DOC Performance in Bali (Theatres of the World) by Leon Rubin; I. Nyoman Sedana in Arts-Photography

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. abridged and workmanlike but essential art historyBy Acrophobethis is a mostly visual; abridged edition of Winckelmanns Monumenti Antichi Inediti. it features 218 engravings that are copies of various pieces/media from antiquity; and about 30 pages of introduction from Dover and Winckelmann.the plusses. the reproductions are generally good. the introduction says theyre all printed between 75% and 100% original size; and most images are clear and easily readable. contrast is good and while a few images suffer from apparent artifacts or printing errors; none are too obtrusive. Winckelmann was acutely aware of medium specificity; as shown in his treatment of pottery and other 3-dimensional art works. his engravings of greek libation pots; for example; actually consist of two or more images; with impressions of the physical vessels accompanied by separate details of the images painted on them. he understood that there is artistry both in the sculpting of the pottery and in the painting of the scene. a simple but essential idea to later art theory.and finally; to aficionados of the renaissance and the antiquity that inspired it; this book is an affordable treasure trove. i havent researched how many of the pieces engraved in this book still survive; but it remains a valuable document of the aesthetics of the ancients. the gods; subjects; symbols; media; and themes they valued; the poses and expressions and mise en scene they favored in their art; are all expressed well in Winckelmanns engravings. every image in this collection earns some reflection.the negatives. a few pages are inexplicably blank. it just looks bad; and surely they could have done something useful with those glaring white pages. a detailed commentary or analysis of the artworks referenced here is noticeably lacking. this book has nearly none of the text of Winckelmanns original work. hes more well-known for his writing and progressive thinking than his art; and his engravings clearly show why. i would have liked to read the text to see how he was so influential in a discipline i so admire. i guess thats for another book; but at the price and size of this book; this omission isnt a big deal. Dover called it "IMAGES from the ancient world" so i cant claim any false advertising.Winckelmann wasnt making fine art for this work; and the engravings themselves arent meant to be appreciated as such; but to criticize them for their technical shortcomings is to miss the point. they were mostly meant to document and to make readable reproductions of privately held and generally inaccessible art works of antiquity more widely available to scholars. in that regard; the book is a great success. furthermore; his artistic decisions in reproducing others work shows a subtle; scholarly understanding of the nature of art that was advanced at the time. despite my criticism of his art; i do admire that Winckelmann executed the engravings himself (though he did have some help with the drawings they were based on). theyre certainly not bad; they just lack the finesse of a professional artist. this book is mostly of interest to students; teachers/professors; art historians; and art; history; and; most of all; metahistory enthusiasts. if youre interested in this book at a glance; youll probably love it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Kindle: moderate quality imagesBy GregThis is a very odd book. The Kindle image resolution is only fair; and the drawings are surprisingly second rate or at least of variable quality. It is hard to follow the commentary with the images in the Kindle format since they are not together. This is not one of Winkelmanns best books.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy LaDawn J.Love it Thank you