this is a wonderfully conceived and written history of western art from cave painting to the late 20th century. gombrich tells the story by focusing on the essential ideas or achievements characteristic of each artist and art epoch. each chapter is about 5 or 6 pages of text and several large format art reproductions (there are several fold out images of works such as botticelli's "birth of venus" or pollock's "one"). the narrative is conversational, concise, well informed, and extremely intelligent; the book reads as though you are strolling through an immense museum with gombrich at your side, commenting on paintings and sculptures as you go.

gombrich manages to teach the reader how to look at art at the same time he explains the main historical developments and style points of each movement or period. new students of art will find the book is a pleasurable and clear guide; experienced readers will enjoy gombrich's judicious use of detail and selection. a bibliography, chronological charts of art epochs and artists' lives, maps of europe and an index conclude the book.

I am currently taking an introductory art history class, and Gombrich's THE STORY OF ART is the textbook. This book was an absolute pleasure to read, as I found myself going beyond the assigned readings. I finished the entire book from beginning to end within the span of two weeks!

Even if you aren't very interested in art history, THE STORY OF ART remains a must read; at worst, you will be entertained, and at best you will gain an entirely new perspective on art. The prose is masterfully written and the analysis he presents is very accessible. He discusses everything from ancient Greek sculpture to Renaissance painting to modern architecture. The reproductions of the artwork in the book are also extremely good (there are several high-quality fold-out pages included, such as one of Leonardo's Last Supper pre-restoration). I was very pleased with both the amount and breadth of coverage he provided.

Even though I haven't read any other introductory art history books, I find it hard to believe that any other book could do the job as well as Gombrich has done it here. I would highly recommend THE STORY OF ART to anyone who wants an art history primer.

Gombrich's book has a very specific purpose: he wants to tell the history of art as a continuous story, focusing on Western art and its gradual approach to the visual world. In strong contrast to most other art history texts, Gombrich's book has a thesis, and therefore an argument. In choosing among the various alternates (Janson, Gardner, Stokstad, etc.) it is important to bear this in mind. The size and compression of his book is not its salient feature from a philosophic standpoint: it is the presence of an authorial voice, and a continuous narrative. Most other survey texts give up the ideal of coherent exposition in favor of a neutral descriptive voice and a fragmented "story" that continuously interrupts itself in order not to lose any essential historical detail.

I spotted this book in a museum exhibit--it was related to the paintings being shown. Since the museum didn't have any copies in its bookstore, I ordered it here. If you're interested in related insights and learning to draw yourself, you should order Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Drawing on the Artist Within, by Betty Edwards. Nina Keilin

In this now classic work, Gombrich uses his command of the history of art to reflect deeply on how creators and viewers of illusionistic, that is representational art, do what they do. While he wrote this in the 50's, and is deficient when it comes to issues of abstract art (which is really outside his stated purview) he comes close to what might now be termed a post-structuralist view of seeing, certainly an extremely careful and sophisticated one. Old-fashiioned as some of the language is, the book remains fresh and well worth reading or re-reading. The numerous and very well-chosen illustrations are unusually well coordinated in their placement, so that the reader rarely is forced to lose her place while thumbing back and forth in search of them.

Gombrich is able to draw clear links and connections between human psychology and the artistic expression over time. His insights open windows to new ideas that can be read easily by laymen with only a little foreknowledge of art history. The breadth of his knowledge is startling and his careful and witty presentation is a pleasure to read. He never talks down to the reader. The only criticism is that some of the illustrations are too small, especially those in the chapter on Raphael's Stanza. I would have happy paid more if an increase in picture size happened to mean more paper was consumed.

For sheer range of insight this book is stunning. Gombrich has managed to combine an intimate knowledge of information theory, psychology, social psychology and philosophy along with a highly erudite knowledge of the history of art to create a springboard for investigation. It is the kind of book that I wish had been available when I was a teenager wondering what was possible in the world of scholarship.