Understanding Art (with Coursemate Printed Access Card)

This book made understanding art easy. I especially enjoyed the cd rom that came with it, which gave interactive ''flash cards'' to help me memorize dates, artists, media, and famous (and not so famous) works.

I recently had to purchase this book for a correspondence class on art appreciation. My teacher however failed to list the edition I needed to buy so all of her questions and such do not correspond with any of the figures featured in my textbook. Anyways, I looked at this book with my kids for about 2 hours when it first came in the mail. I love the color reproduction and all the background info given on all the pieces. I only gave it four stars because the author has a tendency to tell you what you should be feeling when looking at each work while I would like to form my own opinion.

Beautiful book! The art pictures are great! I am learning alot!

I went to a multimedia school where I took a class on the fundamentals of art & design. Understanding Art was the required text book. Little would I know that I would still be talking about Understanding Art and recommending it for years after that class! (Just don't let my teacher know that!)The book takes you throughout the history of art, starting from the earliest forms, throughout the middle ages, native traditional art, to the renaissance, to post modernism, to surrealism, to art deco, bauhaus, dada, and everything else. There isn't a form of art that isn't covered and illustrated, which is extremely beneficial, as you truly do learn how art forms evolved throughout the years. Another benefit to this book is that it covers the different medias in art - sculpture, paintings, print, masks, archetecture, and more.The photographs of the artwork are present throughout the book, and the text gives you insight and background knowledge of each art era that you wouldn't otherwise see. One might usually associate art history text as boring and monotonous, but this is not the case. The text is informative and exciting to read all at the same time.It's a great book for someone who's starting out in art history, but even long-time art fans will enjoy it too.

As a college Art History instructor and an avid reader, I can honestly say Lois Fichner-Rathus has produced one of the finest Art Appreciation texts on the market. The sixth edition of Understanding Art is both visually and intellectually exciting. With expanded coverage of the "Language of Art" (the visual elements and principles of design) and computer generated imagery, and a great companion Web site, this version is truly an advance over previous editions. Addional illustrations (many in color) add to the enjoyment of spending time with this updated classic.Though I've referred to this as an Art Appreciation "text," it is by no means dry.The author's viewpoint and writing style are never boring and she continually exhibits great perceptiveness, and wit, in her commentary. The progression of the book's sections from a well-done "Introduction" to the "Language of Art," a look at the varying media of art, and finally a series of chapters on historical style, is well done and logical. Accolades to Fichner-Rathus!