The history of painting is often reduced to the story of a tiny elite of easel pictures, composed exclusively of old masters and avant-garde works. Many British paintings, watercolours, miniatures, icons and non-European works relate uneasily to this twin canon of old and modern masters. This richly illustrated account seeks to redress the balance by exploring the wider history of painting, and includes a broad range of painted works, from stained glass to items of costume, in addition to numerous oil paintings and watercolours.

Author Biography

Mark Evans is Senior Curator of Paintings in the Word & Image department at the V&A . He was written extensively on painting from the late Middle Ages to the early twentieth century.