Béatrice Fontanel Book order

An exploration of artworks at Louvre Abu Dhabi highlighting the work of fearless explorers of past centuries outside of Europe Designed to take the reader on a long journey around the world, this large-size album embarks on a tour to the heart of one the world's most beautiful museums, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a major art museum with a universal calling. The book travels across civilizations through the prism of a hundred of the museum's most beautiful and stunning works of art, a tribute to humanity's artistic creation, from prehistoric times to the present day. The collection shines a spotlight on the works of Arab physicians and mathematicians, African blacksmiths, Chinese ceramists, and many others--proving that in spite of wars and age-old rivalries, civilizations have always mingled and become enriched as a result.

"The comforts of home" may be a cliché, but how has its meaning evolved over centuries? Béatrice Fontanel seeks answers to that question through the prism of visual art. Her close reading of nearly 100 European and American paintings, reproduced vividly in large format, illuminates the technical innovations and practical improvements brought about from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. How did fireplaces become the preferred source of warmth? When did people stop sleeping in the nude? From the bedchamber to the chamber pot, art has borne witness to our most intimate domestic activities. Just as How to Read a Painting helped readers to appreciate the art itself, Daily Life in Art helps them understand the painting not only as object, but also as cultural artifact.