European Painting and Sculpture

Fülszöveg

The object of this book, originally published in a Penguin edition, is to provide a short account of the development of the fine arts, and in particular of painting, in Europe from the earUest times to the present day. The author's aims have been three— brevity, continuity, and a sense of proportion. He has kept as close to the limits of justifiable compression as possible. Important secondary artists have been omitted: biographical details are absent. But only by ruthless compression can continuity be assured. Each artist or group of artists is treated not as an isolated phenomenon but as a link in the growing chain of tradition. The emphasis is rather on the strength, the shape, and the direction of the chain at each point in its evolution than on the individual link.
As for a sense of proportion, that must ultimately depend on the author's personal sense of what is important, which, in its turn, is a reflexion of his likes and dislikes. These he has not seriously attempted to... Tovább

Fülszöveg

The object of this book, originally published in a Penguin edition, is to provide a short account of the development of the fine arts, and in particular of painting, in Europe from the earUest times to the present day. The author's aims have been three— brevity, continuity, and a sense of proportion. He has kept as close to the limits of justifiable compression as possible. Important secondary artists have been omitted: biographical details are absent. But only by ruthless compression can continuity be assured. Each artist or group of artists is treated not as an isolated phenomenon but as a link in the growing chain of tradition. The emphasis is rather on the strength, the shape, and the direction of the chain at each point in its evolution than on the individual link.
As for a sense of proportion, that must ultimately depend on the author's personal sense of what is important, which, in its turn, is a reflexion of his likes and dislikes. These he has not seriously attempted to conceal, but the reader who does not share them will not find the book invalidated on that account.
In order to achieve brevity it is necessary to begin with a point of view, otherwise fundamental principles have to be stated and re-stated at every crucial point of the story. The opening chapters, therefore, contain a brief exposition of the author's attitude to worlcs of art in general and an explanation of the characteristics of European art as a whole.
European Painting and Sculpture first appeared between hard covers twelve years ago, and is no longer in print in that edition. The author has since greatly expanded that part of the text dealing with the period from the beginning of the Italian Renaissance to the present day, increasing the length of the whole book by seventy per cent.
about the author Eric Newton, who was bom in 1893 near Manchester, returned from the 1914-18 war determined to be an artist, but only succeeded in turning himself into a craftsman (in mosaic). He has spent the rest of his life learning that his creative powers lag considerably behind his appreciative equipment and has become, in consequence, an art critic and an art historian.
He is not unaware that unless enthusiasm is based on knowledge, art criticism becomes an unpalatable mixture of gush and prejudice. He is equally aware that unless knowledge is accompanied by enthusiasm (and, sometimes, boredom) art history can never become art criticism.
He has been art critic of The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and now writes a weekly column for Time and Tide. His other books include Stanley Spencer, The Meaning of Beauty, and Tintoretto. He is an M.A. of Manchester University, President of the British Section of the International Association of Art Critics, and Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford, 1959-60.
The photograph of Henry Moore's 'Reclining Figure' appears by courtesy of the Trustees of the Tate Gallery.
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The Belle Sauvage Library
Penguin Books are famous as publishers not only of reprints, but also of 'originals' which have become standard, definitive works, winning a reputation for authority and excellence in their fields unsurpassed in any format.
In response to a widespread demand for a permanent, hard-backed edition of these paperback 'originals', Cassell are publishing a series of the finest and best-known titles. Produced in full-sized, hard-covered format and jacketed, the Belle Sauvage Library will provide all who value and enjoy the Penguin or Pelican books with an edition in more durable form. Where necessary the illustrations and text have been brought up to date. All titles illustrated in the Penguin edition, and some not so endowed, have been fully illustrated in the Cassell edition, using the original material wherever possible.
The first six titles are as follows:
EUROPEAN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE BY ERIC NEWTON
A HISTORY OF WESTERN LITERATURE BY J. M. COHEN
Coming in June
A DICTIONARY OF BALLET BY G. B. L. WILSON
THE ROMANS BY R. H. BARROW
Coming in July
A GUIDE TO ENGLISH LITERATURE EDITED BY BORIS FORD Vol. 1: THE AGE OF CHAUCER
COMPARATIVE RELIGION BY A. C. BOUQUET Vissza