Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech graphic designer and decorative artist best known for his distinctive Art Nouveau style. He produced many illustrations, advertisements, postcards, packages and paintings throughout his life. The popularity of Mucha's unique style and demand for his beautiful works has continued to grow since the strong revival of interest in Art Nouveau during the 1960s.

This book is the very best collection of Mucha's characteristic works, covering his entire career, from his beginnings in Paris to his final days in Czech after four years in the United States. His most representative works are featured, not only in the field of fine art but also in editorial design and graphic design. As a special feature, this book introduces more typography and package design works compared to other publications on Mucha's work. And, of course, Mucha's masterpiece the 'Slav Epic' is also covered in detail, along with an interpretation and its historical background.

This beautifully-designed book will be a valuable reference for graphic designers and illustrators alike, and is sure to become a must-have book for Mucha's fans around the world to treasure. Bilingual text, in both Japanese and English.

The essential Morandi, in pictures and words

Giorgio Morandi's (1890-1964) steady pursuit of a poetic vision in still-life and landscape painting (as well as engravings and etchings) has secured him a singular and revered position in the history of modern art. While drawing on the achievements of Giotto, Cézanne, the metaphysical painters and the Cubists, Morandi's work finally resembles no one else's, and quietly defies paraphrase: everything is enigmatically clarified in the work itself, in all its apparent simplicity, on terms entirely specific to the artist's compositional gifts, in which respect he might almost be described as the Erik Satie of painting.
The original writings and interviews collected in this substantial new volume trace Morandi's various influences, illuminate the atmosphere of Bologna that so characterized the artist's sensibility, and allow us to analyze the myth that has formed around his life and personality. Karen Wilkin, editor of this volume and the author of monographs on Georges Braque, Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, Kenneth Noland and David Smith, has assembled an important contribution to the critical understanding of this great artist.

A marvelous art book that reveals the unknown face of the Renaissance and the craze for monsters

Hieronymous Bosch is known throughout the world as a painter of monstrous creatures and fantastic scenes that seem the output of dreamlike visions. His fame did not begin in the Netherlands, where the artist was born, but in 16th-century southern Europe, which was artistically dominated by themes and styles typical of Renaissance classicism, very far from those of the Flemish painter.

This book, in addition to presenting Bosch, aims to illustrate the success of his art in the high societies of Italy, Spain, and the Americas in the period between the 16th and early 17th centuries, with particular reference to the collecting trends of the time in these two countries, where the works of Bosch and his followers were in great demand (by the Spanish Habsburgs, the Grimani in Venice, etc.). These works, in turn, inspired a large number of painters, draftsmen, engravers, and other prominent artists, including his successor, the much-renowned Bruegel the Elder.

The book thus sheds new and surprising light on a particular Renaissance that has always remained in the shadows compared to the classicism of Raphael, Titian, and Parmigianino, but which had actually a strong artistic and cultural impact in various parts of Europe, with often grotesque or anticlassical expressions such as the cycle of tapestries by Bosch at the Escorial, the paintings by masters such as Titian and El Greco, the works of engravers such as Giorgio Ghisi, and sculptors and decorators such as Bernardo Buontalenti, and finally, the culture of the Wunderkammer.

Part of the Impressionist movement, Gustave Caillebotte explored his interest in photography throughout his art, painting numerous still lifes, portraits, and street scenes throughout his short life. This collection includes 24 of his most famous masterpieces for your coloring pleasure. Pull out a box of crayons and lose yourself in the world of 19th century France. Short descriptions of each work are also included.

This lavishly illustrated, large-format, hardcover edition by Fr. Joseph Roesch, MIC, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions, and should serve as a reminder to answer Our Lady's call as it captures the mysterious beauty of this tiny village in Portugal. With over 70 full color and black & white stunning images, this is a wonderful keepsake to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Fatima for a lifetime.

Fifty years after Picasso's death, this magnificent collection of drawings offers a career-spanning tour of the artist's brilliant and dynamic use of line and a window into the heart and soul of the most prolific aspect of his oeuvre.

From his early studies to his final works, drawing was, for Picasso, an ever-renewing exploration of the powers of the line. Comprising over three hundred reproductions from his massive oeuvre, this collection features both well-received and rarely seen works, as well as images from his extraordinary notebooks. It features fifty penetrating essays that examine the themes, symbols and techniques that echo throughout Picasso's career-- from monsters, crucifixions, and self-portraits to crayon, cross- hatching, and ink. It includes book illustrations and plans for sculptures; color and figure studies; collage and journal entries. Stunning full-color reproductions allow readers to appreciate the enormous inventiveness and diversity of Picasso's work, from serpentine lines to hatched drawing, from the delicate nuances of pastel to the deep blacks of ink.
Accompanying the largest-ever exhibition of Picasso's drawings and engravings, this gorgeous volume is a must-have for students and fans of one of the greatest artists of the modern era.

Art history encompasses the study of the history and development of painting, sculpture and the other visual arts. In this Very Short Introduction, Dana Arnold presents an introduction to the issues, debates, and artefacts that make up art history. Beginning with a consideration of what art history is, she explains what makes the subject distinctive from other fields of study, and also explores the emergence of social histories of art (such as Feminist Art History and Queer Art History). Using a wide range of images, she goes on to explore key aspects of the discipline including how we write, present, read, and look at art, and the impact this has on our understanding of art history.

This second edition includes a new chapter on global art histories, considering how the traditional emphasis on periods and styles in art originated in western art and can obscure other critical approaches and artwork from non-western cultures. Arnold also discusses the relationship between art and history, and the ways in which art can tell a different history from the one narrated by texts.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A journey through the Eternal City through virtuoso drawings.

In 1532, the Dutch painter Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) traveled from Haarlem to Rome. Pencil in hand, he discovered antiquity and the Renaissance. His remarkable drawings take us on a journey through time in sixteenth-century Rome.

Van Heemskerck was everywhere, from the Colosseum to the Forum Romanum to the Piazza del Campidoglio. He was one of the first artists from north of the Alps to embark on a trip to Rome purely for the sake of art. His sketches reveal his admiration for the buildings and artworks of antiquity and the contemporary art of Raphael and Michelangelo. This magnificent volume invites the reader to discover van Heemkerck's drawing technique, Roman topography, and the social network of the sixteenth century as well as the fascinating story of the restoration of his Roman sketchbook.

The Book of Pleasure (Self-Love): The Psychology of Ecstasy - This book explores the concept of the Kia, which is Spare's idea of the self that is free from all constraints, including the influence of the conscious mind. He introduces the practice of Sigilization as a method to bypass the conscious mind and communicate directly with the subconscious. The book is a mixture of mystical ideas and psychological insights, aiming to guide the reader toward self-realization through a unique form of magic.

The Focus of Life: The Mutterings of Aāos - This is a more abstract and poetic work, filled with aphorisms and surreal illustrations. It delves into themes of life, death, and the nature of reality. The text is cryptic, encouraging the reader to engage with it on a deeper, intuitive level. This book can be seen as an expression of Spare's own experiences and insights into the process of self-discovery and the transcendence of ordinary reality.

Anathema of Zos: The Anathema of Zos is a cryptic and poetic text that explores Spare's personal philosophy, often referred to as Zos-Kia Cultus. This philosophy is a blend of mystical ideas, psychological concepts, and a deep emphasis on individualism and personal will.

The pictorial worlds of Edvard Munch--the initial impetus for modernism.

In 1892, the Association of Berlin Artists invited the still-unknown Edvard Munch (1863-1944) to an exhibition. The public was shocked by the colorful, sketch-like pictures. The artist enjoyed the furor and moved to the city on the Spree, where he repeatedly sojourned until 1908. It was here that he learned the techniques for printed graphics and presented paintings for the first time. These several continuous series would become central to his collection of work. Munch's radical modernity in painting was a challenge for his contemporaries. This applied in particular to the art scene in Berlin around 1900, which the Norwegian symbolist artist influenced profoundly. In return, he received support there and was able to continue to develop his work. Edvard Munch: Magic of the North is lavishly illustrated and knowledgeably describes the story of Munch and Berlin.

In 1966, Tom Phillips took a forgotten nineteenth-century novel, W. H. Mallock's A Human Document, and began working over the extant text to create something new.The artist writes, I plundered, mined, and undermined its text to make it yield the ghosts of other possible stories, scenes, poems, erotic incidents, and surrealist catastrophes which seemed to lurk within its wall of words. As I worked on it, I replaced the text I'd stripped away with visual images of all kinds. It began to tell and depict, among other memories, dreams, and reflections, the sad story of Bill Toge, one of love's casualties.

After its first publication in book form in 1980, A Humument rapidly became a cult classic. This sixth and final edition, published to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Tom Phillips' first experiments with A Human Document, presents for the first time an entirely revised and complete version of A Humument, and will bring to a close half a century's artistic endeavor.

Pull out your crayons and color this gorgeously illustrated collection of 101 masterpieces from artists in the past from Da Vinci to Picasso. From The Last Supper to The Starry Night, this collection of black and white line art formatted for coloring has something for everyone. It includes work by the following artists, among others: Botticelli Caillebotte Caravaggio Da Vinci Degas Goya/El Greco/ Velasquez Klimt Manet Matisse Modigliani Monet Munch Raphael Rembrandt Renoir Rousseau Toulouse-Lautrec Turner Van Gogh Vermeer

A heartrending and beautiful trilingual book that gives voice to the children of war-torn Ukraine, interspersed with moving works of art.

What is it like to be a child living in a country under siege--or living in a foreign city or land far from everything you have known and loved? In this moving and unforgettable book, Ukraine's children speak out about growing up in amid the violence, terror, and death of war. Through the Eyes of Children is a collection of children's quotes paired with evocative color artwork. Each quote appears in Cyrillic, transliterated Ukrainian, and English, making the book a tool for both language learning and language preservation.

The proceeds payable to the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation provide mental health support for Ukrainian children.

Artists like Botticelli, Holbein, Leonardo, Dürer, and Michelangelo and works such as the Last Supper fresco and the monumental marble statue of David, are familiar symbols of the Renaissance. But who were these artists, why did they produce such memorable images, and how would their original beholders have viewed these objects? Was the Renaissance only about great masters and masterpieces, or were women artists and patrons also involved? And what about the minor pieces that Renaissance men and women would have encountered in homes, churches and civic spaces? This Very Short Introduction answers such questions by considering both famous and lesser-known artists, patrons, and works of art within the cultural and historical context of Renaissance Europe. The volume provides a broad cultural and historical context for some of the Renaissance's most famous artists and works of art. It also explores forgotten aspects of Renaissance art, such as objects made for the home and women as artists and patrons. Considering Renaissance art produced in both Northern and Southern Europe, rather than focusing on just one region, the book introduces readers to a variety of approaches to the study of Renaissance art, from social history to formal analysis.

Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) stands tall among history's most revered botanical illustrators. Known as the Raphael of Flowers for his meticulously precise watercolors of roses, lilies, and other blossoms, Redouté held sway over botanical art from 1790 to 1830. Serving as the official court artist for Louis XVI and as the art mentor to Marie Antoinette, he not only survived the tumultuous times but also garnered the support of Napoleon's wife, Empress Josephine.
Today, the admiration for Redouté's masterpieces has transcended aristocratic confines. Celebrated by botanists for their scientific precision and cherished by fine art connoisseurs for their unparalleled beauty, the artist's floral depictions grace the walls of countless homes globally. This stunning new hardcover edition showcases 90 exquisite renditions of Redouté's finest creations, each accompanied by a concise caption. Beyond its role as a valuable resource for artists, this lavishly illustrated book is a remarkable companion for nature enthusiasts.

Warrior, martyr, saint: Joan of Arc has captivated imaginations around the world for centuries. The legendary heroine of a tumultuous episode from the Hundred Years' War, Joan led the French army to triumph over the English at the Siege of Orl ans in 1429. Two years later the 19-year-old was captured by the enemy and their French collaborators, charged with heresy, and burned at the stake -- the end of her life but the beginning of her enduring fame.
This expertly translated and lavishly illustrated biography traces The Maid of Orl ans' progress from ordinary peasant girl to seer of mystic visions to savior of France. Forty full-page color plates by French artist and illustrator O. D. V. Guillonnet enhance historian Frantz Funck-Brentano's highly readable narrative. Originally published in 1912 as part of a series of young adult biographies of French leaders, this beautiful and inspiring book will enchant readers of all ages.

Fresco painting was reintroduced to public attention in this important work by a recognized authority. In addition to translating descriptions of painting methods used by such masters as Alberti, Cennini, Vasari, and Borghini, the author also discusses causes of fresco destruction and how to retouch, repair, and clean these works of art.

If you want to make Celtic patterns from scratch then keep reading...

Do you want to make your own Celtic patterns, but don't know where to start?

Do you want to incorporate Celtic designs into other crafts you're passionate about?

If your answer is yes, then this book is for you.

This book is a beautiful in-depth guide to create and enhance your own crafting of Celtic art.

Inside this book you will discover:

• The secret to making your first Celtic pattern in 7 steps
• The biggest mistake beginners make when approaching their first Celtic design
• One simple tip that will help you draw beautiful designs, even if you're not good at free hand drawing
• The 8 most important entry points of Celtic geometry that are crucial for making accurate designs
• The #1 secret to using partial designs and making them your own
• The inside scoop on how complex Celtic knots are formed
• How to adapt your designs for wood carving and wood burning projects
• The secret method of the Celtic scribes - and how to take advantage of it in your art
• The sacred background and history of Celtic art

This book also makes a great gift for artists and crafters

Here are the answers to some questions you might have about this book:

Q: I have never worked on Celtic designs before, can I use this book to get started?

A: Yes. The primary goal of this book, is to help a complete beginner (like you) make their first pattern after reading this book.

This book contains detailed steps of how designs are constructed by compass and straightedge so that the interested reader can reconstruct images geometrically for him- or herself.

Q: I want to enhance my crafts projects (such as oil paintings and wood carvings) by simply adapting whole or partial sections of Celtic designs. Can I do that with this book?

A: Absolutely. In fact, there is an entire section on adapting designs into wood carving and wood burning projects inside this book.

Q: Does this book have color or b/w images?

A: The book has a wonderful variety of Celtic and Norse graphic designs. The designs are clearly printed in black and white so they are easy to copy and to scale up or down.

Every day that you delay is another day you miss out on taking advantage of beautiful Celtic designs, and adding a fancy look to clothing, furniture, fantasy weapons, or even buildings.

Take action now.

Scroll up and add this book to your cart

Hannah Höch (1889-1978) moved between differing worlds: as an editorial assistant with a major Berlin-based magazine publisher, and as the only woman who could hold her own in the German capital's vibrant Dada scene of the 1920s. Her works dissected a world marked by the catastrophe of the Great War and an intense consumer culture, and reassembled it in revolutionary, poetic, and often ironic ways. Scissors and glue were the weapons of her art of montage, of which she was a coinventor.
Cutting and montage also shaped film, still a new medium in the 1920s, which strongly influenced Höch's art: she understood her assembled pictures as static films. This richly illustrated and expertly annotated book explores comprehensively for the first time Höch's life-long fascination with film and the visual culture of the modern industrial age. Covering her entire career, It demonstrates how montage evolved in a field of tension between artistic experimentation, commercial exploitation, and political appropriation. A text on photomontage by Höch, written in 1948, and a text-collage on the history of montage, in which major protagonists of Modernism and Avant-garde have their say, round out this volume.