Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Art Through the Ages

Rate this book
The market-leading text for the art history survey course, GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES has served as a comprehensive and thoughtfully crafted guide to the defining phases of the world's artistic tradition. With this book in hand, thousands of students have watched the story of art unfold in its full historical, social, religious, economic, and cultural context, and thus deepened their understanding of art, architecture, painting, and sculpture. By virtue of its comprehensive coverage, strong emphasis on context, and rich, accurate art reproductions, GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES has earned and sustained a reputation of excellence and authority. So much so, that in 2001, the Text and Academic Authors Association awarded both the McGuffey and the "Texty" Book Prizes to the Eleventh Edition of the text. It is the first art history book to win either award and the only title ever to win both prizes in one year. The Twelfth Edition maintains and exceeds the richness of the Gardner legacy with updated research and scholarship and an even more beautiful art program featuring more color images than any other art history book available. The Twelfth Edition features such enhancements as more color photographs, a stunning new design, and the most current research and scholarship. What's more, the expanded ancillary package that accompanies GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES, features a wealth of tools to enhance your students' experience in the course. With each new copy of the book, students receive a copy of the ArtStudy 2.0 CD-ROM--an interactive electronic study aid that fully integrates with the Twelfth Edition and includes hundreds of high-quality digital images, plus maps, quizzes, and more.

1150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1926

581 people are currently reading
76687 people want to read

About the author

Fred S. Kleiner

288 books15 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
17,909 (40%)
4 stars
11,018 (25%)
3 stars
7,962 (18%)
2 stars
3,566 (8%)
1 star
3,469 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
Profile Image for Mohammadreza.
183 reviews36 followers
July 21, 2024
حس من بعد از تموم کردن این کتاب مثل برگشتن از یه سفر طولانیه؛ یه سفر چهارماهه به گوشه و کنار فرهنگ جهان و قرون گذشته، در کنار یه تورلیدر خبره که زوایای پیدا و پنهان فرهنگ‌های مختلف رو از منظر آثار هنری بهت نشون میده و تفسیرشون می‌کنه. خانم هلن گاردنر رو می‌گم. نور به قبرش بباره.
بازکردن هرروزۀ یه کتاب حجیم با قطع خشتی روی میزت، خوندنش رو شبیه یه مناسک مذهبی می‌کنه؛ انگار که داری اوراد مرموزِ یه فرقۀ ممنوعه رو می‌خونی و توقع داری بعد خوندنش یه جادویی اتفاق بیفته و تو یهو پرت شی تو یکی از این دوره‌های تاریخی. مثلاً بیفتی تو معبد پارتنون، توی یونان باستان، قبل اینکه این بنای باشکوه، با اون ستون‌های قوس‌دارش که انگار نفس می‌کشن تبدیل بشه به رستوران یا زاغۀ مهمات عثمانی‌ها؛ یا تماشاچی یکی از نبردهای گلادیاتورها باشی توی کلوسئوم؛ یا نه، توی فلورانس عصر مدیچی زندگی کنی، لباس‌های ابریشمی فاخر بپوشی و هنر رافائلِ خوش‌مشرب و میکل‌آنژِ عصبی و منزوی رو به محض تولدشون تماشا کنی: داوودمیکل‌آنژ و پردۀ تخیلی و حیرت‌آور مدرسۀ آتن از رافائل؛ با دیوانه‌ای مثل ون‌گوگ زندگی کنی و اونقدر پول‌دار باشی که از اون و هنرش حمایت کنی تا بیچاره انقدر تو آمستردام آلاخون والاخون نباشه و مسخره نشه؛ پیکاسو رو با بالاتنۀ لخت و حین خلق گرنیکا توی کارگاهش غافل‌گیر کنی که غرق در دود سیگاره؛ (هرچند احتمالاً پیکاسو با چک و لگد مینداختت بیرون) یا توی دهۀ شصت بشینی توی یکی از کافه‌های پر دود سیگار پاریس، و به هنر مبتذل پاپ که تازگی‌ها توی امریکا مد شده فحش بدی؛ در حالی‌که چند میز اونورتر سارتر داره با حرارت با دانشجوها بحث میکنه.
خب دیگه، خیال‌پردازی و لفاظی بسه. همه می‌دونیم دیگه نمی‌تونیم اون فضاها و حس‌ها رو زنده و تجربه کنیم حتا اگه صدبار شام آخر رو ببینیم و توی موزه‌ها و کلیساها پی انگشتر مفقود بگردیم. فقط می‌تونیم یه کم بچشیم؛ مزه کنیم؛ مثل توریست‌ها که سریع از یه بنا یا یه محله یا اثر هنری رد می‌شن و نمی‌تونن اون رو زیست کنن.
باز مشغول لفاظی شدم. خیلی تلگرافی بذارید بگم که گاردنر، آخرین ویراست کتاب رو توی 1945 منتشر کرد و به رحمت ایزدی پیوست. بعد از ایشون، شاگرداش تا 1970 کتاب رو کامل کردن و به‌شکل امروزیش درآوردن. چند قسمت هم بهش اضافه کردن؛ ازجمله هنر غیراروپایی، شامل مختصری از هنر هند و چین و ژاپن؛ و البته بخش عکاسی. تفسیرهای گاردنر از آثار فوق‌العاده است و حقیقتاً یه کلاس درس لذت‌بخشه.
تنها ایراد کتاب به نظر من که البته ایراد خود کتاب نیست و باعث شد یه ستاره ازش کم کنم، ترجمۀ اثره که یه جاهایی واقعاً اذیت‌کننده و نامفهوم میشه؛ مخصوصا توی هنر قرن بیستم، به‌خاطر انبوه مطالب که سبک نوشتاری کتاب فوق‌العاده فشرده و موجز میشه این نقیصه تشدید میشه. درکل برای هنر مدرن، بهتره کتابهای دیگه‌ای خونده بشه تا حق مطلب ادا بشه. من «هنر مدرن» از «نوربرت لینتن» رو پیشنهاد می‌کنم. یه ایراد دیگه توی ترجمۀ کتاب، اینه که برای اسم هنرمندا و آثار، پانویس نداره و فقط اصطلاحات تخصصی رو انتهای کتاب فهرست کرده. خب این، وقتی بخوای آثار و هنرمندان رو براساس اسم اصلیشون توی اینترنت جستجو کنی و تصویر رنگی آثار رو ببینی، دردسر بزرگی درست می‌کنه و اعصاب‌خردکنه؛ به‌خصوص وقتی هنرمند محترم توی اینترنت فارسی گمنامه. اونوقت باید تلفظ انگلیسی نام هنرمند رو حدس بزنی و به هوش گوگل اعتماد کنی. من نمی‌دونم این چه کار سختی بوده که مترجم و ناشر انجام ندادن.
یه روضه هم بخونیم آخر مرور و، ختم کنیم. هرکسی که توی هر حوزه‌ای از علوم انسانی داره فعالیت می‌کنه و می‌خونه، به‌نظرم لازمه یه دوره تاریخ هنر رو حتما بخونه. مثل تاریخ فلسفه از اوجب واجباته. تاریخ هنر فقط بحث‌های تکنیکی دربارۀ هنر نیست؛ بلکه تاریخ اندیشه هم هست؛ تاریخ تمدن هم هست؛ تاریخ ادیان و اساطیر هم هست تاحدودی. تاریخ هنر بخونید و کیف کنید. غرق شید توی دنیای خط و رنگ و فرم‌ها، و جهان رو فراموش کنید.
Profile Image for Charlotte.
56 reviews
January 29, 2008
I really did read this textbook cover to cover, for an AP Art History class. From ancient to modern - it gives a good summary. Not good for in-depth knowledge on specific topics. The broad range of topics led me to do my own research and helped me with Renaissance, Modern and American Art History courses. Anyone who wants to gain some knowledge of art history should skim the text for terms to throw around in a museum to sound decently knowledgeable. The language is straight forward – heck it has pretty pictures, what else do you want?
Profile Image for Mona.
26 reviews40 followers
May 18, 2008
تاریخ هنر قدیمی و مرجع و کاملا استفاده شده در کتاب های درسی هنرستان... با ترتیبی خوب و عکس های کثیر تاریخ هنر رو توضیح داده
19 reviews
January 15, 2011
When I was in college as a freshman, this textbook was assigned for a survey class. It was the first textbook I've ever decided to keep and since then, I have read it almost entirely. I don't have an AH degree or anything like that, but as a enthusiast I wuld recommend it for anyone who aspires to broaden their understanding of the history of art. It's easy to read, the annotations are terrific and I just really enjoy it.
Profile Image for Christina.
7 reviews
July 16, 2013
Art Through the Ages was used during both of my Art History courses that I took in my undergraduate studio art program. I really enjoyed the sections of this book that we studied. It gives a broad, yet comprehensive, view about how art has progressed over time and the historical events that influenced its development. I found it easy to read and understand and really enjoyed the numerous color photos found through out the text. It's an extremely heavy book and not one I often wanted to carry around. However, I can say that it's also one of the only text books I kept from my college days because it contains such a wealth of useful information.
Profile Image for Rob Corder.
14 reviews
September 17, 2011
This was my college text book. The current editors (at the time) were my college professors. I've read this and re-read this countless times through my life time. Like all great history books there are newly discovered names every time you re-read it. Fabulous general reference.
Profile Image for Ali.
Author 17 books668 followers
January 26, 2008
این کتاب قطور توسط محمدتقی فرامرزی به فارسی برگردانده شده و همراه با تصاویر کتاب اصلی توسط انتشارات آگاه در 1365 چاپ و منتشر شده است.
Profile Image for Sarah Hutchinson.
17 reviews23 followers
November 21, 2014
Can a textbook be a favorite book? This one is for me. This book opened up an entire world when I first read it in high school, creating a passion for art history that has carried over to me for these past four, nearly five, years. Without this book, I wouldn't have had the multitude of positive experiences at museums and art sites around the world. I would not have gained so much appreciation and wisdom. This book, frankly, is the best to introduce yourself to the wonderful world of human creation and to create an insatiable desire to learn more about the human experience as seen through art.
Profile Image for Ellen.
1 review
August 11, 2011
I had to read the entire book in a school year for my art history class, and although there was a lot to get through, it is a quality textbook. Interesting to read with a good format and a large amount of information. I would recommend it to anyone into art history with a need for a compendium of all art from prehistoric to 20th century.
Profile Image for Elham.d.
2 reviews2 followers
January 6, 2015
میتوان جز کتابهای جامع تاریخ هنر دسته بندی کرد.البته در هنر قرن20 به خلاصه گویی رسیده
Profile Image for Kate Savage.
738 reviews169 followers
February 1, 2022
Art history is a discipline in crisis.

This text book shows all the seams.

It calls itself "art through the ages." It makes a pretense of being global. What it actually deals with is wealthy-white-male European art up until about 1900. Inside of that narrow lens, it can uphold the pretense of a narrative arc. Movements and developments that build upon each other to create one structure, one tradition. The story is in line with a 'Great Man' view of history that unspools with a certain succession of empires and kings and no need to think about the plebes. Just memorize the dates and you're done.

But everything outside of that one narrative arc haunts the discipline. Frightened, the editors make nods here and there to art happening in other places. They quickly clear their throats and get us back to Europe. But Europe itself is unspooling. When modern art hits, they lose the thread entirely. They become desperate. In the end, they can only huff and puff about the absurdities of "multiculturalism."

Within this story of art's history, art is rooted in conquering. Killing animals and humans. Building empire. Celebrating empire.

Sometimes something tumbles out from the gaps, even here. Small art, old faces, feathers and fur. Usually they call it "the grotesque."
Profile Image for א.
26 reviews10 followers
February 22, 2020
ترجمه پر ایراد، ویراستاری (اگر به کل این کتاب به ویراستار سپرده شده باشد) سهل‌انگارانه. هنر در گذر زمان هلن گادرنر از سویی روایت مخدوش و سوگیرانه تاریخ هنر به روایت سفید‌پوست غربی است و از طرفی در ترجمه فارسی چیزی بیش از اطلاعاتی که یک نوجوان ۱۳-۱۴ ساله از هنر نیاز دارد نصیب‌تان نمی‌کند. کتاب دایره‌المعارف میان‌مایه‌ای است که به جای مدخل‌بندی راه قصه‌گویی را (نه به معنای مثبت آن) پیش گرفته. سوال من اما این است که چرا این کتاب همچنان رفرنس دانشگاهی است؟
59 reviews5 followers
November 8, 2012
I read this book in college and found it to be very educational and enjoyable. I have enjoyed pulling this book out for review several times since then. I recently read a great book called, "The Art Dockuments" by author Carlton Davis. This a non-fiction book with a collection of stories about the Los Angeles art gallery in the 1980s. http://artdock.net/
Profile Image for Michelle.
75 reviews2 followers
December 10, 2011
A veritable tome of a book that is used as a main text book for visual art, but a great reference work for art enthusiasts. Worth every cent ... one of those books that takes pride of place on any book shelf at home.
Profile Image for Annalise.
87 reviews
Read
May 8, 2025
Whether or not I ingested all of the 1000 pages (was I ever even awake while reading them) is debatable, but the exam will be done at this time next week so who even cares
Profile Image for Sahba.
18 reviews9 followers
Read
January 31, 2025
خدایا توروخدا سه هفته‌ی دیگه، این‌موقع کسی باشم که خیلی خوشحاله.
Profile Image for Erik Graff.
5,145 reviews1,392 followers
February 13, 2014
Up until reading this I'd only read one general survey of art history, and that, years before. John Elkin, once a student of the Art Institute in Chicago, had used this as a school text and recommended it as a good general survey. It was.
Profile Image for Dottie.
96 reviews
July 7, 2012
I've read this over, and over and over again. It's a text book, but it's beautiful. I think I have too many editions to admit. Time to bring it out again and read more :)
Profile Image for Autumn Kearney.
1,042 reviews
May 6, 2024
This tome contains way too much text. The photographs and drawings are black & white and grainy. Who ever heard of a black &white art book? First and foremost, you never start a sentence or a book with the word “because”. The grammar police have spoken. Ha! Ha!

I obviously did not finish this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nostalgia Reader.
855 reviews68 followers
t-b-archive
July 19, 2016
**6th Edition Review**

So much better than the modern version I used. This one covers all of art history (prehistory, through what was then recent in the 1960s/70s) and provides SO MUCH MORE actual historical background on both the history itself, as well as the artists, in addition to the artworks themselves. The pictures are mostly black and white (with color plates), but if you Google the artwork being discussed, you'll benefit even more from the history contained within.

It still is awkwardly worded and still doesn't say much, but it certainly says more than the 14th Edition I'm currently using for the second half (Renaissance to 1900) of art history.

*edit on May 8* I've now used this book for multiple other classes, aside from art history, namely for mythology and archaeology. Quite indispensable for liberal students... practically all subjects can be tied to art history in some way or another.
Profile Image for G.
19 reviews1 follower
February 19, 2020
I would’ve given this five stars when these textbooks first started circulating. It’s definitely a step up from 60’s college art history courses—no thanks to racists like W. H. Hanson, the prior textbook author—but now it’s become the new Hanson. It lacks so much depth with other countries, even though it tries so hard. It suffers from a content problem too, a HUGE one. Whether or not to include new works comes at the cost of having to choose the works that it’ll then replace. Obviously, the editors are gonna keep choosing Loacoan and his Sons over something more unique, contemporary, or—more glaringly—non-western!

Pros: Great introduction to the field.
Cons: An introduction, and only an introduction. Don’t stop here unless you wanna be like every other tenured white Francophile art history professor.
Profile Image for Bahman Bahman.
Author 3 books238 followers
August 26, 2021
هنر در گذر زمان نوشته ی هلن گاردنر نخستین بار در سال 1926 به انتشار رسید. این کتاب که به عنوان برترین متن موجود در رابطه با تاریخ هنر در نظر گرفته می شود، سال های سال است که کتاب راهنمای کامل و جامعی برای تشریح مراحل مختلف توسعه ی هنر در جای جای جهان بوده است. هزاران هزار دانشجو از طریق این کتاب، روایت شدن داستان تاریخ هنر را به همراه تمامی جنبه های اجتماعی، دینی، اقتصادی و فرهنگی آن به نظاره نشسته اند و فهم خود را از هنر، معماری، نقاشی و مجسمه سازی ژرف تر ساخته اند. کتاب هنر در گذر زمان با بهره گیری از پرداخت کامل خود به تاریخ، تأکید ویژه اش بر شرایط تأثیرگذار و بازسازی های دقیق و پرمایه ی هنری، توانسته به جایگاهی ویژه در کتاب های مرجع دست یابد. کتاب هنر در گذر زمان علاوه بر توضیحات کامل، دربردارنده ی تصاویر متعدد و بااهمیتی است که این اثر را بدون تردید به مرجعی منحصر به فرد برای فهم چگونگی مسیر شکل گیری و توسعه ی هنرهای مختلف در طول زمان تبدیل می کند.
Profile Image for Line.
165 reviews18 followers
September 15, 2016
This book is my art bible and #1 go-to reference. It doesn't provide _extensive_ information on every subject (that would be impossible), but it does provide most of the info you could possibly need, in a very organized, comprehendible manner. I love it! I have not looked at the 14th edition, but the 13th edition has been my good companion through many an art history course. The only downside is the weight of the beast.
Profile Image for Namita Tawde.
3 reviews
July 16, 2017
This book does not cover "world artistic tradition" as claimed in the preface. It starts with Neo, Paleo, Mesolithic and early evolutionary history but somewhere along the line becomes all about Western art, church propaganda and role of Christianity ending with modern art. Africas, South Americas, Middle East and Eastern civilization constitute hardly 5% of the total material.
Profile Image for Niliimoon (Nila) .
99 reviews
July 1, 2021
یکی از بهترین و کامل ترین هاست. چندین بار خوندم و ازش نوت برداری هم کردم و واقعا خیلی خوب به جزییات هم پرداخته و اطلاعات کاملی رو توی خودش جا داده. من از سر علاقه ام خریدم و خوندمش و بنظرم حتی میتونه برای کسایی که با هنر سر و کار ندارن هم بدردبخور باشه. تنها مشکل کتاب توی جای گذاری تصاویرش بود اینطوری که تو درباره یه تابلو میخونی و عکس تابلو دو صفحه بعد هست و این تنها چیزی بود که اذیتم میکرد.
Profile Image for blueMeridian.
42 reviews6 followers
September 3, 2007
This is the 9th edition, hardcover. Comprehensive in terms of western art, with a good representation of non-European influences, it is understandably considered a standard text of art history education.
Profile Image for Whanthatapril jeff.
5 reviews
Read
March 29, 2013
Great survey of the history of art. Originally published in the 1920's it remains the standard and most used. It has gone through zillions of editions. More recent versions come with a CD/DVD of photos.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.