The Art Book: Mini Format

This excellent book is now a little out of date, as it was first published in the 1990s. However, it includes all the good stuff up till then in a highly informative and useful format... Alphabetical order of artist, a representative image for each with a brief bio and description, plus links to art movements and other related artists. Excellent glossaries of art terms and art movements.I also have the paperback 'pocket' version of this book. I must say that comparing the two, there are some big differences in the reproduction colour in about 10% of the images, where the hardback version seems to be lacking a green/yellow channel. I've seen 3 copies of the hardback and they are all like it.If your eyesight is good - buy the pocket version because the colour reproduction is more reliable. Alternatively, buy the updated version which I believe includes 21st C art, but is a lot more expensive.

Content: Good short summaries of a wide range of artists in alphabetical order. Each artist is introduced by a good quality photograph of one of their artworks. The only problem I had with the content was the selection of featured artworks. I would've preferred the most memorable paintings to be shown, when in fact it was rather random. Overall the descriptions were good and I think it'd really help second level students for their art history class to understand and remember specific artists work.Form: Its quite easy to bring around due to its compact A5 size. I'd recommend to be careful when buying second hand copies, I received mine with the front cover tipped sown the centre. But if your a student like me, it's very affordable.

This book is absolutely brilliant! (And thats to say the least) It provides a small, but useful, description of the deeper elements to some of the paintings or background information on a particular artist. Its highly analytical, it tells you what gallery each of the paintings are in: which is useful as some gallery websites are not very informative as to the galleries content at all. I have carried it around with me since I brought it and it is still in excellent condition (I brought a used copy as well) which is perfect for travelling needs (and considering I brought it quite a while ago.) Some examples of its content:-Domenichino 'the sacrifice of Issac'-Balthus 'girl and cat'-Salvidor Dali 'sleep'-Pieter Claesz 'A vanitas still life'-Sandro Botticelli 'Spring'-Hugo Van Der Goes 'The fall of man'Just to name a few of the artists inside the book. It also includes; photo art, sculpture and textile prints and not just famous paintings. Enjoy!(Would also highly recommend for any art student who needs to demonstrate a good understanding and analysis of artist's work but unfortunately cannot afford or lives in an area far away from any gallery...I can relate!)

I've been meaning to get back into art recently and my art history knowledge is very rusty so I bought this to give myself an overview of the great artists. It is a lovely little book, very compact and easy to carry around. I keep it on my desk to flick through on my break. A lot of the paintings don't seem to be the ones that are widely regarded as the artists best work, but I don't mind that as it introduces me to other paintings by certain artists.

This book is chunky and choc full of information on every page. An easy A - Z reference with a painting by each artist on every page - 500 in all, it's a treat and a real feast for the eyes. It's small enough to transport but big enough to indulge the creative juices, just what I was looking for as a re-introduction to art and art history with a little more besides. A treasure trove and springboard not just for beginners but for those looking to broaden their artistic knowledge too.Dither ye not. Buy it, you won't regret a penny.

Great book, has a mixture of artists from different styles and times. each artist has a picture of their work as an example. Great go-to book.As an artist myself i enjoy getting inspiration from other artist's work, however this book is great for referencing as well al artist are in alphabetical order.

Pocket sized book, lots of cross referencing as to who was inspired by who, I bought this book and a copy of the 20th Century art book to give to a friend as I was so impressed with my own copies purchased whilst doing a city and guilds design course.I wanted to share the delights. ideal springboard for further exploration into artists work.

A gift and she loved it!