Art history reference sources tend to be chronological surveys, and this one, first published in Italy, is no exception. Content is arranged in 52 chapters, from "The Origins of Art" to "Modernism Revisited: Art and Architecture from 1945 to the Present Day." Intervening chapters cover topics such as "Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism: Art in China, 600-1368", "Gothic Cathedrals: Technology and Style", and "Artistic Freedom: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism." The highlight of the volumes is more than 1,300 illustrations, which occupy more than two-thirds of each page. Almost all in color, the illustrations have informative captions and are arranged in useful groupings that give a better overall sense of the art of a culture or period than isolated images would do. Maps and time lines serve to situate the art in time and place. Occasional sidebars discuss specific artists or works. Volume 2 concludes with a glossary and an "Index of Names and Places."

Although the goal of the set is never stated, there seems to be an effort to differentiate it from standard art history surveys by emphasizing art as an expression of culture. about art as it reflects religious and political power or signals a cultural shift pop up frequently in the text. At the same time, although there are chapters on art in Africa, Asia, and Mesoamerica, the volumes are fairly conventional in their emphasis on Western Europe. In the chapter "Spain and the Catholic Empire: Art in the Spanish Dominions," dominions refers mainly to the Netherlands; there is just one brief paragraph and no illustrations on Spanish colonial art. The art of Oceania is treated only in terms of its influence on Western art.

Although readers will need to turn to large surveys such as Janson's History of Art (6th ed., Abrams, 2001) for more in-depth text and for bibliographic references, Art in World History offers an attractive introduction for general readers and students.