Art: A New History

Description

Paul Johnson turns his attention to the history of art. Art, he believes, was central to human development, more so than writing and language. This history begins with the earliest rock paintings around 30,000 BC and takes us right up to the present day.

Reviews

"I would come back to it again and again as a reference book." -- JEANETTE WINTERSON THE TIMES "Johnson has written one of his best books." THE SPECTATOR "Johnson writes like a dream." SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "Those on materials and techniques are detailed and informative... His chapter devoted to watercolour painting is exemplary." SUNDAY TIMES "Johnson is also consistently good on technology and art - a theme in itself." DAILY TELEGRAPH "The readable text, all 750 pages of it, is infused with Johnson's opinions and enthusiasms." CHURCH TIMES "Until now, his reputation has rested on his historical, religious and political writings, but he has also been painting since childhood. So Art: A New History is in this respect, the culmination of a lifelong passion, and its 777 close-packed pages consitute, for the most part, a formidable feat of energy... The text benefits from Johnson's tireless travelling. The opposite of an armchair art historian, he clearly relishes the ability to encounter paintings, sculpture and architecture in situ. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT "Paul Johnson is a phenomenon. In the gaps between writing numerous newspaper columns on both sides of the Atlantic, he has, in the past, found time to produce several stonking histories, on epic theories. Now, in what for other men might have been a well-earned retirement, he has come out with a stupendous new history of art... This will seem old-fashioned to art historians but appealing to museum goers who turn to art for enjoyment." -- CLIVE ASLET COUNTRY LIFE