From the cave paintings of Lascaux to the Madonnas of the Renaissance Italians, to the caustic canvases of the Pop Art movement, manifestations. Punctuated by extended commentaries of the paintings and biographies of the most influential artists, this work, with its thousand reproductions, contains virtually all of the history of art within its pages. The traditional and the controversial, the mythic and the understated, the quietly subversive and the deliberately challenging-all are presented in this guide, offering a fascinating view of the evolution of painting.