Kemp Martin (Ed.). The Oxford History of Western Art

Oxford University Press, 2000. — 584 p.The Oxford History of Western Art is an innovative and challenging reappraisal of how the history of art can be presented and understood. Through a carefully devised modular structure, readers are given insights not only into how and why works of art were created, but also how works in different media relate to each other across time. Here— uniquely—is not the simple, linear “story” of art, but a rich series of stories, told from varying viewpoints.
Carefully selected groupings of pictures give readers a sense of the visual "texture” of the various periods and episodes covered. The 167 illustration groups, supported by explanatory text and picture captions, create a sequence of "visual tours”—not merely a procession of individually “great” works viewed in isolation, but juxtapositions of significant images that powerfully convey a sense of the visual environments in which works of art need to be viewed in order to be understood and appreciated. The aim throughout is to make the shape and nature of these visual presentations a stimulating and rewarding experience, allowing readers to become active participants in the process of interpretation and synthesis.
Another key feature of the narrative is the redefinition of traditional period boundaries. Rather than relying on conventional labels such as Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, etc., Martin Kemp establishes five major phases of significant historical change that unlock longer and more meaningful continuities:The art of classical antiquity, from c600 BC to the fall of Rome in AD 410
The establishment of visual culture in Europe from 410 to 1527 (the sack of papal Rome)
European visual regimes from 1527 to 1770
The era of revolutions, 1770 to 1914
Modernism and after, 1914 to 2000