How does space in Persian painting differ from space in other arts? Leo Bronstein's answer is an astonishing feat: world history neither summarized nor abbreviated but seen - in the plates themselves and in the kinds of space they illustrate. Into the arts, from the Paleolithic to Miro, the author's insights are as unpredictable as they are rewarding.

Among many surprises are: the crucial historic relevance of the escapement mechanism in clocks; the significance to art of the Greek "awareness of 'my body' as a separate being, separated from me"; the reasons why the West discovered the machine and the East did not. Basic to the entire book is the distinction between "art-mobility" and "art stability," the one "based on an object-block, object-'monster,'" the other on "clear, seriated, visually observable space." "The artistic destiny of both Europe and Asia," Leo Bronstein shows us, "is made of the interaction of the two basal and formative currents: 'mobile' art-mimic and 'stable' art-narration." "His remarkable vision of space 'inward' and 'mobile,'" writes Talat S.

Halman in his foreword to the book, "is likely to stimulate debate in art historical circles for a very long time.".

"Space in Persian Painting," Halman continues, "as may be expected from the author's overarching intellect, extends far beyond the scope of its title. It treats 'space' not as a mere element or dimension, but as the terra firma of visual creativity. By the same token, 'Persian' functions as a synecdoche for Islamic art in general. 'Painting' is to be understood as a metaphor for the venture of all art."