This one-volume edition contains both text and plates and includes corrections in the text and bibliography made since the books publication in 1987. There are concise monographic chapters on the important artists and movements of the period, with material on each artists life and work, characteristics of style, and the relationship of the artistic movements to historical and intellectual currents of the time. The author covers a wide range of material and his presentation is lucid and perceptive. Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Academics and Salon Painters, and Impressionism are covered, and the following artists are included: David, Gros, Girodet, Grard, Gurin, Prudhon, Goya, Fuseli, Blake, Runge, Friedrich, Turner, Constable, Igres, Gricault, Delacroix, Corot, Rousseau, Daumier, Millet, Courbet, Manet, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, and Czanne.

"The 418 plates illustrate the main movements of the period--Neoclassicism, Riomanticism, Realism, Academics and Salon Painters, and Impressionism"--Back cover.

Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art spans the period from the 10th to the 15th century, including discussion of the Carolingian renaissance and the 12th century proto-renaissance. Erwin Panofsky posits that there were "reanscences" prior to the widely known Renaissance that began in Italy in the 14th century. Whereas earlier renascences can be classified as revivals, the Renaissance was a unique instance that led to a wider cultural transformation.

This anthology of readings related to Western art history explains specific works of art illustrated in Janson's History of Art and De la Croix and Tansey's Gardner's Art Through the Ages in terms of the ideas, beliefs, and concerns of the people and cultures who created the art. It brings a new understanding of art because it shows the social and cultural basis of major works of art through history. The ten sections are Ancient Near East; Egyptian; Aegean; Greek; Etruscan; Roman; early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic; early Medieval; Romanesque; and Gothic. The readings have been drawn from many areas of intellectual and social history, including religion, philosophy, literature, science, economics, and law. Each selection is preceded by an introductory note, which discusses the readings in terms of its subject and theme, its source and usage, and its relevance to the study of the work of art.