From Library Journal
Because works of art can be interpreted in a variety of ways, this book surveys "methodologies," diverse approaches to artistic analysis used by art historians, philosophers, and critics to enlighten viewers. The author, whose works include Art and Psychoanalysis (LJ 9/15/93) and A History of Western Art (LJ 3/15/94), then relates these methods to masterpieces of Western art. Adams's well-crafted, thoughtful essays consider biography and the presence of such artists as Gauguin, van Eyck, and Raphael in their paintings; Marxist readings of Giotto and Delacroix; a deconstructionist analysis of van Gogh's "Shoes"; the feminist approach to O'Keeffe and Chicago; a Freudian analysis of Donatello's "David"; and much more. With 70 black-and-white photos and four color plates, this is a good choice for introductory college art history courses. Libraries needing a more scholarly study should consider Art History and Its Methods (LJ 12/95), which contains excerpts from original sources.?Joan Levin, MLS, ChicagoCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Since the 19th century, when art history became an established academic discipline, works of art have been "read" in a variety of ways. These different ways of describing and interpreting art are the methodologies of artistic analysis, the divining rods of meaning.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book surveys the main methodologies used in artistic analysis: formal analysis, iconology and iconography, Marxism, feminism, biography and autobiography, semiotics (structuralism, post-structuralism, and deconstruction), and psychoanalysis. Various works of art are considered from the different methodologies discussed. There are 70 black-and-white illustrations integrated with the text, 4 plates in color, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal