Rainer Hagen Books

Masterpieces under the microscope: from ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls to 20th century works Did the Greek gods play tennis? What is the ambassador from the land of Alchemy telling us? What secrets are being told on the shores of the Island of Venus? What is a monk doing on the Ship of Fools? What Great Paintings Say has the answers to these and many other burning questions asked about the most important and famous paintings of all time. In two volumes, a selection of history's greatest masterpieces is presented chronologically, including works by Botticelli, Breughel, Chagall, Courbet, Degas, Delacroix, D?rer, Goya, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, and many others. Each chapter focuses on one painting, with enlarged details and in-depth texts describing their significance. Taking apart each painting and then reassembling it again like a huge jigsaw puzzle, the authors reveal the history of art as a lively panorama of forgotten worlds.

If you thought these paintings were familiar, look again, and look closer. Part art history, part detective work, this fascinating collection explores 100 world-famous works of art through enlarged details, revealing the fashions and lifestyles, the loves and intrigues, politics and people that truly make a masterpiece.

At a time when artists were still primarily occupied with religious or mythological subject matter, the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel turned his shrewd eye on everyday ways. This book outlines the artist's account of his society and times, and the relevance that account has for us today.

At a time when artists were still occupied with religious or mythological subject matter, the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-1569) turned his eye on the everyday. This title reproduces Bruegel's 45 surviving works, which depict 16th century life in rural or small town communities.

An illustrated history of world-famous works of art, from ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls to Renaissance paintings, offering insights on artistic and cultural details, such as fashions and lifestyles, loves and intrigues, and politics and people.

Why should a banker, two actresses and a seamstress meet at a riverside restaurant? What was the Impressionist who painted them trying to capture? And did he have enough money to pay for his lunch? These are the kinds of questions applied to the masterpieces collected in this book. The result is an unusual account of trends and lifestyles of times past as reflected in great works of art.

Egyptian art was a sacred, holy art. This world and the next were inextricably connected. The proximity of human beings and gods affected art, led to a unique style, and a canon of rules that retained its validity from the Old Kingdom to the Late Era.

The present volume brings together some of the most important paintings of the 16th century. They offer insights into long-gone worlds, into the sphere of the rich and powerful and into the daily lives of peasants and craftsmen. They uncover the stories and myths that preoccupied them, and their religious and material desires. The authors discuss what we are seeing and provide background information that makes the pictures more accessible. They see each painting not just as a work of art, but also as a document of its day.

The majority of paintings from the 15th century portray figures from the Bible and the world of mythology, but they also tell us much about the era in which they arose - about the conflicts between ruling forces, about the hopes of the poor, about everyday life, and about the meaning and symbolism that were attached to the past. The masterpieces selected for this volume are intended not to teach art history, but to focus our attention in each case on a specific image. The authors discuss what we are seeing and provide background information that makes the pictures more accessible. They see each painting not just as a work of art, but also as a document of its day.

Awe-inspiring classics become accessible, captivating stories thanks to this investigation into the covert world of Renaissance masterpieces. From Botticelli to Michelangelo, delve into the works of Italian masters like never before. Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen meticulously dissect 12 key pieces alongside analytical essays and enlarged details...

From his royal court portraits to horrific scenes of conflict, Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes remains one of Spain's most revered and startling artists. With key works from throughout his career, this vivid introduction explores Goya's mastery of form and light and varied, daring subjects.

What do we really know about our ancestors? Not about the rulers and generals, but about laborers, farmers, soldiers and families. Egypt is a perfect case in point, almost a blank slate for most of us as it regards details of their everyday life. This useful and informative book attempts to set the record straight by offering a distinctive take on that most mythologized of epochs. Who would have guessed, for example, that the first strike in recorded history took place in 1152 BC during work on the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings, a protest by construction workers against delayed deliveries of oil and flour? Two fairly banal commodities maybe, but essential: oil protected the skin against the savage desert climate, whilst flour was the base ingredient for thirty different kinds of nutritional cake. It is this detailed examination of the evidence that distinguishes this volume, with chapters on

Der Autor: Rose-Marie Hagen, geboren in der Schweiz, studierte Geschichte und Romanistik in Lausanne. Nach längeren Studienaufent-halten in Paris und Florenz übernahm sie verschiedene Lehrtätigkeiten, u. a. an der American University in Washington D. C. Rainer Hagen, geboren in Hamburg, studierte Literatur- und Theaterwissenschaften in München, arbeitete nach seiner Promotion für Rundfunk und Fernsehen, zuletzt als Redaktionsleiter im III. Fernsehprogramm des Norddeutschen Rundfunks. Gemeinsam haben beide Autoren im TASCHEN Verlag mehrere Bücher veröffentlicht, u. a. Meisterwerke im Detail sowie eine Monographie über Francisco de Goya.

Découvrez ce qui se cache dans les représentations des figures puissantes du passé, de la courtisane du VIe siècle devenue l'impératrice byzantine Theodora au chef militaire et fameux co-auteur de la lettre la plus impolie de l'Histoire, Ivan Sirko. Mi-détectives, mi-historiens, Rose-Marie et Rainer Hagen dissèquent 13 chefs-d'oeuvre historiques...

Deux spécialistes expliquent et analysent le secret de la peinture, en offrant deux points de vue différents.

Bildanalysen - von von den Papyrusrollen bis zu den Werken des 20. Jahrhunderts

Bilder bieten Abenteuer. Wenigsten demjenigen, der bereit ist, die vier Wände um sich herum zu verlassen und das, was das Kunstwerk ihm anbietet, zu entdecken, mit allen Sinnen, mit Verstand und immer auch mit dem Gepäck der eigenen Erfahrung auf dem Rücken. Rose-Marie und Rainer Hagen beantworten Fragen an weltberühmte Meisterwerke.

Achtergronden van een aantal meesterwerken uit de schilderkunst uit de periode 1400-1900.