Backcover:"Paul Johnson turns his attention to a subject that has enthralled him all his life: the history of art. Art, he believes, was central to human development, more so than writing and even language. This history begins with the earliest rock paintings around 30,000 BC and takes us right up to the present day. Whilst highlighting all the celebrated periods in art history, the author also details some wonderful but unjustly neglected artists, periods and styles, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, Russia and the Americas".