"The transmutation of artistic form," writes Erwin Rosenthal, "depends on individual decisions and cultural development. But there are basic laws of self-expression which do not change, which are perpetual because they accord with the structure of the human mind and soul." These penetrating studies explore the deep psychological and formal affinities between defining figures of their epochs—from Giotto and Dante through Picasso—and illuminate ways that artists and thinkers encounter the world and translate it through the unique language of imagination.

The principal sections of this important book are:

·Giotto and Dante

·Picasso, Painter and Engraver

·Giotto and Picasso

·The Condition of Modern Art and Thought