Features Sponsored by |
  Feature Archive |
Thomas Hoving's personal choice of the
Greatest Works of Art of Western Civilization
Artisan Books, 1997
Thomas Hoving is a fabulously entertaining writer who does as good as job as anyone could at selecting the greatest works (111, by my count) of Western art. "Western", in this context, is taken to mean everything except the art of Japan and China and the Far East.One assumes his taste is beyond impeccable: son of the chairman of Tiffany's, he earned a PhD in art history and became a curator in the Medieval department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, later heading the museum for a controversial decade. He subsequently served as editor-in-chief at Connoisseur magazine. Yet all his life he has acted as a popularizer of great art, even writing the Art for Dummies book.
The best part of the book is Hoving's insightful commentary, but copyright concerns of course prevent me from quoting him at any length. However, simple lists of contents are specifically excluded from copyright protection, so I am free to provide a kind of Table of Contents for the book.
The works are listed here in chronological order. I have found online illustrations for all but a couple of the works, in some cases offering much more thorough documentation of the pieces than the book is able to. Plus in some (disappointingly few) cases, there is a poster of the artwork in print. Links have been added in these cases. Artwork names, dates and locations are generally taken from online sources, so this information may vary slightly from what is published in the book.
If you find this feature to be of interest, I strongly suggest you buy the book. The commentary and the large photographs of every artwork are well worth the price. Plus it's 30% off at Amazon.com.
| Notably NOT included in the list below are the Venus de Milo, Michelangelo's Pietà and Sistine Chapel ceiling, Leonardo's Mona Lisa, and anything by Klimt, Holbein, Chagall, van Dyck or Monet. If you see any shocking omissions, send me an email telling me what belongs on this list and why. If I get enough feedback, I'll do a follow-up piece on the works Hoving overlooked, quoting some of the best responses. |
Acknowledgements: Many of the images above are found at Carol Gerten's Fine Art and Mark Harden's Artchive. The image quality they achieve is rarely equalled by art museum websites. A special thanks should go to Emil Kren for the work he puts into his Web Gallery of Art. With the narrative text he provides and his attention to detail (multiple views of statues, documention of every panel of altarpieces), his site is an incredible resource.
- John Malyon
Past Articles
July, 2002
Celebrating Heroes; Celebrating Benjamin West, by Joseph Phelan
June, 2002
Chasing the Red Deer into the American Sublime (Education and the Art Museum, Part II), by Joseph Phelan
May, 2002
Planning Your Summer Vacation, by Joseph Phelan
March, 2002
Education and the Art Museum, Part I, by Joseph Phelan
February, 2002
Unsung Griots of American Painting, by Joseph Phelan
January, 2002
The British Museum COMPASS Project, interview by Joseph Phelan
Robert Hughes, Time Magazine Art Critic: Biography and Writings
Lifestyle: Online Casinos Finally Get Real
December, 2001
Advent Calendar 2001, narrated by Joseph Phelan
Software review: Le Louvre: The Virtual Visit on DVD-ROM, by Joseph Phelan
November, 2001
Tragedy and Triumph at Arles: Van Gogh and Gauguin, by Joseph Phelan
October, 2001
Her Last Bow: Sister Wendy in America, by Joseph Phelan
September, 2001
Love, Death and Resurrection: The Paintings of Stanley Spencer, by Joseph Phelan
August, 2001
Who is Rodin's Thinker?, by Joseph Phelan
July, 2001
Celebrations North and South, by Joseph Phelan
June, 2001
Rubens and his Age, by Joseph Phelan
May, 2001
Great Reproductions of Great Paintings
April, 2001
The Passion of Christ, by Joseph Phelan
March, 2001
Edouard Manet: Public Spaces, Private Dreams, by Joseph Phelan
February, 2001
Henry Moore and the British Museum: The Great Conversation, by Joseph Phelan
December, 2000
Advent Calendar 2000, narrated by Joseph Phelan
November, 2000
Article: Notorious Portraits, Part II, by John Malyon
October, 2000
Article: Notorious Portraits, Part I, by John Malyon
Article: The Other Michelangelo, by Joseph Phelan
September, 2000
Article: The Art of Drawing, by Joseph Phelan
August, 2000
Article: Poussin and the Heroic Landscape, by Joseph Phelan
July, 2000
Article: Great Art Museums Online, by Joseph Phelan
June, 2000
Article: Venetian Painting and the Rise of Landscape, by Joseph Phelan
May, 2000
Article: Forbidden Visions: Mythology in Art, by Joseph Phelan
April, 2000
Article: Themes in Art: The Passion of Christ, by Joseph Phelan
Web site review: Christus Rex
March, 2000
Web site review: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., by Joseph Phelan
Online exhibit review: Inuit Art: The World Around Me, by John Malyon
February, 2000/Poll: Who is Producing the Most Interesting Art Today? (Results)
January, 2000/Poll: Who is Producing the Most Interesting Art Today? (Part II)
December, 1999/Poll: Who is Producing the Most Interesting Art Today? (Part I)
November, 1999/The Louvre Museum
Web site review: The Louvre
October, 1999/Impressionism
Web site review: North Carolina Museum of Art
September, 1999/Optical Art
Web site review: The Butler Institute of American Art
August, 1999/Animals in Art
Web site review: National Museum of Wildlife Art
Online exhibit review: PBS: American Visions
July, 1999/Surrealism
June, 1999/Sculpture
Web site review: Carol Gerten's Fine Art
Online exhibit review: Michael Lucero: Sculpture 1976-1995
May, 1999/Women in the Arts
Web site review: National Museum of Women in the Arts
Online exhibit review: Jenny Holzer: Please Change Beliefs
April, 1999/The Golden Age of Illustration
Web site review: Fine Arts Museums Of San Francisco
Online exhibit review: Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe online
March, 1999/Vincent van Gogh
Web site review: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Web site review: The Vincent van Gogh Information Gallery
February, 1999/Great Art
Web site review: The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Online exhibit review: John Singleton Copley: Watson and the Shark