Another history of art: 2.500 jaar Europese kunstgeschiedenis

Abstract

Art is so much more than an aesthetic experience or an intriguing concept. It is also the application of new technologies, an instrument of politics and religion, a catalyst of revolutions, a trigger of extreme reactions. Art is the blueprint of an era, a carrier of intangible meaning. Art represents millions of euros but also a sea of ​​emotion. How has art evolved in 2,500 years from the representation of the ideal human to an abstract black square? Why is Merda d'artista worth more than a beautiful seventeenth-century landscape? In five chapters, this accessible book sketches the story of the visual arts in Western Europe from ancient times to modern art as many times over. For example, art is not presented as an aesthetic prophecy, but as a complex interplay of human ingenuity and rapidly changing historical circumstances. Koenraad Jonckheere is professor of art history at Ghent University. He is fascinated by the phenomenon of art and previously wrote about portraiture, art trade, iconoclasm and Rubens, among other things. This book is his magnum opus.