Publisher Description

The amazing discovery of the 'first European civilization' in Crete, Greece and the Aegean islands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was beyond what anyone had imagined. Beginning with the Neolithic period, before 3000 BCE, and ending at the close of the Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age of Hellenic Greece (c.1000 BCE), this is the first comprehensive introduction to the visual arts and architecture of this extraordinaryera. This book introduces the reader to the historical and social contexts within which the arts - pottery, gold, silver, and ivory objects, gravestone reliefs, frescoes, and architecture- of the Aegean area developed. It examines the functions they served, and the ways in which they can be read as evidence for the interactions of many different peoples and societies in the eastern Mediterranean. It also provides an up-to-date critical historiography of the field in its relationship to the growth of ancient art history, archaeology, and museology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, giving a contemporary audience a clear appreciation of what has been at stake in theuncovering and reconstruction of this ancient society.

Author Biography

Donald Preziosi is Professor of Art History, UCLA, where he developed and directs the art history critical theory programme, as well as the UCLA museum studies programme.Dr Louise Hitchcock is a Research Associate of the Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. She received the prestigious Edward A. Dickson Fellowship on several occasions prior to completing her Ph.D., and was a Fellow of the American School of Classical Studies, Athens.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction: Aegean Art and ArchitectureThe environment; Discovering the Aegean World; Art and art history; Objectives; Organization.2: The Neolithic Period and the Prepalatial Early Bronze AgeSettlements; Burial practices.3: The First Palace PeriodMiddle Bronze Age palaces and villas; The vernacular tradition in Greece and Crete; Ritual practices; Summary.4: The Second Palace PeriodPublic art, private art, and the palatial architectural style; The Second Palaces: Knossos, Phaistos, Gournia, and Kato Zakro; Minoan villas: function and design; The terminology and typology of Minoan palatial buildings; The Minoan and Mycenaean spheres of influence; Religious practices; Burial practices.5: Mycenaean Domination and the Minoan TraditionThe Mycenaean palace at Pylos; The Mycenaean palace at Knossos; Haghia Triadha and Kommos; The continuation of Minoan building techniques in the Third Palace Period; Burial practices; The Mycenaean shrine at Phylakopi; The circuit walls at Mycenae and Tiryns.6: Conclusion: Disruptions, (Dis)Continuities, and the Bronze AgeThe eastward migration of Aegean traditions; The international style; Cyprus, Palestine, and the Peoples of the Sea; Tradition and transformation; What goes around comes around: Daedalus returns to Crete.Notes; List of Illustrations; Bibliographic Essay; Timeline; Index

Review

`a compact and attractive introduction to the subject'John Bennet, THES, 9/6/00`This powerful account of 2,000 years of Aegean culture is a must for pilgrims and sun-worshippers'The Observer, 24.10.99

Promotional

First comprehensive introduction to the visual arts and architecture of the ancient Aegean

Kirkus UK Review

'Looking at art history from a fresh perspective' is how the publishers describe The Oxford History of Art, and there can be no denying that the series incorporates the most up-to-date approaches to its subject. Launched in 1997, The Oxford History of Art has now published 17 volumes, and the latest additions are good examples of both the ethos of the series, and of the geographical and chronological coverage which it seeks to embrace. Aegean Art and Architecture is the fullest introduciton yet to the visual arts in mainland Greece, Grete and the Cycladic Islands from 3300 to 1000BC, and the first to apply new thinking in art history to the subject. Ancient Aegean culture has a particularly important place within European history and art history because of its profound links to the origins of European civilization. Painting, pottery, object made from gold, silver and ivory, carved reliefs, textiles and architecture are all fully illustrated and discussed, revealing the many different functions that this vast range of art and artefacts served within the cultural and social context of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. Medieval castles, church spires and monastic cloisters are just some of the major architectural innovations of the early Middle Ages, an exciting period in the history of European architecture, culminating in the development of the Romanesque style. Ranging from 300 to 1200, Early Medieval Architecture relates building to issues such as liturgy, pilgraimage, the cult of saints, and the roles of patrons and architects. Each chapter concentrates on a different aspect of the architecture of these centuries, each explores its richness and variety in terms of social and religious aspirations. What happened after Rodin? Taking their cue from the last great artist in an old tradition, the sculptors of the early-20th-century developed their art in startlingly new ways. Artists such as Brancusi, Arp, Tatlin, Rodchenko, Moholy-Nagy, Maillol and Duchamp are covered in Sculpture 1900-1945, alongside less well-known figures, to provide a comprehensive account of the diverse development of sculpture in this important period. Its refreshingly original approach is to consider the work in relation to themes such as public sculpture, the monument, the approach to different materials, the object, image-making, the built environment and the figurative ideal. Landscape and Western Art is one of the more general volumes planned for the series. It poses the questions, What is landscape? When and why did we begin to cherish images of nature? The book explores many fascinating issues raised by the great range of ideas and images of the natural world in Western art since the Renaissance, and examines the whole concept of 'landscape' as a representation of the relationship between the human and natural worlds. In addition to the work of well-known landscape artists such as Claude, Friedrich, Turner, Cole and Ruisdael and Long, it discusses oil and watercolour painting alongside landscape gardening, cartography, photography and land art-all within a full international historical and cultural context. (Kirkus UK)

Long Description

The amazing discovery of the 'first European civilization' in Crete, Greece and the Aegean islands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was beyond what anyone had imagined. Beginning with the Neolithic period, before 3000 BCE, and ending at the close of the Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age of Hellenic Greece (c.1000 BCE), this is the first comprehensive introduction to the visual arts and architecture of this extraordinary
era. This book introduces the reader to the historical and social contexts within which the arts - pottery, gold, silver, and ivory objects, gravestone reliefs, frescoes, and architecture - of the Aegean area developed. It examines the functions they served, and the ways in which they
can be read as evidence for the interactions of many different peoples and societies in the eastern Mediterranean. It also provides an up-to-date critical historiography of the field in its relationship to the growth of ancient art history, archaeology, and museology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, giving a contemporary audience a clear appreciation of what has been at stake in the uncovering and reconstruction of this ancient society.

Review Text

`a compact and attractive introduction to the subject'
John Bennet, THES, 9/6/00
`This powerful account of 2,000 years of Aegean culture is a must for pilgrims and sun-worshippers'
The Observer, 24.10.99

Review Quote

'This powerful account of 2,000 years of Aegean culture is a must for pilgrims and sun-worshippers'The Observer, 24.10.99

Promotional "Headline"

1. Introduction: Aegean Art and Architecture The environment; Discovering the Aegean World; Art and art history; Objectives; Organization. 2. The Neolithic Period and the Prepalatial Early Bronze Age Settlements; Burial practices. 3. The First Palace Period Middle Bronze Age palaces and villas; The vernacular tradition in Greece and Crete; Ritual practices; Summary. 4. The Second Palace Period Public art, private art, and the palatial architectural style; The Second Palaces: Knossos, Phaistos, Gournia, and Kato Zakro; Minoan villas: function and design; The terminology and typology of Minoan palatial buildings; The Minoan and Mycenaean spheres of influence; Religious practices; Burial practices. 5. Mycenaean Domination and the Minoan Tradition The Mycenaean palace at Pylos; The Mycenaean palace at Knossos; Haghia Triadha and Kommos; The continuation of Minoan building techniques in the Third Palace Period; Burial practices; The Mycenaean shrine at Phylakopi; The circuit walls at Mycenae and Tiryns. 6. Conclusion: Disruptions, (Dis)Continuities, and the Bronze Age The eastward migration of Aegean traditions; The international style; Cyprus, Palestine, and the Peoples of the Sea; Tradition and transformation; What goes around comes around: Daedalus returns to Crete. Notes; List of Illustrations; Bibliographic Essay; Timeline; Index

Feature

First comprehensive introduction to the visual arts and architecture of the ancient Aegean
Only book on the prehistoric Aegean designed to be accessible to a general audience and the specialist
Examines both Crete and the Mainland in a single book
Provides a historiographical survey of the discipline

New Feature

1. Introduction: Aegean Art and Architecture The environment; Discovering the Aegean World; Art and art history; Objectives; Organization. 2. The Neolithic Period and the Prepalatial Early Bronze Age Settlements; Burial practices. 3. The First Palace Period Middle Bronze Age palaces and villas; The vernacular tradition in Greece and Crete; Ritual practices; Summary. 4. The Second Palace Period Public art, private art, and the palatial architectural style; The Second Palaces: Knossos, Phaistos, Gournia, and Kato Zakro; Minoan villas: function and design; The terminology and typology of Minoan palatial buildings; The Minoan and Mycenaean spheres of influence; Religious practices; Burial practices. 5. Mycenaean Domination and the Minoan Tradition The Mycenaean palace at Pylos; The Mycenaean palace at Knossos; Haghia Triadha and Kommos; The continuation of Minoan building techniques in the Third Palace Period; Burial practices; The Mycenaean shrine at Phylakopi; The circuit walls at Mycenae and Tiryns. 6. Conclusion: Disruptions, (Dis)Continuities, and the Bronze Age The eastward migration of Aegean traditions; The international style; Cyprus, Palestine, and the Peoples of the Sea; Tradition and transformation; What goes around comes around: Daedalus returns to Crete. Notes; List of Illustrations; Bibliographic Essay; Timeline; Index

Details