This educational manual, within the framework of the author's historical and art concept, examines the unity of cultural and historical processes on the basis of artistic creative heritage. This explains the rejection of the traditional form of presentation of material in publications devoted to the history of culture, which boils down to the listing and characteristics of a certain set of artistic monuments of the past. The manual is intended to help master the understanding of the peculiarities of the worldview and aesthetic canons of various historical eras. It explains in accessible language, with the help of specific examples, the most important points in the development of world artistic culture. The publication is aimed primarily at students of secondary vocational education and students of technical specialties of higher education, where the humanities are not specialized and are read within a small number of hours . While maintaining the scientific nature of the presentation, the material is presented in an understandable and concise form. The manual can be useful for teachers and graduate students when preparing lectures on the courses “History of World and Domestic Culture” and “Cultural Studies,” as well as for anyone interested in the history and theory of culture. The text is presented in the author’s edition.