Vol. <2 > translated from the German by Iain Galbraith.

Why should a banker, two actresses and a seamstress meet at a riverside restaurant? What was the Impressionist who painted them trying to capture? And did he have enough money to pay for his lunch? These are the kinds of questions applied to the masterpieces collected in this book. The result is an unusual account of trends and lifestyles of times past as reflected in great works of art.