19th-Century Art

by H.W. Janson, Robert Rosenblum

Originally published twenty years ago, "Nineteenth Century Art, Second Edition "remains true to the original, with its superior survey of Western painting and sculpture presented in four historical parts, beginning in 1776 and ending with the dawn of the new century. This book draws on the historical documentation of the period, tracing the dynamics of the making and viewing of art, and examining the reciprocal influences of art and technology, art and politics, art and literature, art and music. For nineteenth century art enthusiasts.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Reference, Art and Photography, School, Textbooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

Horst Waldemar Janson, who published as H. W. Janson, was a Russian-American scholar of art history best known for his History of Art, which was first published in 1962 and has sold more than two million copies in fifteen languages.

Reviews

[Michael Smith]

I’m not an artist, I’m a historian, with a special interest in physical social and cultural history: Costume, domestic architecture, social mores, all that stuff. Photography is the obvious source for that, at least from the Civil War on, but an artist’s interpretation can also be very useful. For those reasons, I learned early in my career to pay attention to the Realists, especially Bingham, Breton, Millet, Tissot, Eakins, Degas, Whistler, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and some of Monet and Manet. While studying that lot, I also developed a taste for the Pre-Raphaelites and the later artists of myth and dream, like Burne-Jones, Leighton, and Alma-Tadema, who don’t get much attention these days. I lose interest when I get to the Post-Impressionists like Seurat, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Munch, however. (So sue me.) All of which is to say that the authors, both of whom are NYU professors in the fine arts, have done an excellent job of surveying the entire century in which all of the above had their careers. The discussions cover not only artistic influences but political and familial factors as well as relevant biographical details. There are more than 500 illustrations, though fewer than 90 are in color, and many of them are rather small -- which seems inadequate for a coffee-table-sized art book. And, frankly, I’m puzzled how any survey of the 19th century could completely ignore Frederick Remington and Charles Russell. Otherwise, it’s an excellent book for slow perusal.

[Lindsay]

19th century is not my favorite period, but goddamn bob rosenblum is a fine art historian and author. i bought this for a class a couple years ago and i still read it just for fun (yeah, accept that it's nerdy of me.) his formidable intellect and sense of humor are all sorts of humbling.

[Gretchen]

I've had this book for decades and love it almost as much for the gorgeous paper cover graced with a crop of Flaming June, one of my favorite paintings, as for all the wonderful works and history inside.

[Sara]

Este libro fue lectura obligatoria en Historia del arte y lo leí en conjunto con el de Eisenman, así que es medio difícil hacer una reseña y no caer en la comparación, pero voy a intentar no hacerlo. En un principio se me hizo algo lenta la lectura, sentía que tiraba datos muy variados de pintores diversos y que no llegaba a ningún punto más que a datos curiosos. Sin embargo, una vez pasada toda la época de David se me hizo mucho más ligera la lectura y ya hacia el final creo que empezaba lo interesante, o será que me llama más la atención el siglo XX.

[Avis Black]

19th Century Art was a textbook I had in college, and it was pretty respectable.

[Duncan Greer]

It's a pretty good text book.

[Bayou des Cannes Cajun]

Excellent. Love periodically revisiting this book. Have enjoyed it for years.