Hans Belting (b. 1935) - leading German culturologist and art critic, professor of art history and art media theory at the State School of Artistic Creativity in Karlsruhe, author of the books "The End of Art History" (1985), "Germans and their art. Heavy Legacy" (1992) and other works on cultural studies, aesthetics and art history. Byzantium, the medieval West, modern art theory are the main areas of his research interest.