Creation: A fully illustrated, panoramic world history of art from ancient civilisation to the present day

Creation by John-Paul Stonard is a fully illustrated, panoramic world history of art spanning ancient civilisation to the present day. It is presented as an art history book, illustrated throughout with a mixture of black and white and full colour images.

Key details

• Author: John-Paul Stonard
• Fully illustrated throughout
• Includes black and white and full colour images
• Covers art from ancient civilisation to the present day
• Explores how and why humans create

Synopsis

The book opens with early examples of image-making, from a red ochre depiction of a pig on a limestone cave wall in Indonesia to charcoal sketches of galloping horses in Europe. These moments introduce the idea of a creative impulse that has endured across human history.

Stonard travels across continents to trace art’s long timeline, moving from ancient Anatolian standing stones to a Qing Dynasty ink handscroll, and from a Kiowa drawing on America’s Great Plains to a post-independence Congolese painting and Rachel Whiteread’s House. Ranging from pre-history to the present day, it follows a wide geographical sweep and considers the enduring question of how, and why, we create.