Book excerpt: 'Experiences of Art: Reflections on Masterpiece's is a book that explores themes in the history of art through the insights of students. The book engages themes such as the origins of creativity in prehistoric art, the meaning and significance of the classical paradigm in art history since antiquity, the actual application of Renaissance art theory to an examination of famous masterpieces, an exploration of a new area of philosophical inquiry that reexamines the 18th century as both a period of rationalism and anti-rationalism (rather than the "Age of Reason"), and the tradition of individual subjectivity and expression in modern art reaching back to van Gogh. AUTHOR: Hilda Werschkul holds a doctorate in art history from Columbia University. Her areas of specialisation lay in the drawings of the Old Masters and drawing theory, as well as Post-War American art. 'Experiences of Art: Reflections on Masterpieces' draws upon her ten-plus years of teaching experience. SELLING POINTS: * A key reference text for students of art history, of interest to anybody who wants to learn more about this field * Sumptuous pictures accompany the text, allowing for detailed image study 200 colour