Challenged since the beginning of the twentieth century in its boundaries and definitions, and reshaped by the circulation of ideas and practices from beyond Europe, art is now understood as a dynamic field that allows us to see the works of the past anew.

In this ambitious yet accessible overview, leading specialists in art history, history, anthropology, sociology, the museum world and artistic practice have taken up the challenge of reimagining the history of art. Ancient Greece, Michelangelo and Goya, the Baroque, Classicism and abstraction all feature, but artists and artworks are revisited through approaches that now inform art writing: a focus on women artists rather than the male canon; on objects rather than solely on the timeless masterpiece; and on the plurality of visual and plastic media rather than the “fine arts” alone. The result is a vast array of figures from around the world brought back into the light.

Lavishly illustrated with more than 250 reproductions, this collective volume challenges conventional expectations, alternating between close explorations of individual works—from the Chauvet Cave to Nan Goldin—and major thematic sections (Materials, Places, Issues, Methods). Engaging with contemporary social and cultural concerns—including beliefs, power, gender, economics and ecology, science and technology, images and representation—it maps out a vision of twenty-first-century art history that is resolutely alive.