This survey of Western art from ancient Egypt to Picasso looks at visual art in a completely new and imaginative way. The lively and penetrating observations will inspire and enthuse the novice, while breathing new life into the thinking of art critics and historians. Gottfried Richter concerns himself broadly with architecture, sculpture, and painting --as well as mythology and legend --in presenting the creations of artist and architect as an expression of the evolution of human consciousness. In vivid images he offers the reader interpretive keys to understand this process in all areas of art history. With many examples the author illustrates how human life has undergone a qualitative transformation as humanity has gradually freed itself from a life determined by spiritual guidance in order to take hold of the sensory world and experience free individuality.