History of Art, Revised (Trade Version) (5th Edition) (ISBN 0810934426)

Amazon.com Review:
For thousands of art lovers both amateur and professional, aesthetic life began with Janson, as H.W. Janson's History of Art is often called. In the first edition, published in 1962, Janson spoke to that perennial reader he gently called "the troubled layman." His opening paragraph revealed his sympathy: "Why is this supposed to be art?" he quoted rhetorically. "How often have we heard this question asked--or asked it ourselves, perhaps--in front of one of the strange, disquieting works that we are likely to find nowadays in the museum or art exhibition." Keeping that curious, questioning perspective in mind, he wrote a history of art from cave painting to Picasso that was singularly welcoming, illuminating, and exciting. After H.W. Janson died, in 1982, his son, Anthony F. Janson, took over the daunting task of revising his father's book. Janson the elder would be thrilled with the beauty of this fifth edition, which tips the scales at more than seven pounds. Thanks to advances in printing, it teems with reproductions--736 in color and 500 black-and-white--that would have been far too costly 35 years ago. At an even 1,000 pages, it is an inch thicker than its 572-page progenitor. Sojourning through this book, a reader is offered every amenity for a comfortable trip. Because Janson never assumes knowledge on the part of the reader, a recent immigrant from Mars could comprehend Western art from this text. The only assumption the Jansons have made is that with a little guidance everyone can come to understand the artifacts that centuries of architecture, sculpture, design, and painting have deposited in our paths. Countless readers have proven the Jansons right--and found their lives enriched in the process.

History of Western Art:
Janson's History of Art is an art history book from the old school. Though there have been strides for the past few editions in making this book more inclusive it doesn't really compare to newer comprehensive books. Janson's book also suffers from the old art historical practice of talking about 'masterpieces' and 'genius'. As of the 5th edition the book includes very very little non-western art. It has a small section on "ethnographic" art that refers to the arts of Africa, Americas, and the Pacific islands. This chapter has to be one of the worst reviews of non-western art I have ever seen. The arts of Asia are not touched on at all. The book really should be called History of Western Art. If you are purely looking for a survey of western art this is a fair book. On the other hand if you are lookin for a book that surveys a history of world art I might suggest Marilyn Stokstad's Art History. It is still a little superficial in the Africa and Americas chapters but at least it has whole chapters on these continents. It also has extensive surveys of the arts of India, China and Japan.

This edition is not a full survey:
ISBN# 0-13-019729-7 is for volume 1 which only covers "Prehistoric Through Gothic Art"... very disappointing considering I ordered this book under the assumption that it went up through the postmodern period

recherche:
Histoire de l'art/h.w.janson en français. s.v.p.Préface de Luc ferry Éditeur, Paris; cercle d'art, c1993 C'est un livre que je veux acheté en version française. Merci!

not what expected:
the book itself is a well written, but the company poorly describes the quality of the book. there was no slip case and binding was taped together. all the pages were included so it is the complete book, but definitly not new.

The Continuously Evolving Benchmark:
As a student of History during my university days I inevitably came into contact with Janson's benchmark book. I certainly have not been alone in that regard. As with many books in my home library I seek out different editions of many titles. Trends, new revelations and often time re-examination of works come to fruition and result in a new edition being published. Art seems to have branched out into other forms of acceptable expressions and this edition has included those affinities when compared to my first lowly copy. This is a welcome trend indicating that ART is alive as one looks back and then turns toward the future.