This text surveys the lives and works of European artists from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Organized chronologically, each section of the book opens with an overview of the significant historical events of the era to set the art in context. Individual commentaries discussing the paintings and the artists' careers and development are included. Sandro Boticelli's Pallas and the Centaur , Jan Vermeer's The Art of the Painting , Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun's self-portrait The Artist at Her Easel , Edvard Munch's The Scream , and Picasso's Corrida: The Death of a Torero are all featured in the book.