A Guide to Art & Art History: Specialized Resources

The purpose of this interesting work is to show how fundamental cultural narratives and themes have been represented in the arts. Includes both stories and general themes such as abandonment, envy, and ecstasy. Each essay ends with lists of works that employ the theme and selected secondary sources. There are 7 indexes to enable seeking out names, Biblical themes, literary references, mythological references, etc.

Includes brief discussion of the significance of symbols from Egypt, the ancient Near East, Christian Europe, India, and the Far East. The work is divided into categories: abstracts signs, animals, artifacts, earth and sky, human body and dress, plants, and "collectives" of concepts, deities, and ideas. Illustrated with 600 drawings.

Links Classical subjects and Western art, cataloging under topics, the various expressions of each topic in the fine arts, music, dance, and literature. While it does not claim to be exhaustive, it does provide background information and intriguing connections; includes bibliographic references to published sources for the art works listed.