The Creative Impulse: An Introduction to the Arts

This book presents readers with an overview of the arts in the Western tradition; in the contexts of the philosophy, religion, aesthetic theory, economics, and politics surrounding them. It is an historical introduction to the humanities yielding a basic familiarity with major styles and their implications as well as a sense of the historical development of individual arts disciplines. Includes comprehensive and equal treatment of the histories of all the arts as well as a vibrant color illustration program. Explores such topics as Greek Classicism and Hellenism, Byzantium and the Rise of Islam, and The Baroque Age. For anyone interested in artwork or the history of art, whether in a museum, theatre, concert hall, or on the street.