look up separate entries on major periods, artists within the same schools or movements, artistic techniques, and formal and stylistic developments. Cross?references that appear at the end of entries offer additional guidelines for the reader. Sidebars provide commentary on the unfolding story of art, including profiles of collectors, patrons, dealers, and critics; historical footnotes; and period highlights. Volumes one through three contain a volume?specific index, while volume four includes a comprehensive index for the entire set. A list of "Suggested Resources" appears at the end of volume four, which offers readers a variety of sources to help them continue their exploration of art and culture.