The Oxford Companion to Western Art (Hardcover)

by Hugh Brigstocke (Editor)
Key Phrases: New York, Middle Ages, Second World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
A partial successor to the 1970 Oxford Companion to Art, this title limits itself to European-language cultures, dropping architecture and non-Western subjects. The 2600 signed entries generally range in length from 100 to 1000-plus words (and are occasionally longer), and they include artist, historian, theorist, and patron biographies as well as entries on institutions, cities and museums, styles, movements, and art historical theory and methodology. Most entries have at least one bibliographical reference and are longer than those in The Oxford Dictionary of Art (LJ 9/15/97), which includes 3000 entries but otherwise appears comparable to this title in scope. Reflecting the methodological growth of art history and changes in topics of study since the first title was published, this book offers more coverage of the Baroque, manuscript illumination, and 19th- and 20th-century art. Established living artists are included. Editor Brigstocke, a Paul Mellon Research Fellow at the British School in Rome, included unchanged some of the technical and aesthetic essays by Harold Osborne, editor of the 1970 title, but this is essentially a new work. Most of the 100 contributors are British, which slightly colors the selections and some of the entries, and the plates are "tasters" not related to specific entries. As with any work of this scope, there are inevitable omissions and occasional errors of fact, but this title essentially accomplishes its goals and is recommended for all collections looking for an in-depth work on Western art. Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Intended primarily as "a stimulating point of departure," this successor to Harold Osborne's Oxford Companion to Art (1970) features more than 2,600 entries ranging from a few sentences to a few pages on subjects including artists, art terms and techniques, movements and schools, museums, the arts of selected countries, and the art of different places as objects of patronage and collecting. The great majority of entries were newly commissioned to some 160 contributors, while a small number of articles from The Oxford Companion to Art have been retained.

Leaving coverage of architecture and non-Western art for other volumes, Brigstocke has focused on Western painting, sculpture, and graphic arts. Significant living artists "whose careers have already taken shape" are included. Many entries are accompanied by a short bibliography. Asterisks within each entry refer readers to separate articles, and cross-references are found between entries. Wherever possible, the present location of works of art is indicated. Several sections of color plates reflect the themes of "the human form and the face, as interpreted from antiquity to the present day." There is an index of artists and other people not given main entries but mentioned in other articles; unfortunately, there is no indexing to the articles on the arts of different countries.

Coverage is selective but balanced. Only three New York City museums (Frick, Metropolitan, and Museum of Modern Art) are given separate entries, but the article New York: Patronage and collecting gives nods to a few others as well as to many historically important galleries. The article on Mexican art, while acknowledging the importance of the muralist movement and mentioning many other twentieth-century Mexican artists, does not name the "Three Great" muralists Orozco, Rivera, or Siqueiros; each artist, however, has a main entry. A small number of errors were noted; the most serious was the entry for the Smithsonian Institution, whose heading reads Washington, Smithsonian Institute and whose founder is twice identified as "James Smithsonian" (should be "Smithson").

The Oxford Companion to Western Art is highly recommended for academic, public, and high-school libraries. Because The Oxford Companion to Art covers architecture and non-Western art, it should be retained. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 888 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; illustrated edition edition (November 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198662033
• ISBN-13: 978-0198662037
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #466,873 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely helpful companion, November 24, 2003

By	H "art lover" (washington, dc United States) - See all my reviews

this is one of the most comprehensive companion guides i've found. most art texts only cover the basics but this includes more obscure info and provides excellent definitions. one of the best features is that it includes themes and topics in art. gray boxed info covers such things as patronage, the tradition of the nude model, comparisons of southern and northern renaissance and portraiture. terrific book, cannot recommend it enough!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You've Wanted to Know about Jean de Marville, March 10, 2006

By	Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a huge, wonderful reference book on almost every aspect of art you can think of. Beware, though, this is not a "picture" book nor is it a narrative history of art. Though it does contain about 50 color paintings between its covers, it is basically an art encyclopedia with entries laid out in alphabetical order.

Besides containing biographical information on just about every artist who ever took brush in hand it has entries on major museums, schools of art, and various other feature length articles on:

Classicism
Casting
Conservation and Restoration
Illuminated Manuscripts
Gilding
Funerary Monuments
Gothic Art
Arts of Countries
Portraiture
Proportion
Impressionism
Perspective.

That's just a sampling of the many interesting topics discussed in a book of over 800 pages. Each page has three columns so there is an immense amount of material covered here. Another interesting group of feature articles pertains to Art as Objects of Patronage and Collecting. These are listed by country, e.g. England, Italy, Spain.

This is a serious art book, and probably would not be of interest to anyone with a very casual interest in the subject. The long article on Perspective, for instance, requires some focusing of the mind. If you've spent some time studying the basics of art, and think that the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon is to tour the local art gallery, then this is the book for you.