Students of history know the pleasurable agony of the simple question that, like a hydra, grows more complicated the further it's pursued. Such is the story behind this book. Besancon's desire to trace the simple history of divine representation in European art gives way to a history of the motives driving philosophy, art, religion, politics and culture for over two millennia. Fortunately he's up for the Herculean labor, providing a rich and comprehensive understanding of iconoclasm (in its broadest sense) and its pervasive shaping power over the human mind. Most brilliantly he demonstrates th... View More...
