Titles of artworks can be misleading, and their relation to a painting or sculpture difficult to discern. Some titles require previous knowledge of history, religion or mythology. And some titles defy logic and seem to have little to do with the artwork.

This dictionary of 3,000 works of art explains the meaning behind the titles. The titles, mostly of paintings and sculpture, but also other media, are arranged by original title or English title (with French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian works usually given in their own language, and occasionally other works as well); each entry provides an English title when necessary, the artist's name, when known, the date of creation, the present location, and an explanation of the title. A bibliography and an index of artists are included.