The story of art
by E. H. Gombrich · first published 1950
8mentions
7recommended by
8HN commenters
2013–2026first – last mentioned
88% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Well-written, long-standing introduction to art history, praised as a standard text that gives readers a coherent overview of how art developed; suited to newcomers wanting a broad historical survey.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Story of Art, by E. H. Gombrich, is a survey of the history of art from ancient times to the modern era. First published in 1950 by Phaidon, the book is widely regarded both as a seminal work of criticism and as one of the most accessible introductions to the visual arts
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…much appreciate it if someone could explain to me the appeal of this art form I think you might be expecting a bit much from an internet comment :-) May I recommend you Ernst Gombrich's (more general) Story of Art instead, a standard and quite beautiful introduction to art history? I feel it's especially well-suited to provide the high-level "context" you were asking for. https://www.amazon.com/Story-Art-E-H-Gombrich/dp/1439508747
on “The Growing Charm of Dada” ↗…worse than 'The Art Book' (Phaidon). More specifically, art produced pre- and post- 1900 needs different treatment as they are different things. - For art produced pre 1900, the classic tome is 'The Story of Art' by Ernst Gombrich. He may be a bit sneered at nowadays, but he knew his stuff. - For art produced post 1900 'The Shock of the New' by Robert Hughes is a great primer. Also 'Ways of Seeing' by John Berger…
on “Hollow City: Edward Hopper’s portraits of urban alienation” ↗I recommend reading "The Story of Art" by Gombrich. It is very well written, although perhaps it should have been called "The Story of Western Art".
on “Show HN: Artpip – 4k fine art for your desktop” ↗If you want an introduction to the history of visual art E. H. Gombrich's The Story of Art is the classic text and takes you up to about the 1990s. Apart from that - go to a decent gallery, find a theatre production that looks interesting, go to a classical concert, contemporary dance performance…
on “Ask HN: How do I get into Art?” ↗Yes, it is also a really good painting - see for example „The Story of Art“ by E. H. Gombrich for an in-depth appreciation.
on “Theft of the Mona Lisa” ↗…provide you something we may call a "coherent worldview". They are the ones that stitch together different pictures into a coherent whole. I can think of a lot of books that gave me that: E.Gombrich's "Story of Art", Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death", ... honestly, even Julia Childs' "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" or Yuval Harari's "Sapiens" (his other books are crap, b.t.w.). True, we still have…
on “Nonfiction Publishing, Under Threat, Is More Important” ↗…new to this topic, it is perhaps a better idea to start broader. I first learned, if I remember it correctly, about the Greeco-Roman high relief travelling eastwards, when reading E.H. Gombrich: "The Story of Art"[3] -- the best introduction into global art history I know of. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_Weltgeschichte [2] ISBN-10: 0500021570, ISBN-13: 978-0500021576. [3] "The Story of Art" was…
on “Archaeologists find ancient Egyptian warship sunk near Alexandria” ↗A book idea : "A Little History of the World" by Ernst Gombrich, the author of "The Story of Art". The book is aimed at children ("für junge Leser" in original title) but not too much and may let him discover new topic of interest (History in general or a specific period/civilisation). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_History_of_the_World
on “Gift for a 10 year old” ↗