Spanning the supreme artistic achievements of western civilization from classical antiquity to post-modernism, this book - linked to an 18-part Channel 4 series - is an illustrated account of western art. It is divided into 18 chapters, each corresponding to one episode of the series, and each written by a specialist on that period. Particular attention is paid to the social context in which the artist worked and each chapter includes an interpretative guide to two works considered by the author to be particularly representative of the period.