The modernist aesthetic and, later, Nazi ideology split German Romantic painting into two opposed phases, an early progressive movement, represented by Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) and Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810), and a later reactionary one - epitomized by Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869) and Peter von Cornelius (1783-1867). In this rich and engaging book, Mitchell Frank explores the continuities between these two phases to reconstruct the historical position that existed in the nineteenth century and to look once again at the Nazarenes - and Overbeck in particular - as a fully integrated part of the Romantic movement. His innovative book is crucial to an understanding of German Romanticism and the legacy of this period in European art.

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Monet makes the world's greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. Monet's dazzling depictions of flowers, sunsets, fields, and oceans, in which line and shape are suggested through pure color, changed the way we perceive our natural surroundings. His numerous series, in which he depicts the same object at varying times of the day and in different seasons, pushed the limits of representational art. His final series of water lilies are considered to have ushered in the abstract movement of the twentieth century. Overflowing with images, this book offers full-page spreads of masterpieces as well as highlights of smaller details, allowing every aspect of the artist's technique and oeuvre to be appreciated. Chronologically arranged, the book covers important biographical and historic events that reflect the latest scholarship. Additional information includes a list of works, timeline, and suggestions for further reading.

Mary Greensted tells the story of the birth and development of the Arts and Craft movement in Britain with the help of numerous illustrations showing the buildings, furniture, metalwork, and the people who influenced it. The movement was concerned with the revival of traditional crafts, and a return to the vernacular, and it had socialist ideals at its heart. This movement, which flourished in the early twentieth century, has not only bequeathed us with a wealth of fine objects and buildings, but also a way of thinking about life and craft that continues to influence many today.
Contains information on dozens of designers, artists, architects and thinkers, including:
William Morris
CFA Voysey
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
AH Mackmurdo
CR Ashbee
Ernest Gimson

The Victorian Era represents the cradle of our modern society - a time when social change and new technology heralded an industrialised economy. By the time of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, claims were proudly made of the progress since her accession to the throne. Steam ships had replaced sail, the railway system had superseded the stage coach, and the motor car had just begun to replace the horse. Not only did mass production create a new wealth of household products, ceramics, toys and games, but the arrival of cheaper printing and colour lithography made possible a profusion of printed material. The music sheets, colourful scraps, advertisements, greetings cards and children's book illustrations that fill The Victorian Scrapbook - with such vigour - all give us an insight into the life and times of our forebears. Fortunately the thousand items gathered here have survived in remarkable condition, some by chance, others by having themselves been pasted down into contemporary scrapbooks. They all combine to celebrate a time when British ruled an Empire 'on which the sun never sets'. AUTHOR: Since the 1960s, Robert Opie has amassed an unrivalled collection of packaging. He is the author of numerous publications and has given many talks to schools, as well as on radio and television. 10000 colour illustrations

Mackintosh is a celebration of the extraordinary career of one of the most intriguing and influential artists of his time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This book follows his artistic development, from his early architectural and interior designs in Glasgow to his eventual withdrawal into landscape painting in the South of France. Mackintosh was a man of daring vision, who mastered the decorative arts, architecture, design and painting with spirited determination and self-belief. Known internationally as the father of the 'Glasgow Style', he became a driving force behind a new approach to modern architecture and design, as well as the forerunner of Art Deco and the Modern Movement.

The role of the visual arts in the assertion of European colonial power has been the subject of much recent investigation and redefinition. This book takes as a ground for discussion the representation of Indian scenery and architecture by British artists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Rodin & Dance: The Essence of Movement is the first serious study of Rodin's late sculptural series known as the Dance Movements. Exploring the artist's fascination with dance and bodies in extreme acrobatic poses, the exhibition and accompanying catalogue give an account of Rodin's passion for new forms of dance - from south-asian dances to the music hall and the avant garde - which began appearing on the French stage around 1900. Rodin made hundreds of drawings and watercolours of dancers. From about 1911 he also gave sculptural expression to this fascination with dancers' bodies and movements in creating the Dance Movements, a series of small clay figure studies (each approx. 30 cm in height) that stretch and twist in unsettling ways. These leaping, turning figures in terracotta and plaster were found in the artist's studio after his death and were not exhibited during Rodin's lifetime or known beyond his close circle. Presented alongside the associated drawings and photographs of some of the dancers, they show a new side to Rodin's art, in which he pushed the boundaries of sculpture, expressing themes of flight and gravity. This exhibition catalogue aims to become the authoritative reference for Rodin's Dance Movements, comprising essays from leading scholars in the field of sculpture. It includes an introductory essay on the history of the bronze casting of the Dance Movements and the critical fortune of the series, an essay on the dancers Rodin admired, and an extensive technical essay. The Catalogue will comprise detailed entries on the works in the exhibition and new technical information on the drawings. Contributors include Alexandra Gerstein, Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Courtauld Institute of Art; Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Director, Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris; Juliet Bellow, Associate Professor of Art History, American University in Washington, DC and currently Resident Fellow, the Center for Ballet and the Arts, New York University; Francois Blanchetiere, Curator of Sculpture at the Musee Rodin; Agnes Cascio and Juliette Levy, distinguished sculpture conservators; Sophie Biass-Fabiani, Curator of Works on Paper at the Musee Rodin; and Kate Edmonson, Conservator of Works on Paper at The Courtauld Gallery.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's (1841-1919) timelessly charming paintings still reflect our ideals of happiness, love, and beauty. Derived from our large-format volume, the most comprehensive retrospective of his work published to date, this compact edition examines the personal history and motivation behind the legend. Though he began by painting landscapes in the Impressionist style, Renoir found his true affinity in portraits, after which he abandoned the Impressionists altogether. Though often misunderstood, Renoir remains one of history's most well-loved painters-undoubtedly because his works exude such warmth, tenderness, and good spirit. In an incisive text tracing the artist's career and stylistic evolution, Gilles Neret shows how Renoir reinvented the painted female form, with his everyday goddesses and their plump contours, rounded hips and breasts. Renoir's later phase, marked by his return to the simple pleasure of the female nude in his Bathers series, was his most innovative and stylistically influential, and would inspire such masters as Matisse and Picasso. With a complete chronology, bibliography, photos, sketches, and brilliant reproductions, this is the essential work of reference on this enduring master artist. About the series TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program-now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

The reinvention of art-history during the 1980s has provided a serious challenge to the earlier formalist and connoisseurial approaches to the discipline, in ways which can only help economic and social historians in the current drive to study past societies in terms of what they consumed, produced, perceived and imagined. This group of essays focuses on three main issues: the demand for art, including the range of art objects purchased by various social groups; the conditions of artistic creativity and communication between different production centres and artistic millieux; and the emergence of art markets which served to link the first two phenomena. The work draws on new research by art historians and economic and social historians from Europe and the United States, and covers the period from the late Middle Ages to the early nineteenth century.

A fuller, richer picture of an artist at the height of his powers Thomas Gainsborough's (1727-88) London years, from 1774 to 1788, were the pinnacle and conclusion of his career. They coincided with the establishment of the Royal Academy, of which Gainsborough was a founding member, and the city's ascendance as a center for the arts. This is a meticulously researched and readable account of how Gainsborough designed his home and studio and maintained a growing schedule of influential patrons, making a place for himself in the art world of late-18th-century London. New material about Gainsborough's technique is based on examinations of his pictures and firsthand accounts by studio visitors. His fractious relationship with the Royal Academy and its exhibition culture is reexamined through the works he sent to its annual shows. The full range of Gainsborough's art, from fashionable portraits to landscapes and fancy pictures, is addressed in this major contribution, not just to the study of a great artist, but to 18th-century studies in general. Distributed for Modern Art Press

Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934), the father of modern neuroscience and a Nobel laureate, was an exceptional artist. He devoted his life to the anatomy of the brain, the body's most complex and mysterious organ. His superhuman feats of visualisation, based on fanatically precise techniques and countless hours at the microscope, resulted in some of the most remarkable illustrations in the history of science. Beautiful Brain presents a selection of his exquisite drawings of brain cells, brain regions and neural circuits with accessible descriptive commentary. An art book at the crossroads of art and science, Beautiful Brain describes Cajal's contributions to neuroscience, explores his artistic roots and achievement and looks at his work in relation to contemporary neuroscience imaging techniques.

An in-depth examination of William Blake's glorious and acclaimed series of twelve monoprints Among William Blake's (1757-1827) most widely recognized and highly regarded works as an artist are twelve color printed drawings, or monoprints, conceived and executed in 1795. This book investigates these masterworks, explaining Blake's technique-one he essentially reinvented, unaware of 17th-century precursors-to show that these works were produced as paintings, and played a crucial role in Blake's development as a painter. Using material and historical analyses, Joseph Viscomi argues that the monoprints were created as autonomous paintings rather than as illustrations for Blake's books with an intended viewing order. Enlivened with bountiful illustrations, the text approaches the works within the context of their time, not divorced from ideas expressed in Blake's writings but not illustrative of or determined by those writings. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Stitch will offer contemporary designs and creative projects for the modern maker with a discernible eye for aesthetics, with a focus on customisable makes, stunning fabric inspiration, easy-to-follow instructions and beautifully graphic photography. The book will cover the basic techniques of sewing with all projects achievable either by using a sewing machine or by hand (and a little more time!), and with no overly complicated techniques. Each project will be photographed and some will be accompanied by step-by-step images to help guide you through more intricate instructions. With makes including reusable fabric bowl covers, pretty pot holders and scrunchies made from off cuts, as well as projects to up-cycle old bed linen or use up scraps of fabric left from other designs in the book, anyone from beginner to intermediate will find projects to love in this modern makers handbook. Explore modern sewing and learn to perfect your stitch.

Peter Bellerby is the founder of Bellerby & Co. Globemakers, the world’s only truly bespoke makers of globes. His team of skilled craftspeople make exquisite terrestrial, celestial and planetary globes for customers around the world. The story began after his attempt to find a special globe for his father’s 80th birthday. Failing to find anything suitable, he decided to make one himself which took him on an extraordinary journey of rediscovering this forgotten craft. The chapters of The Globemakers take us through the journey of how to build a globe, or ‘earth apples’ as they were first known, and includes fascinating vignettes on history, art history, astronomy and physics, as well as the day-to-day craftsmanship at the workshop itself. This beautiful book uses illustration, photography and narrative to tell the story of our globe and many different globes it has inspired.

Discover the history of design with this gorgeous visual celebration of key pieces, movements, and designers, from the Arts and Craft movement to the digital age. Arranged chronologically, Design traces the evolution of design from its roots to the present day, from early chairs, pottery, and homewares to cars, graphic design, and product design. It introduces all the key designers, manufacturers, and objects, illustrating how and why different styles emerged and became popular. It also provides a fascinating insight into design movements, showing how each one began and explaining its philosophy and visual style, from the Arts and Crafts movement to mid-century modern and contemporary. Featuring expert analysis, stunning photography, and a huge range of objects both familiar and extraordinary, Design explains what makes a truly great design and reveals the hidden stories behind the everyday things all around us. With profiles of famous designers and manufacturers, such as William Morris, the Bauhaus, Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Vitra, and stunning images of iconic buildings and interiors, it provides a glorious and comprehensive view of classic design across the last two centuries.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "La Loge" (The Theatre Box), 1874, is one of the masterpieces of Impressionism and a major highlight of The Courtauld Gallery's collection. Its depiction of an elegant couple on display in a loge, or box at the theatre, epitomises the Impressionists' interest in the spectacle of modern life. At the heart of the painting is the complex play of gazes enacted by these two figures seated in a theatre box. In turning away from the performance, Renoir focused instead upon the theatre as a social stage where status and relationships were on public display.This book accompanies an exhibition in celebration of The Courtauld Institute of Art's 75th anniversary which unites "La Loge" for the first time with Renoir's other treatments of the subject and with loge paintings by contemporaries, including Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. Concentrating on the early years of Impressionism during the 1870s, the book explores how these artists used the loge to capture the excitement and changing nature of fashionable Parisian society. Lavishly produced contemporary journals such as "La Mode Illustree" included fine hand-coloured engravings showing the latest fashions modelled by elegant ladies in theatre boxes. A rich selection of this little-known graphic material from contemporary Parisian journals, as well as caricatures from the popular press, will also be examined.

Munch's "The Scream." Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Rodin's "The Thinker." Monet's "Water Lilies." Constable's landscapes. The 19th century gave us a wealth of artistic riches so memorable in their genius that we can picture many of them in an instant. At the time, however, their avant-garde nature was the cause of much controversy. Professor Laurie Schneider Adams vividly brings to life the paintings, sculpture, photography and architecture, of the period with her infectious enthusiasm for art and detailed explorations of individual works. Offered fascinating biographical details and the relevant social, political, and cultural context, the reader is left with a deep appreciation for the works and an understanding of how revolutionary they were at the time, as well as the reasons for their enduring appeal.

ONE OF THE TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES' BEST BOOKS FOR 2022 'Eye-opening and full of surprises . . . A treasure' Sunday Times 'A biography as rich with colourful characters as any novel' Telegraph John Constable, the revolutionary nineteenth-century painter of the landscapes and skies of southern England, is Britain's best-loved but perhaps least understood artist. His paintings reflect visions of landscape that shocked and perplexed his contemporaries: attentive to detail, spontaneous in gesture, brave in their use of colour. What we learn from his landscapes is that Constable had sharp local knowledge of Suffolk, a clarity of expression of the skyscapes above Hampstead, an understanding of the human tides in London and Brighton, and a rare ability in his late paintings of Salisbury Cathedral to transform silent suppressed passion into paint. Yet Constable was also an active and energetic correspondent. His letters and diaries - there are over one thousand letters from and to him - reveal a man of passion, opinion and discord, while his character and personality is concealed behind the high shimmering colour of his paintings. They reveal too the lives and circumstances of his brothers and his sisters, his cousins and his aunts, who serve to define the social and economic landscape against which he can be most clearly seen. These multifaceted reflections draw a sharp picture of the person, as well as the painter. James Hamilton's biography reveals a complex, troubled man, and explodes previous mythologies about this timeless artist, and establishes him in his proper context as a giant of European art.

Part of a series of exciting and luxurious Flame Tree Sketch Books Combining high-quality production with magnificent fine art, the covers are printed on foil in five colours, embossed, then foil stamped. The thick paper stock makes them perfect for sketching and drawing. These are perfect for personal use and make a dazzling gift. This example features Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Cypresses. Vincent Van Gogh composed this painting while he was in the Saint-Remy mental asylum, near Arles. The bold use of impasto and the beauty of the towering trees have made this one of his most recognisable works. There are various other versions of the painting, one of which features a closer view of the cypresses painted vertically, as well as a replica of this version that Van Gogh painted for his mother and sister.

Painters Robert Duncanson (ca. 1821-1872) and Edward Bannister (1828-1901) and sculptor Mary Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1844-1907) each became accomplished African American artists. But as emerging art makers of color during the antebellum period, they experienced numerous incidents of racism that severely hampered their pursuits of a profession that many in the mainstream considered the highest form of social cultivation. Despite barriers imposed upon them due to their racial inheritance, these artists shared a common cause in demanding acceptance alongside their white contemporaries as capable painters and sculptors on local, regional, and international levels. Author Naurice Frank Woods Jr. provides an in-depth examination of the strategies deployed by Duncanson, Bannister, and Lewis that enabled them to not only overcome prevailing race and gender inequality, but also achieve a measure of success that eventually placed them in the top rank of nineteenth-century American art. Unfortunately, the racism that hampered these three artists throughout their careers ultimately denied them their rightful place as significant contributors to the development of American art. Dominant art historians and art critics excluded them in their accounts of the period. In this volume, Woods restores their artistic legacies and redeems their memories, introducing these significant artists to rightful, new audiences.

A revelatory study of one of the 18th century's greatest artists, which places him in relation to the darker side of the English Enlightenment Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), though conventionally known as a 'painter of light', returned repeatedly to nocturnal images. His essential preoccupations were dark and melancholy, and he had an enduring concern with death, ruin, old age, loss of innocence, isolation and tragedy. In this long-awaited book, Matthew Craske adopts a fresh approach to Wright, which takes seriously contemporary reports of his melancholia and nervous disposition, and goes on to question accepted understandings of the artist. Long seen as a quintessentially modern and progressive figure - one of the artistic icons of the English Enlightenment - Craske overturns this traditional view of the artist. He demonstrates the extent to which Wright, rather than being a spokesman for scientific progress, was actually a melancholic and sceptical outsider, who increasingly retreated into a solitary, rural world of philosophical and poetic reflection, and whose artistic vision was correspondingly dark and meditative. Craske offers a succession of new and powerful interpretations of the artist's paintings, including some of his most famous masterpieces. In doing so, he recovers Wright's deep engagement with the landscape, with the pleasures and sufferings of solitude, and with the themes of time, history and mortality. In this book, Joseph Wright of Derby emerges not only as one of Britain's most ambitious and innovative artists, but also as one of its most profound. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art