"The great artists have created intriguing worlds of the imagination whose features may mystify the modern viewer. What stories are being told in these glorious pictures? Who are the characters that inhabit them? What are the deeper meanings that lie beyond what is evident to the untrained eye?". "In Hidden Symbols in Art Sarah Carr-Gomm, art historian, provides a fascinating guide to the key figures, themes, events, symbols, and emblems that form the subject matter of Western painting. Strikingly illustrated with 75 great works and more than 75 telling details, the book spans seven centuries of creativity - from works produced in medieval times to masterpieces of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.