From classical antiquity to post-modernism, this book spans the art of the whole of western civilization. 18 chapters, by experts and art historians from around the world, examine the supreme artistic achievements in the empires of Greece and Rome, the architectural glories of the Middle Ages, the extraordinary techniques and stylistic developments of the Renaissance, the aesthetic adventures of Romanticism and Impressionism, and the innovations, experiments and reinventions of the 20th century. Each author analyzes the art of the period in question, paying particular attention to the social context in which the artists worked. Not only the great works, but lesser-known yet equally significant ones are chosen to illustrate the different forms of western culture.