3 essential History of Art books
A close-up of my bookshelf
In my daily artistic practice in love to consult many references. For a period of my life I dedicated myself to study Art History and Theory, which I really love, and I completely neglected practicing drawing or painting. There's no particular reason for that and I was really busy on writing my final paper for getting my BFA degree at University. Later on, my knowledge led me to open an art gallery entre-tanto. If you ask me what what do I think about getting a degree in an Art School, I would answer you with this question: Do you have time for that? If you do, go for it. I particularly love the academic atmosphere (but this is me). But if you don't, it doesn't mean that you can't be an artist! My only advice is go, grab a book and start to build a stronger knowledge basis in History of Art (and Art History too). These are my recommended books:
"The Story of Art", E.H. Gombrich: this is the first book I read about art when I was 17 and I keep going back to it! Great for beginners and easy to read. It covers almost everything in Art History, pretty much a classic.
"Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book By Artists and Critics" by Herschel B. Chipp: another book that I keep coming back to research about the artists - like Van Gogh, Matisse and Gauguin - ideas and inspirations. A great collection of letters, interview and notes.
"Styles, Schools and Movements: The Essential Encyclopaedic Guide to Modern Art" by Amy Dempsey: an excellent source book that lists all the Modern Era movements in a chronological way. It evens come with a graphic so you can see how many movements happened at the same time! I think the way she describes everything is priceless and, if you want to go deeper, every description comes with references.
There are many other sources that I check regularly, like magazines and websites. There are few other books that I find very important but the language can be very academic or difficult to read if you're a beginner. But, if you want to share your preferences or suggest me a book, feel free to drop me a line. :)
