If you've ever found yourself transfixed by a Renaissance painting, fascinated by an Inca textile, or filled with wonder by an exquisite piece of Ming porcelain, this is the book for you. Venture inside its pages and discover exactly what the great artistic periods and movements of the world were all about. Written by an experienced international team of artists, art historians and curators, this absorbing and beautiful book gives you priceless insights into the worlds most iconic images. Organized chronologically, this book traces the evolution of artistic development period by period, with the illustrated, in-depth text covering every genre of art, from painting and sculpture to conceptual art and performance.

  FOREWORD by Richard Cork

  INTRODUCTION

1 PREHISTORY TO 15TH CENTURY

2 15TH AND 16TH CENTURY

3 17TM AND 18TH CENTURY

4 19TH CENTURY

5 1900 TO 1945

6 1946 TO PRESENT DAY

  GLOSSARY

  CONTRIBUTORS

  SOURCES OF QUOTATIONS

  INDEX

  PICTURE CREDITS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS