"This book explores renowned works of art from across the centuries and around the globe, looking at the discoveries and inventions that allowed artists to explore different ways of creating. From oil paint, pastel and pencil, to perspective, collage and immersive spaces, each chapter showcases an artwork which demonstrates the mastery and innovative use of a single material or method, presented as the centerpiece of a capsule history" --
A behind-the-scenes look at the most famous works of art in the world.
Discover the secrets, mysteries, hidden meanings and stories behind famous works of art. A book full of surprises, discoveries, forgotten treasures and lost tales, The Secrets of Art takes us on a journey through the art world’s mysteries to reveal that works of art are not always what they seem. A long-lost medieval masterpiece unearthed in the Tower of London. A secret message that only an elite few can read encoded in a painting. A glimpse of a ghostly image beneath the surface of a portrait. The intriguing stories of these works, and many more, are brought to life by author, historian and art detective Debra N. Mancoff, as she reveals secret symbols used by Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer and Caravaggio, uncovers layers of meaning in paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso and Dali, and provides insight into works by Frida Kahlo, Kara Walker and Marina Abramović. Drawing upon the findings of advanced technology, new research, scientific analysis and old-fashioned curiosity, The Secrets of Art unveils the layers of meaning beneath the surfaces of great works of art in a collection of tales that are fully based in fact but are as fascinating as fiction.
A fresh and fascinating look at the key subject of Rossetti's art that will appeal to a broad art-loving readership.
An exquisitely designed and thoroughly engrossing thematic study of the representation of the face on objects and in works of art from all cultures and throughout history, revealing what it is to be human.
This exquisite collection of paintings illustrates just how marvelously the Pre-Raphaelites'focus on the natural world intersected with the Victorian passion for all things botanical. Short-lived but highly influential, the Pre-Raphaelite movement was fueled by a rejection of academic artistic conventions and a longing for the aesthetic simplicity and moral sincerity of medieval and early Renaissance art. But it also coincided with a Victorian obsession with botany, gardening and flower arranging. As a result, painters such as Rosetti, Millais and Hughes populated their works with floral symbols that were steeped in religious and cultural significance. This stunning book examines the greatest of these works, including portraits of Hamlet's Ophelia, the Virgin Mary, and figures from Greek mythology and medieval lore. Each entry features a full-page reproduction of the painting, accompanied by smaller details and an engaging text that offers fascinating background and contextual clues to deepen readers' appreciation of the Pre-Raphaelite language. As lush and colorful as a late summer bouquet, this book is the perfect gift for lovers of flowers as well as for fans of romantic Victorian art.
Monet's garden in Normandy was a private haven where domestic pleasure, artistic vision and aesthetic delight converged. Although he modestly told his dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, that he gardened 'so that there would be flowers to paint on rainy days', Monet cultivated his garden as a continual source of renewal and creativity. It became as powerful a passion in his life as hs painting - he chose planting schemes as carefully as he chose colours for his palette. The garden was also the inspiration for his art and the subject of some of his greatest paintings. In the paintings of his gardens, from the suburban flower-beds of his first family homes to the grand fantasy of his water lily pond at Giverny, Monet achieved his most personal and passionate expression.
The conventional history of art is one of great men making great paintings, and displaying their works to a predominantly male audience in male-run institutions. Women, however, have had a role, often working behind the scenes, out of sight or in resistance to prevailing attitudes and practices. And it is in these exceptions to the rules of the masculine world of art-making that women artists have been perceived as groundbreaking, defiant and even subversive. A compelling selection of more than 60 artists from the early Renaissance to the present day, among them Judith Leyster, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo and Louise Bourgeois, Danger! Women Artists at Work explores the most intriguing and provocative aspects of art by women who shook up the art world. Through a lively introduction and six thematic chapters dealing with such subjects as the ways in which women have challenged the boundaries of expression and how they have viewed the human body, Debra N. Mancoff presents an absorbing tale of those who have struggled and triumphed in their efforts to transform the visual arts.
A major new study of the garden in art, including works by such artists as Botticelli, Hiroshige, Monet, Van Gogh and many others, with extended captions providing detailed interpretations of each work, as well as insights into the artists' sources of inspiration and principal themes. A delightful and beautifully illustrated book.
Van Gogh was inspired by the beauty and colours of nature. He brought this passion to life in some of the most vibrant depictions of the natural world ever put to canvas. This book takes a look at this side of the artist's life and work. It offers insight into the artist's unique vision with the help of his most beautiful paintings and excerpts from his own writings. We see that flowers such as the iris and the sunflower served as emblems of self-identity and that the fields were a testament to the cycle of life and a warning of the inevitability of death. The book offers a portrait of the joy and pleasure that Van Gogh experienced in his life and expressed with his brush.
