Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting
by Richard Barnhart, Yang Xin, Nie Chongzheng, James Cahill, Lang Shaojun, Hung Wu, Richard M. Barnhart, Wu Hung

List Price: $42.00
Our Price: $27.00
You Save: $15.00 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $21.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting

Book Review: uneven writing, great reproductions of Chinese Paintings
Summary: 4 Stars

Summary of Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting

Insightful, often lively discussions tell the story in six chapters, mostly dynastic, after briefly giving two "approaches" to Chinese painting. History, politics, biography, and training get their proper due and are complemented by often-detailed analyses of individual artworks. Close attention to the text and the 300 color and 25 black-and-white illustrations enable the reader to "see" these paintings--which are often constructed on different perceptual and cultural premises than the post-Renaissance and photographic images by which most Westerners structure their visual vocabulary. The glossary and other tools are welcome aids; the list of artists is organized by period and offers their names in the two most common romanization systems as well as in Chinese characters. And to read James Cahill on the Ni Zan paintings that may at first appear uninviting, or Lang Shaojun on the proportionally numerous 20th-century painters, is a real adventure for both the eye and the mind.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in one of the world's most esteemed art traditions--be they a Sunday museumgoer or a confirmed lover of the gnarly pines set amidst the towering mountains of the Song-period masters--will want this book in their library. --Joseph N. Newland

Asian Books

• Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Regional
• Instructional & How-To > General
• Painting > General
• History > Asia > China > General