Art is an activity or creation by people that has importance because of an attraction to the human senses. Art is made when a human expresses himself or herself. Some art is useful in a practical sense, such as a sculptured clay bowl that one can put things in. Many people disagree on how to define art. Many people say people are driven to make art due to their inner creativity. Art includes drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, performance art, dance, music, poetry, prose and theatre.

There are sculptures, cave painting and rock art dating from the Upper Paleolithic era.

All of the great ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome or Arabia had works and styles of art. In the Middle Ages, most of the art in Europe showed people from the Bible in paintings, stained glass windows, and mosaic tile floors and walls.

Islamic art includes geometric patterns, Islamic calligraphy, and architecture. In India and Tibet, painted sculptures, dance, and religious painting were done. In China, arts included jade carving, bronzework, pottery, poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, and fiction. There are many Chinese artistic styles, which are usually named after the ruling dynasty.

In Europe, after the Middle Ages, there was a "Renaissance" which means "rebirth". People rediscovered science and artists were allowed to paint subjects other than religious subjects. People like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci still painted religious pictures, but they also now could paint mythological pictures too. These artists also invented perspective where things in the distance look smaller than things close up in the picture. This was new because in the Middle Ages people would paint all the figures close up and just overlapping each other.

In the late 1800s, artists in Europe, responding to Modernity created many new painting styles such as Classicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism. The history of twentieth century art includes Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Minimalism.
