Real Spaces

Real Spaces: World Art History and the Rise of Western Modernism is a non-fiction book by art historian David Summers, who aims to reconcile Western art history to artistic cultural production around the world from all time periods.

In the book, Summers creates his own art history methodology to explore spatial attributes of art and architecture and their connection to social functions throughout time. He disregards traditional formal and iconographical art historical models, aiming to explore cultural traditions from around the world within the chapters.