Best Art and Art History Books
A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things.
1 The Shock of the New
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 5,748 ratings
2 The Judgment of Paris: The ...
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 3,014 ratings
3 The Man Who Made Vermeers: ...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 1,057 ratings
4 Michelangelo, the Sistine C...
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings
5 The Letters of Vincent van ...
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 10,622 ratings
6 The Power of Art
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 3,469 ratings
7 Art Through the Ages
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 7,178 ratings
8 Michelangelo and the Pope's...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 4,431 ratings
9 Nothing If Not Critical: Se...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 270 ratings
10 The Art Spirit
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 4,186 ratings
11 Sister Wendy's Story of Pai...
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 894 ratings
12 Art and Visual Perception: ...
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 441 ratings
13 Art History's History
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3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 60 ratings
13 The Story of Art
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 24,783 ratings
15 A Life of Picasso, Vol. 1: ...
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 267 ratings
16 Isms: Understanding Art
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 146 ratings
17 The Rape of Europa: The Fat...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 1,153 ratings
18 The Visual Arts: A History,...
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3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 33 ratings
19 Life with Picasso
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 746 ratings
20 The Yellow House: Van Gogh,...
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 1,128 ratings
21 Bernini
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 68 ratings
22 Frick Collection: Handbook ...
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4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
23 Vision and Art: The Biology...
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 102 ratings
24 The Lost Painting
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 5,583 ratings
25 Masterpieces of The Metropo...
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 31 ratings
26 Art and Physics: Parallel V...
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 713 ratings
26 The Agony and the Ecstasy
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 28,351 ratings
28 Michelangelo
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4.53 of 5 stars 4.53 avg rating — 17 ratings
29 Pictures of Nothing: Abstra...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 128 ratings
30 The Writer's Brush: Paintin...
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4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 17 ratings
31 D'Aulaires' Book of Greek M...
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4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 7,058 ratings
31 Techniques of the Great Mas...
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4.54 of 5 stars 4.54 avg rating — 24 ratings
33 Joseph Cornell: Master of D...
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 313 ratings
34 Manifestations of Shiva
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4.67 of 5 stars 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
35 Dreaming With His Eyes Open...
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 32 ratings
36 National Gallery of Art: Wa...
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4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 26 ratings
37 Goya
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 1,535 ratings
38 Atkinson Grimshaw
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4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
38 The Annotated Mona Lisa
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 1,044 ratings
38 Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
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4.57 of 5 stars 4.57 avg rating — 14 ratings
38 Frida: A Biography of Frida...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 15,351 ratings
42 Seven Days in the Art World
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 8,665 ratings
43 The Success and Failure of ...
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 120 ratings
43 Ways of Seeing
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 30,178 ratings
45 A Natural History of the Se...
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 3,695 ratings
45 The Art Instinct: Beauty, P...
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3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 511 ratings
45 How Art Made the World
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 65 ratings
48 Noa Noa
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 199 ratings
49 Dora Maar, With And Without...
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings
49 What Painting Is
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 184 ratings
51 Believing Is Seeing: Creati...
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3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 106 ratings
51 Vasari's Lives of the Artis...
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 57 ratings
53 William Blake
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 326 ratings
53 Eastman Johnson: Painting A...
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5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
53 Just Looking: Essays on Art
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 58 ratings
56 Sculpture: Processes and Pr...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings
56 Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter ...
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5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
58 The Authoritative Calvin An...
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4.69 of 5 stars 4.69 avg rating — 11,197 ratings
59 The New Drawing on the Righ...
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 34,858 ratings
60 Brunelleschi's Dome: How a ...
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 6,780 ratings
61 History of Modern Art: Pain...
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 1,750 ratings
62 A Guide To The Louvre
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 50 ratings
63 The Romantic Rebellion
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4.41 of 5 stars 4.41 avg rating — 27 ratings
64 Cameraworks
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4.55 of 5 stars 4.55 avg rating — 29 ratings
64 For the Love of Art
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 13 ratings
64 Picasso: Creator And Destroyer
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 226 ratings
64 Humor in Craft
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4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
64 Louvre: 400 Masterpieces
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 17 ratings
64 Artemisia Gentileschi: The ...
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4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 52 ratings
64 Museum Guard
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3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 434 ratings
64 Georgia O'keeffe: 100 Flowers
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4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings
64 The Image of the Black in W...
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3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
73 The Senses.
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4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
73 The Last Flowers of Manet
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings
73 Making the Mummies Dance: I...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 337 ratings
73 About Looking
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 1,256 ratings
73 What Great Paintings Say
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 60 ratings
73 Where Is Ana Mendieta?: Ide...
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4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 34 ratings
73 The Image of the Black in W...
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0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
80 Modern Painting: The Impres...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
80 The Vertigo Years: Europe 1...
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 209 ratings
80 George Tooker
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4.68 of 5 stars 4.68 avg rating — 19 ratings
80 Pictures & Tears: A History...
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 85 ratings
80 Il Était Une Fois Walt Disn...
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5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
80 The Sense of Sight
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 89 ratings
80 The Painted Word
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 1,610 ratings
87 Vietnam Reflexes and Reflec...
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0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
87 Living Color: A Writer Pain...
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 155 ratings
87 Art and Illusion: A Study i...
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 592 ratings
87 Angels & Fairies
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings
87 The Eclipse Of Art: Tacklin...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 12 ratings
87 Brunelleschi's Dome: How a ...
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 6,780 ratings
93 Rackstraw Downes
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4.71 of 5 stars 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings
93 In Pursuit of Beauty: Ameri...
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings
93 Gothic: Dark Glamour
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 53 ratings
93 Theories of Modern Art: A S...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 557 ratings
93 Martha Stewart's Cookies: T...
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 5,144 ratings
98 Diego Rivera: The Detroit I...
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 18 ratings
98 Gothic Art Now
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 72 ratings
98 Giada's Family Dinners
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 5,037 ratings
137 books · 105 voters · list created July 1st, 2009 by deleted user.
Tags: history
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Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Susanna
Susanna
2166 books
376 friends
Thomas
Thomas
317 books
47 friends
Leslie
Leslie
3790 books
114 friends
Hotavio
Hotavio
197 books
33 friends
Monica
Monica
2380 books
238 friends
Sandra
Sandra
202 books
1 friend
Luda
Luda
99 books
0 friends
Laura
Laura
321 books
34 friends

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Comments (showing 1-6 of 6) (6 new)

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message 1: by Monica (new)

Monica I'm not familiar with the majority of these books or art historians. It's a nice ideal, Alex. I wish I knew more about them so I could share my opinions. How do you read other people's comments?




message 2: by [deleted user] (last edited Jul 03, 2009 07:35am) (new)

Just click on the book I suppose. That is if there any comments. Have a great holiday weekend!


message 3: by Monica (new)

Monica You too. I have many art history books I'd love to share with this group! Hi Susanna, Sandra, Hotavio, Leslie and Thomas!!!


message 4: by [deleted user] (new)

LOL! SHARE,SHARE, SHARE!


message 5: by Sharayu (new)

Sharayu Gangurde I think perhaps books like 'Lust for living' and 'The agony and the ecstacy' both, by Irving Stone ought to feature in this list. 'Girl with a pearl earring' by Tracey Chevalier on Vermeer Jan's painting of the same name is also a very interesting read.

Thanks for the great list here. Eager to lay my hands on these books.


message 6: by Faezeh (new)

Faezeh Salehi i have lots of book about art history in persian language, i decide to share


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