The History of Western Art in Comics Part Two

October 1, 2021

Gr 4-6-"Now we're in Italy, land of pizza and the Renaissance!" proclaims a bearded lecturer as he drives his two grandchildren through the Alps on a second leg of their tour of Western European art (following The History of Western Art in Comics Part One). Pizza may not get its due, but the Renaissance definitely does as great artists and major works of painting, sculpture, and architecture parade past in Heitz's text-heavy cartoon panels-first in Italy, then to Germany, France, the Netherlands, and England as art movements pass through Baroque, Rococco, Neoclassical, Romantic, and Impressionist styles of expression and on into the 20th century. If readers run the risk of getting bogged down in the barrage of names ("Come on, Braque, let's go to Vollard's. He's showing C�zanne." "I'll be right with you, Pablo"), two time lines and a closing section of closer looks at select works with photos help wrest the narrative into a coherent shape. Also, along with nods to significant technical advances, such as the invention of photography around 1840, there are also savvy insights into ways of looking at art. Still, neither art in the 21st century nor in America gets more than a brief glance (Indigenous art not even that), and the artists named are both dead and white (Jean-Michel Basquiat excepted), as well as overwhelmingly male. The lecturer and grandchildren are white. VERDICT An accessible if conventionally Eurocentric overview of art history, informationally rich but best dished up with surveys that are broader in cultural scope and more focused on the current scene.-John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2021
Western art history becomes a joyful journey in this information-packed comic. This second volume of History of Western Art in Comicsbegins where the first left off and follows the development of artistic movements in the context of social and cultural shifts through the late 20th century. Readers meet up again with the knowledgeable grandfather driving his grandchildren across Europe as they embark on a deep dive into the Renaissance, the Baroque period, and the Enlightenment, then tour the seminal works and artists of impressionism, expressionism, cubism, Dadaism, and more. The book begins with a helpful review of key questions and themes and is punctuated by snippets of interesting facts and funny asides to break up the often dense material. Readers are also introduced to artistic terminology--such as tenebrismor gestural painting--in the context of individual, influential pieces. Occasional large panels focus on specific, seminal moments and works, such as the Mona Lisa, the vault at the Sistine Chapel, and the Palace of Versailles, to name a few. Periodic reviews of the overall timeline let readers catch their breath and consider context. These story anchors are key for young readers. The book concludes with a visual glossary of important works, all by White, male Europeans, who also make up most of the book's characters, both fictional and historical, though White, male Americans join the mix in the 20th century. Louise Bourgeois and Jean-Michel Basquiat are the sole exceptions. A compact, intelligent, and enthusiastic survey, with gaps. (index) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-12)

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