The Story of Art

Renowned not only as the best concise introduction to art history, an overview which covers the entire subject, from early cave paintings to modern experimental art; but also as a classic of art historical literature, this text reflects the vast knowledge, insights, and expertise of one of this century's greatest art historians and thinkers.

    Extensively illustrated, it treats the history of art both chronologically and geographically - as a continuous unfolding story 'a living chain that still links our own time with the Pyramid age'

    "Like every art historian of my generation, my way of thinking about pictures has been in large measure shaped by Ernst Gombrich. I was 15 when I read 'The Story of Art' and like millions since, I felt I had been given a a map of a great country, and with it the confidence to explore further without fear of being overwhelmed."
Neil MacGregor, Director of the National Gallery, London (1987-2002).

        This text is the 16th revised and updated edition of book.
  Eight new artists from the modern period have been introduced. They are: Corot, Kollwitz, Nolde, de Chirico, Brancussi, Magritte, Nicolson and Morandi.

A sequence of new "endings" have been added, and the captions are now fuller, including the medium and dimension of the works illustrated.

Six fold-outs present selected large-scale works. They are: Van Eyck's "Ghent Altarpiece", Leonardo's "Last Supper", Botticelli's "Birth of Venus", Jackson Pollock's "One (Number 31, 1950)", Van der Weyden's "Descent from the Cross" and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.