Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Stephen F. Eisenman (Author), Thomas E. Crow (Author), Brian Lukacher (Author), Linda Nochlin (Author), David L. Phillips (Author), Frances K. Pohl (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
The political, industrial, and cultural revolutions that punctuated the 19th century were reflected in the fine arts, though not always consciously. Art was no longer the sole domain of the upper classes, and the complexity of the new social order became evident in the works of artists like Blake and Goya early in the century and Cassatt and Eakins later on. In this first comprehensive reconsideration of 19th-century art from the viewpoint of the "new" art history, Eisenman and four other art historians examine issues of class, gender, racism, and Eurocentrism as they pertain to North American and European art. This handsomely produced volume, rich in ideas and illustrations, complements the works of Albert Boime (e.g., The Art of Exclusion: Representing Blacks in the Nineteenth Century, Smithsonian, 1990). Of interest to scholars and art enthusiasts alike.
Daniel J. Lombardo, Jones Lib., Amherst, Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
An impressive encyclopedic volume...such vigor, clarity, and scholarship that it must be regarded as required reading. -- American Arts Quarterly

Handsomely illustrated....The interpretations of [the artists'] work are thoughtful. -- Atlantic Monthly

Rich in ideas and illustrations....Of interest to scholars and art enthusiasts alike. -- Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 428 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 2nd edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050023793X
• ISBN-13: 978-0500237939
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,496,645 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Academic overview of nineteenth century art, December 8, 2004

By	Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History (Hardcover)

This is a text based overview of art in the 1800's. It has a text to picture ratio similar to that in Art by Hartt. It has a similar (but obviously more specific) audience. Reproductions are high quality. Most are black and white - maybe 20 percent color. Here the color plates are mixed throughout the book, instead of all together in one color section. So all the thematically similar pictures are grouped together with the information about them. Read through the chapter titles and if you like several of the artists in question then this may be a good book to have reproductions of their work.

Outline of Nineteenth Century Art:
Classicism and Romanticism
Patriotism and Virtue: David to the Young Ingres
Classicism in Crisis: Gross to Delacroix
The Tensions of Enlightenment: Goya
Visionary History Painting: Blake and His Contemporaries
Nature Historicized: Constable, Turner, and Romantic Landscape Painting
New World Frontiers
Old World, New World: The Encounter of Cultures on the American Frontier
Black and White in America
Realism and Naturalism
The Generation of 1830 and the Crisis in the Public Sphere
The Rhetoric of Realism: Courbet and the Origin of the Avant-Garde
The Decline of History Painting: Germany, Italy, and France
Modern Art and Life
Manet and the Impressionists
Issues of Gender in Cassatt and Eakins
Mass Culture and Utopia: Seurat and Neoimpressionism
Abstraction and Populism: Van Gough
Symbolism and the Dialectics of Retreat
The Failure and Success of Cezanne
chronology, bibliography, list of illustrations and index

This is a good book for university libraries. Because realistic art styles have traditionally been overlooked in favor of more abstract styles, there is a gap in history books that cover art. This is a good detailed overview of overlooked art. The sections on American art particularly valuable in filling a potential gap. American art in this time period had a documentary function. (European art had more of an idealized function as from Ruskin or acted more in the traditional way as a status symbol. Also European movements such as Pre-Raphealitism have recently become popular and widely available, so this is not such a big gap.) Having coverage of American art from this time period is especially desirable.

I don't think that this is such a good book for individuals to buy, unless you already know what it is. It is written and intended for academic study (so the writing is dense). Look through the book at a book shop or library first.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip it., December 28, 2005

By	M. Dillman "kyrn" (St. Cloud MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History (Paperback)

I too had this book for a college 19th century art course. Most of the movements were not new to me and I dearly love most art of the period. But for anyone new to it this will be an incredibly boring read, too much bogged down in marxism and political correctness. Eisenman; a self-professed "Marxist-Art Historian" seems unable to speak of any movement without making it into classs warfare or accusing artists of being sexist or rascist, while completely ingnoring the historical context. As with many art history surveys Eisenman also suffers the delusion that there is something inherently wrong with academic art and that the only worthwhile art of the 19th century was made in France.

5.0 out of 5 stars great, September 15, 2008

By	bluejana09 (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nineteenth Century Art (Paperback)

great book. this actually enables you to understand what the 19th Century art and influences were about. Through its critical review, the writing and approach to it is fantastic. The best art history book I have read!