Masterpieces of Primitive Art

Fülszöveg

With 254 plates in full color -photographs made especially for this book by Lee Boltin
The artistic achievements of the world's primitive societies have never been so fully revealed and superbly portrayed as in this extraordinary volume that, celebrates—and shares with us—the peerless collection of Nelson A. Rockefeller. Amassed with passion and discrimination through almost fifty years, the Rockefeller Collection encompasses every source of primitive art from Black Africa to the islands of Oceania to Precolumbian America as well as the many Indian cultures of the northern continent.
Here are 254 paramount works of art in all their splendor and visual daring. In Lee Boltin's sumptuous color photographs, pictures that are themselves works of art, we discover the astonishing scope of the Rockefeller Collection—the finely wrought Mayan and Aztec artifacts that amazed the conquistadors; a cloak of feathers as splendid as jewels; mysterious masks fashioned for ceremonial use; statues... Tovább

Fülszöveg

With 254 plates in full color -photographs made especially for this book by Lee Boltin
The artistic achievements of the world's primitive societies have never been so fully revealed and superbly portrayed as in this extraordinary volume that, celebrates—and shares with us—the peerless collection of Nelson A. Rockefeller. Amassed with passion and discrimination through almost fifty years, the Rockefeller Collection encompasses every source of primitive art from Black Africa to the islands of Oceania to Precolumbian America as well as the many Indian cultures of the northern continent.
Here are 254 paramount works of art in all their splendor and visual daring. In Lee Boltin's sumptuous color photographs, pictures that are themselves works of art, we discover the astonishing scope of the Rockefeller Collection—the finely wrought Mayan and Aztec artifacts that amazed the conquistadors; a cloak of feathers as splendid as jewels; mysterious masks fashioned for ceremonial use; statues carved in stone and wood; brilliant textiles; ritual objects of gold, silver, bronze, jade, cloth, shells—every one a masterpiece displaying an aesthetic sophistication that belies the very notion of "primitive."
And the book itself offers the layman a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to the glories of this art. Magnificently designed and printed, it has been organized into four major categories: faces, human figures, animals, and "abstractions." Individual captions for each object enhance the reader's understanding and appreciation of the accomplishment of these anonymous artists and the cultural contexts in which they worked.
The text by Douglas Newton, Chairman of the Department of Primitive Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gives a fascinating history of Western civilization's gradually evolving attitudes toward primitive art— from the early explorers' voyages of discovery and conquest through the more enlightened scientific observations of Captain Cook to the most recent developments in our knowledge and investigations. And Mr. Newton employs his unique expertise to illuminate the archetypal motifs that have captured the imagination Vissza