Art Excursions

One of the things keeping me from posting more often (or one of the things I've been using to procrastinate from posting more often) is a redoubled effort to understand art history better.  Most of the sources are things I've browsed before, but haven't completed.  If you're interested in my bibliography, here it is - 

Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks - Noah Charney

This is a Great Courses Audible selection (with accompanying PDF) split into 25 lectures.  Each of the lectures contrasts two main works of art to address the declared theme of the given lecture.  I've completed both the Audible series and the PDF.

The Annotated Mona Lisa - Carol Strickland

The book that started it all for me.  It's a survey of various periods in history (again focusing on Western art).  I've picked through it in the 10+ years I've owned it, but never read it cover to cover.  I'm attempting to do that now, and I'm about halfway through.

The Annotated Arch - Carol Strickland

An architecture-focused companion to The Annotated Mona Lisa.  I've perused it briefly over the years, but will read it after finishing its companion.

Guides to AP Art History Vols 1-5 - SmartHistory

Companion guides to the 250 pieces that high school students need to study for the AP Art History exam.  I've learned about a lot of the pieces during my exploration of SmartHistory in 2020-2021.  I'm attempting to make my way through the volumes and am about 20% of the way through the 1st volume.  I like this series because it's a greater survey of world art and doesn't focus exclusively on Western art.

Art Explora Academy 

An interactive web course with short quizzes exploring world art.  I've made it about 1/2 way through.  I'll probably restart, since I haven't viewed the material in a few years.

I'm assuming if I'm diligent (but not overly so - i.e. reading a couple of pages from the selected works most days), I'll finish the bibliography within the next 6-12 months.  It's almost like a real art history course!

Until next time, my human and robot friends.