Subtitled Pre-history to Avante-garde.

The 28 contributors to this encyclopaedic tome are listed inside the book. All specialists in their fields.

As the subtitle notes, it deals with art from pre-history through to the avante-garde, with the final dated entry from 1986. At the end of the beautifully illustrated set of sections, is a collection of five double-page spreads showing chronological tables that begin at 3000 BCE and end in the 1980s AD. These list relevant historical events, the lives and works of prominent recorders of those times, and the artists living during the periods so that the work of the artists may be seen in context with the period in which they lived and worked.

Almost all of the illustrations displayed over the 610 pages of artworks are delivered in full colour.

The book was one of a dozen I was gifted by a neighbour who was reducing her library due to a house move. I was seeking information to provide some authenticity to a novel I’m currently writing, and this book, along with others I’ll review when I’ve read them, has provided a significant amount of relevant information for that purpose. Of course, I’ll use only a fraction of the content, and that will mostly be in the form of conversations among various characters relating to the actions, beliefs and emotions of those players. I’m not, after all, writing a textbook. Though this volume would undoubtedly be very valuable to anyone studying the subject academically.

Simply perusing the pages is a delightful experience. The variety of styles, subjects, and treatments is truly staggering. Among the famous artworks most of us know, there are countless others that will be new to so many readers.

This extraordinary piece of work has been an eye-opener and a real source of both information and inspiration.

[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]