In art history the term "eclecticism" is often used to criticise the unoriginal combination of several models which may not always fit together. The essays in this collection make it clear that this was not always the case and that even today there exist well-founded alternative judgements. The sixteen contributions from an international conference held at the University of Bonn explain eclecticism as a controversial and evaluative term, re-examine it as a positive concept in art history, and shed light on various eclectic processes through the centuries. As well as the traditional debates on this theme in architecture, the book emphasises for the first time its role in the visual arts. Eclecticism as a historical phenomenon and different eclectic practices in art are thus brought out of the shadows of a critcal debate which merits new evaluation.