The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans all cultures. The history of painting, represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from Antiquity. Across cultures, and spanning continents and millennia, the history of painting is an ongoing river of creativity, that continues into the 21st century. Until the early 20th century it relied primarily on representational, Religious and Classical motifs, after which time more purely abstract and conceptual approaches gained favor.

Developments in Eastern painting historically parallel those in Western painting, in general a few centuries earlier. African art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had significant influence on Western art, and, eventually, vice-versa. (Quote from wikipedia.org)

About the Author

John Charles Van Dyke (1856 - 1932)
John Charles Van Dyke (1856-1932) was an American art historian and critic. He was born at New Brunswick, New Jersey, studied at Columbia, and for many years in Europe. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1877 but never practiced law. He was appointed librarian at Sage Library, New Brunswick in 1878, then in 1899 professor of art history in Rutgers College. He was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. (Quote from wikipedia.org)

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.
http://www.forgottenbooks.org