First published in 1951 Arnold Hausers commanding work presents an account of the development and meaning of art from its origins in the Stone Age through to the Film Age. Exploring the interaction between art and society, Hauser effectively details social and historical movements and sketches the frameworks in which visual art is produced.

This new edition provides an excellent introduction to the work of Arnold Hauser. In his general introduction to The Social History of Art, Jonathan Harris asseses the importance of the work for contemporary art history and visual culture. In addition, an introduction to each volume provides a synopsis of Hausers narrative and serves as a critical guide to the text, identifying major themes, trends and arguments.

'Arnold Hausers Social History of Art - a very important and under-appreciated text.' - Whitney Davis, John Evans Professor of Art History, Northwestern University

'It is no exaggeration to say that more than any other work Hauser's four volumes inspired my interest in art history.' - Alan Wallach, Ralph H Wark Professor of Art History, College of William and Mary

'This work has great value in a contemporary context. I look forward to seeing what Jonathan has done with the introduction, but I cannot think of anyone better suited to the task.' - Johanna Drucker, Professor of Art History, Yale University

Hausers extraordinary energy and subtlety wave a brilliant synthesis of the interaction between the aesthetic and societal, giving us at one and the same time a wealth of artistic detail and a consistent and fully elaborated exposition of the social process. - Albert Boime, UCLA, author of The Social History of Modern Art, 1750-1989

Table of Contents:

List of illustrations, General introduction, Introduction to volume I, I. Prehistoric times, 1. Old Stone Age: magic and naturalism, 2. New Stone Age: animism and geometrism, 3. The artist as magician and priest: art as a profession and domestic craft, II. Ancient-Oriental urban cultures, 1. Static and dynamic elements in Ancient-Oriental art, 2. The status of the artist and the organization of artistic production, 3. The stereotyping of art in the Middle Kingdom, 4. Naturalism in the age of Akhenaton, 5. Mesopotamia, 6. Crete, III. Greece and Rome, 1. The heroic and the Homeric ages, 2. The archaic style and art at the courts of the Tyrants, 3. Classical art and democracy, 4. The age of enlightenment in Greece, 5. The Hellenistic age, 6. The Empire and the end of the ancient world, 7. Poets and artists in the ancient world, IV. The Middle Ages, 1. The spirituality of early Christian art, 2. The artistic style of Byzantine Caesaropapism, 3. Causes and consequences of iconoclasm, 4. Art from the age of the migrations to the Carolingian Renaissance, 5. The epic poets and their public, 6. The organization of artistic production in the monasteries, 7. Feudalism and the Romanesque style, 8. The romanticism of court chivalry, 9. The dualism of Gothic art, 10. Lodge and guild, 11. The middle-class art of the late Gothic period, Notes, Index

Cultural history

Art history in general

Prehistory

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Cultural studies

Media and communication science in general

Cultural history (charity campaign)

Art history in general (charity campaign)

Prehistory (charity campaign)

Antiquity (charity campaign)

Middle Ages (charity campaign)

Cultural studies (charity campaign)

Media and communication science in general (charity campaign)

Social History of Art, Volume 1

First published in 1951 Arnold Hausers commanding work presents an account of the development and meaning of art from its origins in the Stone Age through to the Film Age. This new edition of a classic work includes a contemporary introduction.