This comprehensive work, edited by Umberto Eco, offers a history of Western ideas of beauty, beginning with ancient Greek concepts of proportion and harmony as seen in sculpture and philosophy. The text progresses through the Medieval period, exploring the significance of light, color, and symbolism, even touching upon the perception of ugliness and monstrous forms within a divine plan. It then transitions to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, discussing changing ideals of human and artistic beauty, the rise of sensual aesthetics, and the increasing appreciation for mechanical artifice. Finally, the sources address Romantic and Decadent views of beauty, including the Sublime, dandyism, aesthetic mysticism, and the twentieth century's provocative and consumable beauty, culminating in a re-evaluation of everyday materials and mass production within modern aesthetics.

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