Which book would you consider to be the most comprehensive visual art style guide?

Question

I am looking for the very best guide to style in visual art that is currently available. I want excellent quality & well presented print reproduction of the art being discussed and engaging explanatory text that is not too academic. It's absolutely OK if the book centers entirely on painting.

Yes, this is probably what many people call a coffee-table style book but I'll use the example of what I think is the best way to design/publish cookbooks as an example - as the book lies open there would be a large format sharp image of the finished product on one page and the actual recipe with associated notes/comments on the other.

I think you get the idea. I want a great-to-look-at book but one that is a thorough and legitimate period/style/technique/etc. overview.

Thank you, in advance, for your recommendation.

Answer 1

At $499, 2250 pages and 18 pounds, Arts & Humanities Through the Eras by Philip M. Soergel is probably the most comprehensive book you will find.

From Booklist
Over the last two decades the historical focus has shifted from viewing events in a simple historical context to a more integrative perspective. This set offers a multidimensional picture of primarily Western civilization, covering Ancient Egypt (2675-332 B.C.E.), Ancient Greece and Rome (1200 B.C.E.-476 C.E.), Medieval Europe (814-1450 C.E.), Renaissance Europe (1300-1600 C.E.), and The Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment (1600-1800 C.E.). Similar in organization to Gale's American Eras and World Eras lines, the work exposes readers to each historical period through the study of nine different arts and humanities topics: "Architecture and Design," "Dance," "Fashion," "Literature," "Music," "Philosophy," "Religion," "Theater," and "Visual Arts." Each topic area is treated in a different chapter, but the connections between topics are highlighted both in the text and through cross-referencing. The result is a broader and more inclusive picture of the culture of each period, emphasizing connections between, for example, religion, dance, and literature or between the visual arts and architecture.

Each chapter is structured in the same way, containing a chronology; an overview of the development of the field under scrutiny; a "Topics" section, which discusses various movements, schools of thought, and masterworks that characterize the discipline during that era; a handful of biographies of significant people; and a list of documentary sources. Each of the subsections within "Topics" includes a list of sources. The writing, produced by subject experts, is uniformly clear and informative but quite pedantic. It is certainly not leisure--interest reading but does impart information in an admirably direct style.

Sidebars offer primary source material (letters, poems, essays, songs, epitaphs, etc.). Numerous black-and-white photographs, maps, and reproductions extend the text well. Technical terms and definitions appear both in the text and in the glossary, and lists of works for further reference, as well as media and online sources, are listed at the back of each volume. Although there is not a cumulative index, each volume does have its own accurate index. Aimed at college and university students with or without historical background, this set provides a solid picture of western European history through the arts. Ann Welton

Answer 2

I guess what you mean is, when you only practice for the beauty of the movement is a style. A martial art is when you practice the execution of the movements in a style. Well I believe in both because they go together. There is not really a way to separate them and if you do, you have something incomplete (whatever that is). The style will show you the fluidity of the movement and the martial art part will show how to put them to work. If you ask which one will last longer I think the style will prevail. You can do it as you get older and still keep the fluidity of the movements and all the technique. Without a doubt your strength will be less as you get older, but you can overcome that deficiency with your technique. That is how the old master can perform and look like they are so strong. They are not but their technique will produce that lost muscle power through the use of “ki”. If somebody does not believe it I guess they have not seen an old master performing and cannot figure out how he can do what he does. That is the mystery of the martial arts.