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Introduction

My goal in writing Art History For Dummies, 2E was to make it as useful, fun to read, and handy as a good travel guide. This book covers a lot of art history, but not everything. I focus on the Western art tradition and cover some art and art movements that other art history books neglect.

Most art history books these days weigh in at about 20 pounds. I made this book leaner so you could stick it in your backpack and carry it to class without feeling weighted down, or so you can take it on a long trip as a guidebook or carry it around a museum as a ready resource.

As you read Art History For Dummies, you’ll journey around the world and travel back in time. Reading many of the chapters is like going on a vacation to an exotic land in a past life. You can hobnob with a Byzantine empress or an Egyptian pharaoh, attend the ancient Olympics (the games were often depicted on Greek vases), or stroll through the Ishtar Gate in ancient Babylon.

Art history is the visual side of history — they’re sister subjects. Studying art history and history together is like adding pictures to text. It makes the story clearer and more interesting. In Art History For Dummies, I often splice history and art history together, giving you a context for the art.

Some people believe art history is a high-brow subject. With all those Italian and French terms, it just has to be snobby, right? I disagree. I believe art history is an everyman/everywoman subject because it’s about humankind’s common cultural heritage. Art history mirrors human evolution. It shows humankind through the ages, from cave to castle, jungle hut to urban high-rise. Each age for the last 30,000 years has left an imprint of itself in its art.

About This Book

In this book, I’m your tour guide through the world of art history. The tour features the greatest art and architecture ever created. On the journey, I point out the key features of these works and structures; often, I suggest possible interpretations that I hope inspire you to make your own interpretations. I also add spicy anecdotes and colorful facts to make every stop on the tour fun.

This book is a reference — it’s something you can turn to again and again, dipping into it to find whatever piece of information is most critical to you at the time. When I introduce new terms, I put them in italics and define them in context.

You don’t have to read the book cover to cover, nor even read all the text if certain parts don’t interest you. Use the table of contents and index to find the subjects that you’re interested in and go from there. Of course, if you want to start with Chapter 1 and read through to the end, you can — but it isn’t a requirement to understand the information in these pages.

Foolish Assumptions

You don’t need to have taken remedial art history or even studied high school art to understand and benefit from this book. This is Art History 101 and there are no prerequisites! I assume you’ve at least heard of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. But if you haven’t, it’s no biggie — you have now. You don’t need any background in art history or art. I give you the background you need as we go along.

I also assume that anything with the word history attached to it may scare you. It conjures up visions of memorizing dates and isms in high school. That’s okay. I give some dates and define some isms, but I don’t dwell on that side of art history. I prefer to get into the fun stuff. Instead of putting dates and isms in the foreground of the subject, in this book I put the story of art front and center. Bottom line: You won’t have to memorize dates. In fact, you won’t have to memorize anything!

Icons Used in This Book

This book uses icons in the margins, designed to flag your attention for a particular reason. Here’s what each icon means:

When I want to compare or contrast artworks or periods, I tip you off with this icon.

This icon is like a nudge in the ribs reminding you to file away information for future use.

When I give you more information than you really need, I mark it with a Technical Stuff icon. This is interesting stuff, but if you just want to know what you need to know, you can skip it.

Paragraphs marked with the Tip icon offer suggestions for unraveling complicated images and making your review of art history easier and more fun.

Beyond the Book

This book will give you an excellent understanding of Western art history. But there’s more. It includes an online Cheat Sheet that divides art history into bite-size chunks in an easy-to-read table. The table provides an overview of the entire span of Western art history; you can see all the art periods and movements, the artists and key artworks associated with that division, and the historical events that helped define it. It’s a bit like looking at a map of the world or globe to see where the continents, countries, and islands are with respect to one another. The table is also useful as a quick reference. If you want to find a particular artist’s niche in art history and history while you’re at a museum or even a party (and you unaccountably forgot to bring your Art History For Dummies book with you!), simply go to dummies.com on your phone and type in Art History For Dummies Cheat Sheet.

Where to Go from Here

You can dive into this book anywhere you like. I’ve organized Art History For Dummies so that you can read it in two ways:

 You can take the full tour and read the book chronologically from cover to cover. This is a great way to see how art evolved over the millennia.

 You can jump into any chapter or section within a chapter, extract the information you need, and skip the rest. For example, if you’re planning to see an Egyptian exhibition or you’re taking a test on the period, Chapter 6 will give you all the information you need to ace the test or enjoy the show.

If you don’t begin at the beginning, I recommend starting with the chapter that covers the art you like best. If it’s Michelangelo and Leonardo, start with Chapter 11 on the Early and High Renaissance; if it’s Frida Kahlo, start with Chapter 23, which includes Surrealism and other movements. Then fan out from there. Each period or movement will lead you to the periods that it grew out of and that grew out of it, giving you a better understanding of why Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Frida Kahlo painted as they did.

Finally, if you have questions or comments about this book, you can e-mail me at jesse_bryant_wilder@hotmail.com.