Now available in a new edition, this introduction to fifty visionary architects traces the major aesthetic movements over the past six centuries and offers concise portraits of the geniuses behind them. Starting with the Renaissance, this accessible and lively survey takes readers around the world and through history, from Filippo Brunelleschi through Antoni Gaudí to Frank Gehry. Double-page spreads feature full-color illustrations, informative sidebars, and a timeline. A concise and accessible architectural history, this book is a fascinating look at the enormous variety of ways architects have helped define their eras.

Spanning seven centuries, this selection of fifty iconic paintings offers readers a crash course in art history while presenting gorgeous colour reproductions that are a pleasure to contemplate. Starting with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes and continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as works by Monet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Cezanne, Dali, Kahlo, Hopper, Pollock, Rothko, and O'Keeffe, nearly every important painter is represented in this book. It features works that may be familiar to the eye, but whose histories are even more fascinating. Readers will learn about the painters who created them, the reasons for their importance and the places the paintings can be found. As entertaining as it is informative, this beautiful book is the perfect introduction to great paintings that have stood the test of time.

The fifty buildings presented here in chronological order represent the most compelling, intriguing, and awe-inspiring structures from all over the world. Readers will learn about masterpieces such as the Hagia Sophia in Turkey, Cambodia’s Temple Complex at Angkor Wat, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, and the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Each entry features full color photographs of the structure along with informative text presented in a dynamic format. Readers will find basic information about each building’s artistic relevance, style, and contextual history as well as additional notes about architectural periods and techniques. From ancient Jordan and Guatemala to modern-day Manhattan and Munich, this world tour of great edifices offers a mini-course in architecture that will satisfy even the most passionate student’s lust for learning about the world’s greatest buildings.