Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration ; [catalogue for a Major Quincentenary Exhibition to be Held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ; Exhibition Dates at the National Gallery of Art: October 12, 1991 - January 12, 1992]

Jay Alan Levenson, National Gallery of Art (U. S.)

Yale University Press, 1991 - History - 671 pages

The book begins by looking at the Mediterranean world as the new seaborne empires were being formed, surveying the visual arts and principal intellectual and spiritual currents in major political centers from Portugal to Turkey. Next it takes the reader on Columbusís proposed route east to the fabled lands of Cathay, presenting essays about and illustrations of paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, and decorative art that document the venerable civilizations of the Far East. Finally it surveys the great empires and chiefdoms of the Americas that the Europeans suddenly and unexpectedly encountered, focusing on major works of Aztec sculpture, textiles from the Inca Empire, works in gold from Colombia and Costa Rica, and objects from the pre-Columbian cultures of North America.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration ; [catalogue for a Major Quincentenary Exhibition to be Held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ; Exhibition Dates at the National Gallery of Art: October 12, 1991 - January 12, 1992]
• Editors: Jay Alan Levenson, National Gallery of Art (U. S.)
• Contributors: Jay Alan Levenson, National Gallery of Art (U. S.)
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Yale University Press, 1991
• ISBN: 0300051670, 9780300051674
• Length: 671 pages
• Subjects: History / World