*Art and Art History: Find Background Info

A practical guide to the understanding and appreciation of Western Art. A delight to read and highly informative, the fascinating A-to-Z entries explore religious themes that have dominated Western painting and sculpture from its beginnings.

For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclopedia of American Folk Art web site. This is the first comprehensive, scholarly study of a most fascinating aspect of American history and culture. Generously illustrated with both black and white and full-color photos, this A-Z encyclopedia covers every aspect of American folk art, encompassing not only painting, but also sculpture, basketry, ceramics, quilts, furniture, toys, beadwork, and more, including both famous and lesser-known genres. Containing more than 600 articles, this unique reference considers individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. An incomparable resource for general readers, students, and specialists, it will become essential for anyone researching American art, culture, and social history.

The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts covers thousands of years of decorative arts production throughout western and non-western culture. With over 1,000 entries, as well as hundreds drawn from the 34-volume Dictionary of Art, this topical collection is a valuable resource for those interested in the history, practice, and mechanics of the decorative arts. Accompanied by almost 100 color and more than 500 black and white illustrations, the 1,290 pages of this title include hundreds of entries on artists and craftsmen, the qualities and historic uses of materials, as well as concise definitions on art forms and style. Explore the works of Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, and the Wiener Wekstatte, or delve into the history of Navajo blankets and wing chairs in thousands of entries on artists, craftsmen, designers, workshops, and decorative art forms.

The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques deals with all aspects of materials, techniques, conservation, and restoration in both traditional and nontraditional media, including ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, painting, works on paper, textiles, video, digital art, and more. Drawing upon the expansive scholarship in The Dictionary of Art and adding new entries, this work is a comprehensive reference resource for artists, art dealers, collectors, curators, conservators, students, researchers, and scholars. Similar in design to The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts, this one-volume reference work contains articles of various lengths in alphabetical order. The shorter, more factual articles are combined with larger, multi-section articles tracing the development of materials and techniques in various geographical locations. The Encyclopedia provides unparalleled scope and depth, and it offers fully updated articles and bibliography as well as over 150 illustrations and color plates. The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques offers scholarly information on materials and techniques in art for anyone who studies, creates, collects, or deals in works of art. The entries are written to be accessible to a wide range of readers, and the work is designed as a reliable and convenient resource covering this essential area in the visual arts.

A companion volume to James Hall’s perennial seller Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, which deals with the subject of Christian and Western art, the present volume includes the art of Egypt, the ancient Near East, Christian and classical Europe, India and the Far East. Hall explores the language of symbols in art, showing how paintings, drawings, and sculpture express many shades of meaning from simple, everyday hopes and fears to the profoundest philosophical and religious aspirations. The book explains and interprets symbols from many cultures, and over 600 illustrations clarify and complement the text.

This is a comprehensive reference book to more than 12,700 painters, sculptors, graphic artists and architects in Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America) and the Caribbean region active during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Entries include the artists' years, countries and bibliographies. Also included are brief biographical information, stylistic notes, a record of each artist's exhibitions and a list of collections where his or her works can be seen. There are 89 photographs of selected works that supplement the entries. The introduction includes brief informative background essays on the individual countries and their artists.

Whether you are interested in Junk Art or Byzantine Art, the Ash-Can School or the Antipodeans, Praxiteles and Phidias or Gilbert and George, The Oxford Dictionary of Art is the first place to turn for accurate information about artists, schools, periods, techniques, critical terms, major museums, art historians, philosophers, and much much more. Compiled from three highly acclaimed Oxford Companions --The Oxford Companion to Art, to Twentieth-Century Art, and to the Decorative Arts--and with hundreds of new entries added, this authoritative, one-volume reference offers over three thousand entries on almost every aspect of Western art, as well as the most essential features of Asian art. Here you will find the answer to almost any question pertaining to the world of art. In what museum is Parmigianino's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror exhibited today? Who coined the term "happening"? What are color field painting, hard edge painting, and op art, who are the most representative artists of these schools, and what are their best works? How does camaieu differ from grisaille? What is the most richly endowed museum in the world? As a further aid the Dictionary offers an extensive system of cross references, guiding readers to a wealth of additional information on almost any topic of interest. Covering the entire history of art, this wide-ranging and up-to-date guide is an indispensable reference for scholars, for students, and for art enthusiasts of every kind. It is also a browser's delight, filled with fascinating facts about the personalities who people the world of art.

The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture explains a wide range of terms used in the study of the history of Christian art and architecture including subjects, topics, themes, artists, works, movements, and buildings. This long-awaited new edition of Peter and Linda Murray's classic text continues to provide an invaluable, authoritative, and engaging guide to interpreting Christian Art both for students and teachers of the subject, as well as non-specialists or those without a formal education in Christianity.The new editor, the Reverend Tom Devonshire Jones, has been aided by over a dozen expert contributors, fully updating the text for the new century. Areas that have been expanded upon include the artwork, artists, and innovations of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries (such as the relationship between Christianity and film). Coverage includes art from around the world, with new entries upon the Christian art of North America, Latin America, Australasia, and of the non-Western world, as well as Christian artistic interactions with other religions, including Judaism and Islam.The detailed bibliography has been heavily revised and updated, increasing the number of sources cited and expanding on sources relevant to the study of non-traditional Christian art. The updated bibliography will be placed on a companion webpage to the Dictionary, which will also feature an appendix of web links to sites of relevant interest.

* Over 2000 authoritative entries and 400 illustrations, including diagrams for comprehensive treatment of architectural terms * Covers painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, the decorative, applied and graphic arts from all periods throughout the world up to the present day: there is even a table of the dynasties of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, China, India and Japan * This new edition features entries connected with the use of computer technology in the art world and includes today's influential groups and tendencies From the Preface: This dictionary is compact, because our experience of the arts is gained in so many places - in exhibitions, in museums, touring with a guide book - and no one wants to tour with a reference library. It is also comprehensive, because neither in real life nor in books are the various arts neatly segregated. More than 2000 entries therefore define and explain terms from painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative and applied arts... With this dictionary at hand, the reader should be able to puzzle out any art text, however technical, and the collector or exhibition-goer should feel at ease with any auction or museum catalogue, no matter how recondite.

In one single, elegant volume, this publication features over 300 iconic photographs and contains more than 1,200 concise yet fully detailed entries on all aspects of the subject. Though much information can today be found online, locating it takes time and sources can have questionable provenance and uncertain academic credentials. All previous dictionaries of photography are now outdated, as well, focusing either on the famous and influential practitioners of the genre or presented as mere glossaries of technical terms. This landmark publication is the culmination of ten years of development and research. Working with an international expert panel of 150 consultants and 77 researchers, Nathalie Herschdorfer has triumphed in creating the first source of information for all scholars, practitioners and collectors of photography to turn to in the future. * The essential, definitive reference on more than 180 years of photography in one authoritative volume * More than 1,200 concise yet highly informative and fully cross-referenced entries on the art, history, science, masters and proponents of photography - from 'Abbas' to 'Zoom lens' * Illustrated throughout with over 300 photographs and diagrams, including major works that have defined the genre * Fresh scholarship by an international team of 77 researchers * Elegant, modern design.

A follow-up to Rockport Publishers' best-selling Universal Principles of Design, a new volume will present one hundred principles, fundamental ideas and approaches to making art, that will guide, challenge and inspire any artist to make better, more focused art.Universal Principles of Art serves as a wealth of prompts, hints, insights and roadmaps that will open a world of possibilities and provide invaluable keys to both understanding art works and generating new ones. Respected artist John A. Parks will explore principles that involve both techniques and concepts in art-making, covering everything from the idea of beauty to glazing techniques to geometric ideas in composition to minimalist ideology. Techniques are simple, direct and easily followed by any artist at any level. This incredibly detailed reference book is the standard for artists, historians, educators, professionals and students who seek to broaden and improve their art expertise.