Sexuality in its many guises has preoccupied Western artists from Michelangelo to Picasso, Rubens to Robert Mapplethorpe. Almost every form of the subject has been portrayed, whether covert or overt, crude or highly sophisticated. Edward Lucie-Smith considers the fruits of this obsession, which, while highly sexual, are also fine art. His incisive text is as invigorating as it is rewarding and will prove invaluable is assessing this aspect of the history of Western Art.

Edward Lucie-Smith's examination of sexuality in Western art from prehistory to the present first treats the tradition chronologically, then considers its characteristic themes and symbols.