In this richly illustrated volume Rosa Giorgi argues that because much of Western art depicts key events, leaders, and practices in the history of the Christian Church, knowledge of that history is critical to an appreciation of many of our great masterpieces. 

Giorgi begins by analyzing artistic representations of liturgical objects, including altars, crosses, and censers, and follows with an examination of the duties and vestments of the variety of clerics, ranging from minor clerks to the pope. Both the rituals of the monastic life and worshippers' devotional practices are well documented in paintings depicting prayer, communal meals, funeral rites, religious processions, and cult practices.

The author next turns to artworks that capture important episodes from the Church's history, including crusades and pilgrimages, the Inquisition and the Reformation, and power struggles between popes and secular rulers. Giorgi ends with an analysis of the lives and portraits of the notable leaders who contributed to this fascinating history, from Peter and Paul to Thomas More to Pope Paul VI.

This volume presents the most noteworthy concepts, artists, and cultural centers of the seventeenth century through a close examination of many of its greatest paintings, sculptures, and buildings.

The Baroque, rooted in classicism but with a new emphasis on emotionalism and naturalism, was the leading style of the seventeenth century. The movement exhibited both stylistic complexity and great diversity in its subject matter, from large religious works and history paintings to portraits, landscapes, and scenes of everyday life. Masters of the era included Caravaggio, whose innovations in the dramatic uses of light and shadow influenced many of the century's artists, notably Rembrandt; the sculptor, painter, and architect Bernini, with his combination of technical brilliance and expressiveness; and other familiar names such as Rubens, Poussin, Velázquez, and Vermeer.

This was the era of absolute monarchs, including Spain's Habsburgs and Louis XIII and XIV of France, whose artistic patronage helped furnish their opulent palaces. But a new era of commercialism, in which artists increasingly catered to affluent collectors of the professional and merchant classes, also flourished.