Elizabeth Prettejohn

I loved this book. Its many treasures include an introduction to reception theory; a history of the responses to antique sculpture from the 17th century to the present; an overview of the evolving methods for dating ancient sculptures; the influence of artists in the way we look at (and how we value) antiquities; an explanation of why pseudo-classical Nazi sculpture looks so terrible; an analysis of how Picasso created his "classical" look; and much, much more. Best of all, while quite academic, it's also very well written.… (more)

I found this look at the development of the concept of beauty in art fascinating since I have always taken the idea itself for granted, of course art is beautiful. I never really thought about how that idea had to form and gain acceptance and constant be rethought and re-challenged as art forms changed, grew and matured.
It's easy to forget how shocking the Impressionist movement was in its day or how radical it was to create art for its own sake instead of to teach a lesson or reflect an event in history.
It is easy to forget in general how much of our thoughts and attitudes towards many things have been shaped by those who came before us in ways we don't even realize.
Overall the writing style was very approachable and easy to follow and I loved how many color plates there were so the reader could actually see what the author was referring to especially when comparing and contrasting different works, almost every major example cited was given a colored plate to back it up. This is not done nearly enough in books on art.
There were a few times the writing got a bit dense and hard to follow, mostly in the end of the book as the author delved into our Modern Art, though this may have more to do with my own bias with this art form and critics who write about it than the writing of the author of this book.
Overall this book has made me think more about my own attitudes towards art and to appreciate the work others have done in the past allowing me to experience art in the way I do.… (more)