Includes bibliographical references, timeline, and index.

"From humans' first impulses to create form out of raw materials to the most modern of gallery installations, people around the world have always been drawn to image-making. Styles and periods have come and gone, and yet intriguing links between seemingly unconnected traditions remain to be discovered. The author uses a wide range of objects - both familiar and less well known - to reveal how part is a product of our shared experience; how, like a mirror, it can reflect the human condition and our most basic cultural preoccupations. Avoiding the route taken by previous histories, the author has carefully chosen a global perspective, setting up juxtapositions that will challenge and enlighten the read: dancing bronze figures from southern India, Romanesque sculptures, Baroque ceilings and jewel-like Persian manuscripts are discussed side by side as extraordinary testaments to our universal creative instinct."--Jacket.

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