The art system has currently become the bone of contention of many a debate where, curiously enough, much is discussed about criticism though very little is said about art critics. Following on the footsteps of Lionello Venturi's History of Art Criticism, this book provides an updated reassessment of the greatest art critics from the Enlightenment to the turn of the second millennium. Conceived as a didactic handbook, with recommended bibliography at the end of each chapter, this concise essay tells the history of a profession in permanent crisis, paying homage to its most influential practitioners in different cultural contexts.