Man has always strived to surround himself with beauty, but, fortunately, people rarely became attached for a long time to any one ideal. The pages of the annals of service to the beautiful are the realm of ingenious accidents and divine insights. Peter Gnedich's Art History allows you to see with your own eyes the best of what has been created by human genius over the past millennia. A short comprehensive commentary allows you to get answers to inevitably arising questions without resorting to the help of special literature and professional advice. This book can be called a real encyclopedia of masterpieces of painting, sculpture and architecture from ancient Egypt to the classical works of Russian masters.