How old is the oldest chat-up line between men? Who was the first lesbian? Were ancient Greek men who had sex together necessarily gay? And what did Shakespeare think about cross-dressing? This title deals with these questions.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) felt a profound empathy with the natural environment, and considered the spiritual essence of trees to be comparable with that of human figures. This book traces Van Goghs development as a painter of trees in the natural landscape from his home province of North Brabant, through Paris to Provence.

From the 1860s through to the early 20th century the rise of Japonisme and the Art Nouveau movement meant that few could ignore or resist the obsession with all things Japanese. This book includes examples of the designed and executed decorative arts of the Meiji periods from the Khalili Collection.

'I perhaps owe it to flowers', wrote Claude Monet (1840-1926), 'that I became a painter.' One of the leading figures of the Impressionist movement and perhaps the most celebrated landscape painter of his age, Monet dedicated his life to capturing the subtleties of the natural world. Trees - willows enveloped in the eerie mists of the Seine, palm trees beneath the bright Mediterranean sun or poplars heavily laden with snow - became a significant motif in his work, and he used them to experimen...

From the editor of the bestselling Histories of Nations, an eye-opening anthology showing how people have suffered and survived during plague and pandemic, from the ancient world to the present.

Gives you an understanding of the ways in which modern art differs from realistic works of earlier centuries. This book examines 100 works of modern art that have attracted critical and public hostility from Cy Twomblys scribbled "Olympia", Jean-Michel Basquiats crude but spontaneous "LNAPRK", and more.

A compact, introductory guide to modern art that explains styles, schools, and movements from Impressionism to the present day

The definitive introduction to the understanding and practice of archaeology, now in its second edition.