A popular publishing project around images. The sources of the original Summa artis plan
Abstract
The present study examines the planning, production and reception of the original project of the art history encyclopedia Summa artis, published by Espasa-Calpe in Spain between 1931 and 2006, whose first and main author was José Pijoan. The historiographic value of the volumes attributed to the author is considered to be limited and restricted to the extensive compilation of photographic reproductions of works of art that the collection accumulated. The editorial team, in its initial conception of the project, ascribes predominant relevance to visual appeal and ease of access for readers, in contrast to the reduced academic rigor that characterized the first texts. The analysis of the editorial plan of this encyclopedia is approached in the context of the lesser legal and commercial protection of images at the time and reveals sources of supply. Despite the evolution of the project from a socially pedagogical manufacture of art history to an academic and university publication after the main author was relieved, it is concluded that the original collection was aligned with widely accessible recreational editions, even if its price always kept it selective and complicated it.
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