The History of Asian Art: A Global View

A highly illustrated history of the diverse visual art produced across East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, written by two specialist art historians

Asia is home to more than half the world’s population, and learning about the art of its many cultures helps readers understand the visual world that surrounds us. This book tells the story of the simultaneous development of artistic techniques, styles and ideas across East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, exploring the ways these regions were often dynamically interconnected with each other, and with places beyond Asia.

It covers the full breadth of Asian art history, with almost 500 artworks from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia and Southeast Asia; including areas often under-represented in other books on the subject, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia.

Authors Lee and Hutton are active teachers, writers and speakers who engage with art history as a progressive field that promotes cross-cultural understanding. In this book, they situate Asian art in the context of art history globally, with 12 ‘Seeing Connections’ features drawing themes and comparisons with art from many other parts of the world. The authors’ approach encourages students to analyse and think about Asian artworks as a way of exploring ideas about gender and sexuality, personal and national identity, migration and diaspora, and anthropogenic climate change.

About the Authors:

De-nin D. Lee is Associate Professor of Art History in the department of Visual & Media Arts at Emerson College in Boston, US, and Deborah Hutton is Professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Art History at The College of New Jersey, US. Lee and Hutton both contributed to Thames & Hudson’s The History of Art: A Global View, and both have authored and edited numerous other books and articles.