This book has over 2500 entries, alphabetically arranged. Almost half of them cover artists, from classical times to the 20th century. Other entries discuss art styles and movements, art forms (such as battle painting, caricature, or stained glass), specialist terms, and materials and techniques in all media. There is a strong emphasis on location as a focus for art; not only are there regional and cultural surveys, but also entries on specific places of importance such as Urbino or Nancy. In addition, entries on museums and galleries are arranged under the their city headword so that the reader can easily survey the major sites within a particular locality, such as New York, Boston, or Madrid. Rather than focusing on a limited number of individual patrons, this volume has entries on towns and cities as centres of patronage and collecting - such as Nuremberg, Dresden, or Prague.
List of contents -- Introduction -- List of illustrations -- List of advisory editors and contributors -- Thematic list of entries -- List of abbreviations -- Note to the Reader -- A-Z entries, including 49 feature articles -- Index of people -- Picture credits.