ATLAS OF ART
(Atlante dell’arte)

RIGHTS AVAILABLE, MAY 2001

The publication

Although Western art (from prehistoric to contemporary times) remains at the heart of this publication, part of Utet’s Atlanti series, it also examines art forms from all eras in other countries. These include art of the ancient Egyptians, the great Mesopotamian empires, the Etruscans, the African Bushmen, the Australian Aborigines, the Inuits, the protohistorical peoples of Central Asia and the great civilisations of the East. Equal value is given to all form of art from architecture to jewellery, from frescoes to mosaics, from sculpture to painting, drawing, engraving, pottery and other so-called "lesser" arts.
The aim of the volume is that of a universal encyclopaedic presentation. It is not a dictionary or an art history, but an atlas in the real meaning of the term in that it is characterised by a geographical approach to the visual arts, placing them in their territorial, political, economic and social contexts. By retracing the arts’ roots, their human character and their innovative power are rediscovered, emphasising the constant process of exchange which fuels and feed them.
It is no surprise that a work of such dimensions, which is based on considerations and research carried out in close relation with the human sciences, especially anthropology, has required the co-operation of approximately 140 authors, selected from among the highest specialist in their respective fields.

The author

This edition is a translation of the original French edition published by the Encyclopaedia Universalis and contains considerable additional material regarding Italy. It has been co-ordinated by Gianni Carlo Sciolla, who holds the chair of the History of Modern Art at the University of Turin.