/lit/ - Literature

Janson and Gombrich (the latter being a relatively lighter read) are the standards in the area of art history.

>>9620060
yeah, i was going to ask if there was anything that isnt textbook size, will check out gombrich. im interested in painting in particular.

Why is art like that considered good? I am genuinely asking. It looks stupid.

>>9620139
>good
maybe you should check out an art history book

>>9620143
Okay. What makes it interesting? What makes it worthwhile? What makes it different from my pencil scribbles in my notebooks?

>>9620015
The Story of Art is what you're looking for.

>>9620015
https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Western-Art/dp/0198600127

I particularly liked this one. Some of the prose is admittedly lackluster but it showcases a ton of good art and explains the history behind it, and its relation to the rest of the history.
this >>9620198 is also a well-known classic

>>9620143
pseud

sage

Do you guys know any essays or collections of essays that talk about art history in terms of meaning more than technical advancement. Anything like "Turner Translates Carnot" would be cool

>>9620067
Well, if you want a detailed view of the matter, you'll need a longer text with large reproductions.

>>9620147
This sort of people is getting disgustingly boring to me desu. You see something that isn't the lowest 19th century "realistic" kitsch and you start comparing it to your scribbles and calling it "stupid", every fucking time. Would you react in the same way if OP posted pic related instead?

>>9620740
>This sort of people is getting disgustingly boring to me desu. You see something that isn't the lowest 19th century "realistic" kitsch and you start comparing it to your scribbles and calling it "stupid", every fucking time. Would you react in the same way if OP posted pic related instead?
not an argument

Start with the Egyptians. Don't move on until you can rub one out to Akhenaten's juicy tits without feeling shame.

>>9620147
Maybe check out an art history book.

>>9620015
Rosalind Krauss and Hal Foster for contemporary

>>9622386
>Start with the Egyptians
>not cave paintings
Art history elective pleb detected

>>9622981

My art history elective actually did start with the caves, but I think the continuity, stylistic evolution over time, and historical context makes Egypt a better starting point for the uninitiated. imo the caves should be saved until you've developed a feel for thinking critically about art because there's a lot more room for interpretation.

As said earlier, Gombrich's history is the starting block.
I'd say Elie Faure is kinda necessary too, if just because of the massive importance his books have enjoyed before the big G. Plus, Faure's writing can get so lyric. Check out at least the Velasquez part.
Bataille's "Manet" and Merleau-Ponty's "eye & Mind" are good quick read too.

After that, I'd argue to get your doses of Greenberg/Fried, as to beocme a non-pleb on Modern art.
If painting interests you, Wollheim might be your thing.
Definitively check out Deleuze's book on Bacon.
Jason Gaiger's short introdution book "Aesthetics & Painting" is ionteresting, at least for the bibliography he uses. Check that out too.