Western Art

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Western art is the name we give to the long continuous tradition that began with ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea. In the 5000 years since the birth of civilization in Egypt and Sumeria, many nations and peoples have produced works of art that still influence our ideas today.

The spirit of innovation passed from the Egyptians and Sumerians to the ancient Greeks and later to the powerful Romans. From them, the disciplines of painting, sculpture, and architecture passed to the new countries of Europe and eventually to the New World as well. At every step, new tribes and peoples made their own contribution. The art of the West is wonderfully various, yet at the same time it is the product of a single long and distinguished tradition.