Film, like the printed imagery inaugurated during the Renaissance, spread ideas - not least the idea of the power of visual art - across not only geographical and political divides but also strata of class and gender. Moving Pictures and Renaissance Art History examines the early flourishing of film, from the 1920s to the mid-1960s, as partly reprising the introduction of mass media in the Renaissance, allowing for innovation that reflected an art free of the control of a patron though required to attract a broad public. Rivalry between word and image, between the demands of narrative and those of visual composition, spurred new ways of addressing the compelling nature of the visual. The twentieth century also saw the development of the discipline of art history; transfusions between cinematic practice and art historical postulates are part of the story told here.

This book presents a new approach to the relationship between traditional pictorial arts and the theatre in Renaissance England. Demonstrating the range of visual culture in evidence from the mid-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth century, from the grandeur of court murals to the cheap amusement of woodcut prints, John H. Astington shows how English drama drew heavily on this imagery to stimulate the imagination of the audience. He analyses the intersection of the theatrical and the visual through such topics as Shakespeare's Roman plays and the contemporary interest in Roman architecture and sculpture; the central myth of Troy and its widely recognised iconography; scriptural drama and biblical illustration; and the emblem of the theatre itself. The book demonstrates how the art that surrounded Shakespeare and his contemporaries had a profound influence on the ways in which theatre was produced and received.

Bridging print culture and performance, Spectacular Wealth draws on eighteenth-century festival accounts to explore how colonial residents of the silver-mining town of Potosí, in the viceroyalty of Peru, and the gold-mining region of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, created rich festive cultures that refuted European allegations of barbarism and greed. In her examination of the festive participation of the towns’ diverse inhabitants, including those whose forced or slave labor produced the colonies’ mineral wealth, Lisa Voigt shows how Amerindians, Afro-descendants, Europeans, and creoles displayed their social capital and cultural practices in spectacular performances. Tracing the multiple meanings and messages of civic festivals and religious feast days alike, Spectacular Wealth highlights the conflicting agendas at work in the organization, performance, and publication of festivals. Celebrants and writers in mining boomtowns presented themselves as far more than tributaries yielding mineral wealth to the Spanish and Portuguese empires, using festivals to redefine their reputations and to celebrate their cultural, spiritual, and intellectual wealth.

French mercantile endeavors in late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century India were marked by novel intersections of aesthetics, science, and often violent commercialism. Connecting all of these worlds were the thriving textile industries of India's Coromandel Coast. This book focuses on the integration of the Coromandel textile industries with French colonies in India from the founding of the French East India Company in 1664 to its debilitating defeat by the British during the Seven Years' War. Narratives of British trade and colonialism have long dominated eighteenth-century histories of India, overshadowing the French East India Company's far-reaching sphere of influence and its significant integration into the political and cultural worlds of South India. As this study shows, the visual and material cultures of eighteenth-century France and India were deeply connected, and together shaped the century's broader debates about mercantilism, liberalism, and the global trade of goods, ideas, and humans.

The latest book in the Enjoying Great Art series deals with a topic near and dear to most of our lives: Fathers and grandfathers. They are a part of our everyday lives. But do we think of them when we think of great art? Here is a picture book for adults and students of all ages...A picture book of fathers in art In addition to dozens of famous and (not so famous) depictions of fathers and grandfathers throughout the years, this book includes scriptures and quotes that celebrate the importance of fathers. As with the other books in the "Enjoying Great Art" series, this one contains pictures that are appropriate for adults and children of all ages.(There is one picture of a dad and son that have just finished hunting.) All of the paintings selected for the book are child-friendly - but we aren't necessarily recommending all of the other paintings by these same artists If you and your children want to go exploring after this - please exercise caution.

Scriptures and paintings that involve water - water carriers, wells, fountains, water falls, lakes, and more: Water is an important part of our everyday life. But do we think of it when we think of great art? Here is a picture book for adults and students of all ages...A picture book of water in art Different colors, shapes, sizes...Some where water is only a small part of the painting, some where it's the focus of the painting. Note to parents: All of the paintings selected for the books in this series are child-friendly - but we aren't necessarily recommending all of the other paintings by these same artists If you and your children want to go exploring after this - please exercise caution.

Maps and globes have been a big part of our everyday life, at least in the past. But do we think of them when we think of great art? Here is a picture book for adults and students of all ages...A picture book of maps and globes in art In some of the paintings the globes or maps are props, in some they are wall decorations. In some they are only small parts of the painting, and in some they are more the focus of the painting. Note to parents: All of the paintings selected for the books in this series are child-friendly - but we aren't necessarily recommending all of the other paintings by these same artists If you and your children want to go exploring after this - please exercise caution.

The latest book in the "Enjoying Great Art" series takes a look at paintings of Venice across several centuries. See this wide variety of paintings of the canals, the buildings, and the people. Enjoyed by adults and students of all ages.

Some pastimes may look a bit different today than they did years ago. But as these paintings will show - some things haven't changed over the centuries. Here is a picture book for adults and students of all ages...A picture book of pastimes in art The book consists of paintings divided into several different sections - Board Games, Winter Fun, Summer Fun, and Indoor Fun. Examine the different paintings and see the various activities - many of which remain much the same even centuries later.

This is a special book of art - one to celebrate the military - an important, but oft overlooked part of society. These paintings are all of soldiers or soldiers' gear - depicting soldiers from across the globe and down through the centuries. But they are not paintings depicting battles. Instead they are paintings that show soldiers in a variety of other activities - both in and out of camps, towns, and more.

The next book in the Enjoying Great Art series is about an usual topic for art appreciation: Necklaces may or may not be part of your day to day life. But do you think of them when you think of great art? Here is a picture book for adults and students of all ages...A picture book of necklaces in art There are more than three dozen paintings depicted on the following pages, paintings that span more than four centuries. As might be expected, most of the necklaces are worn by women - many of them women from very high positions. Note of warning to parents/teachers - the paintings chosen for this book, as with the others in this series, are intentionally chosen to be child-friendly. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for many other paintings by some of these same artists (so please go investigating their other works cautiously )