This book casts light on and celebrates the life of a great Scot who was once the Laird of Benmore, now Benmore botanic garden. Whilst most are familiar with the collections of Burrel, few have heard of James Duncan. Yet had Duncan's collection remained intact it would have been internationally recognised and significant to Scottish culture today.The first Scottish collector to purchase an Impressionist painting, Duncan had an extraordinary eye as a collector at a time when Victorian sensibilities frowned upon many modern works. At his estate, Benmore in Argylleshire, Duncan amassed a collection of international import, housed in his own vast gallery and open to the public, along with his other projects a fernery and a sugar refinery.

Detailed plates from the Bible: the Creation scenes, Adam and Eve, horrifying visions of the Flood, the battle sequences with their monumental crowds, depictions of the life of Jesus and visions of the new Jerusalem. Each of the 241 plates is accompanied by the appropriate verses from the King James version of the Bible.

Egon Schiele left an enormous artistic legacy that is all the more powerful for the brevity of his career. Isabel Kuhl's lively text follows Schiele's trajectory from an artist in the Art Nouveau style to a powerful interpreter of human sexuality and considers the many hardships, including exile and even imprisonment, faced by Schiele as a young and rebellious artist with a singular vision. Gorgeous reproductions of his most emblematic works are presented chronologically, allowing readers to appreciate the evolution of Schiele's radical style, his uncanny use of colour and line, and his willingness to confront an oppressive society. From unflinching portraits to precisely detailed landscapes, Schiele's artistry shines through on every page.

The Greek myths are timeless classics, whose scenes and figures have captivated us since ancient times. The gods and heroes of these legends hold up a mirror to the human condition, embodying universal characteristics and truths - whether it be the courage of Perseus, the greed of Midas, the vaulting ambition of Icarus, the vengeance of Medea, or the hubris of Niobe. These traits are the basis for immortal dramas and rich narratives, as profound as they are entertaining, which form the bedrock of our culture and literature today and remain relevant and fascinating for all readers, young and old alike. This edition contains 47 tales based on the most famous episodes in Greek mythology, from Prometheus, the Argonauts, and Theseus to the Trojan War and Homer's Odyssey. The individual texts are selected from the seminal work Sagen des klassischen Altertums (Gods and Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece) by Gustav Schwab (1792-1850), and strikingly illustrated by 29 artists, among them outstanding representatives of the Golden Age of Book Illustration and the Arts and Crafts Movement, including Walter Crane (1845-1915), Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), William Russell Flint (1880-1969), and Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1930). These illustrations are complemented by scene-setting vignettes for each story and a genealogical tree of Greek gods and goddesses by Clifford Harper, commissioned especially for this volume. Placing the tales in context, the book contains a historical introduction by Dr. Michael Siebler and is rounded off with biographies of all featured artists as well as an extensive glossary of ancient Greece's most famous protagonists. The heroism, tragedy, and theater of Greek mythology glimmer through each tale in this lavishly illustrated edition, awakening the gods and heroes to new life.

To give political legitimacy to his Empire, in just fifteen years Emperor Napoleon I created an enduring image of Napoleonic France as the contemporary equivalent of Imperial Rome. He did this by the deft use of iconography and what today would be called 'branding', which he applied to every aspect of his family, the government, the military, the monuments to his achievements, his palaces and their furnishings. The tangible remains of this grand, imperial 'theatre' has excited royal and other collectors ever since. The Imperial Impresario take a wholly new look at Napoleon and the First Empire by interpreting the era in theatrical terms: the players, the sets, the props, the costumes, the tours and the script, much of which has survived. The fully illustrated book includes a wide range of Napoleonica in royal, national, regimental and private collections, as well as lost treasures such as the Emperor's campaign carriage, captured in the immediate aftermath of Waterloo and destroyed in a fire at Madame Tussaud's in 1925. For readers coming to the subject for the first time, The Imperial Impresario is a fascinating and informative introduction to the Napoleonic era; for those already steeped in the period, it is an invaluable companion to existing books about Napoleon and his Empire.

Delve deeper into the work of the intriguing and iconic artist Aubrey Beardsley with this beautiful reissue of his classic 1897 illustrated book, containing fifty of his best known works. Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) lived a desperately short life and his career spanned just seven years. Nonetheless, his output as a draughtsman and illustrator was prolific. Beardsley's subversive illustrations became synonymous with decadence: he delighted in the erotic, shocking audiences with his bizarre sense of humour and fascination with the grotesque. His work was deemed too scandalous by many publishers of the period, but found a suitably unseemly home with the notorious Leonard Charles Smithers.  This book, published by Smithers in 1897, and now reproduced in a near-facsimile edition, is as much a historic document as it is a beautiful introduction to Beardsley's art.

This absorbing book tells the story of Empress Eugenie (1826-1920), the wife of Napoleon III and the last Empress-Consort of France. Today she is remembered for her physical beauty, for her influence as a taste maker and for her glittering contribution to the second imperial court - but she outlived the Second Empire by half a century and lived in exile in England. The Empress bought the Farnborough Hill estate in 1880, following a decade of personal tragedy: the collapse of the Second Empire (1852-70), the death of Napoleon III, and the loss of her only child. The death of the Prince Imperial in 1879, aged 23, ended all hope of a Bonapartist restoration. With the imperial succession removed to another branch of the family, Eugenie resolved to create a permanent monument to her husband and son. This was her primary reason for moving to Farnborough. This book describes the little-known assemblage of art and architecture that she created there in the 1880s. Geraghty analyses the principal buildings on the imperial estate: Farnborough Hill itself, which was extensively remodelled for the court-in-exile that Eugenie maintained there from 1880 to 1920; and St Michael's Abbey, the spectacular domed mausoleum that the Empress built on an adjacent hill in 1883-88. These projects were entrusted to a French architect, Hippolyte Destailleur (1822-93), whose erudite designs situated the history of the Second Empire within the longer history of French architecture and design. Geraghty also provides the fi rst detailed account of the lost interiors of Farnborough Hill. He traces the origins of the collection back to the Second Empire, and - drawing upon historic photos, inventories, and sale catalogues - he shows how the collection was displayed in the principal rooms of the house. Primarily dynastic in purpose, the display included a major sequence of Bonaparte family portraits, including works by David, Gerard, Winterhalter, and Carpeaux. Eugenie also had an important collection of decorative arts, including Gobelins tapestries, Sevres porcelain, and royal French furniture. Composed by the Empress herself, the display at Farnborough Hill was the last manifestation of the 'Louis XVI-Imperatrice' mode of interior decoration that she had popularised in the 1850s. It was also, in its juxtaposition of modern and historic pieces, the final expression of the nouvelle sociabilite of the second imperial court. Finally, the book describes the breakup of the estate in 1927, when the house was sold to a convent school and the collection was dispersed at auction. Today, only the Mausoleum functions as Eugenie originally envisaged. Geraghty, however, recovers the totality of Eugenie's vision for Farnborough. In so doing, he describes how the Napoleonic ideal, for one final time, was made visible through art, architecture, and collecting.

In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame. Appropriately known as "the painter of light," Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature. This book covers Turner's illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Blake engaged with the legacy of Milton all his life. These watercolours, made around 1816-20 to illustrate the most perfect of Milton's shorter poems, are some of the finest of all his works. All 12 watercolours are reproduced here actual size.

Discover the slow, tactile art of hand-building ceramics and express yourself through the act of creating unique, timeless pieces for your home. The Urban Potter teaches you how to make beautiful, one-off handcrafted pieces with simple, natural shapes and neutral tones. Ceramicist Emily Proctor's unique, self-taught style embraces irregularity and asymmetry - here, there is no such thing as perfection, every piece is created through an authentic, intuitive process, with no wheel required. The 24 step-by-step projects include functional homeware such as bowls, plates and vases, as well as other decorative accessories, and are ordered by difficulty, making this book suitable for anyone who wants to play with clay, from beginners through to more seasoned ceramicists. For each project, Emily guides you through the whole process and explains all the techniques involved, from slabbing and pinching, to carving and glazing, while also fully leaning into the joys of slow ceramics and the mindful, patient nature of the art.

Gustav Klimt is renowned as a quintessential artist of the art nouveau movement, but he was one of a number of Viennese artists who strove to break free of the constraints of the late 19th Century academic art establishment. The Secessionists were united, not in the style of their work, but their desire for freedom, so although there are echoes of similarity in the work of Klimt, Schiele, Kolomon Moser and the many other fine artists, their distinction lies in their magnificent difference. This new illustrated book focuses on the rich diversity of the movement and offers a sumptuous gift of colour and glamour for every art lover.

Offering a broad and vivid survey of the culture of collecting from the French Revolution to the Belle Epoque, The Purchase of the Past explores how material things became a central means of accessing and imagining the past in nineteenth-century France. By subverting the monarchical establishment, the French Revolution not only heralded the dawn of the museum age, it also threw an unprecedented quantity of artworks into commercial circulation, allowing private individuals to pose as custodians and saviours of the endangered cultural inheritance. Through their common itineraries, erudition and sociability, an early generation of scavengers established their own form of 'private patrimony', independent from state control. Over a century of Parisian history, Tom Stammers explores collectors' investments - not just financial but also emotional and imaginative - in historical artefacts, as well as their uncomfortable relationship with public institutions. In so doing, he argues that private collections were a critical site for salvaging and interpreting the past in a post-revolutionary society, accelerating but also complicating the development of a shared national heritage.

This fascinating new book looks in detail at Renoir's influences, life and works. The first part begins examines his style; it covers Renoir's techniques and training: painting copies at the Louvre; his time at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; meeting his muse, Lise Trehot; working with fellow impressionist artists and his struggles for recognition. The volume then investigates Renoir's move away from Impressionism, his stay in Guernsey and also the changes to his personal life and the way in which these informed his work. It also documents his eventual success in the art world and considers the devastating series of illnesses and losses that blighted the end of Renoir's long painting career. The second part of the book is a gallery of Renoir's work in 300 glorious pictures, each accompanied by an in-depth analysis of its context within his life, his technique and his body of work as a whole.

South African beadwork has a rich and diverse history and is abundantly represented in the beaded art pieces in the Wits Art Museum (WAM) collection. Some works date back to the 4th century CE but most date from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Currently numbering over 9 000 items, the three major collecting areas of classical, historical and contemporary African artworks are broad in their geographical range and deep in some local areas of specialisation. Paying homage to this collection, Beadwork, art and the body is a compilation of essays by scholars who have researched and written about the traditions, practices and aesthetic forms of beadwork in southern Africa. The book covers an expansive history of beadwork in South Africa from the 19th century to the contemporary moment. The artists and the beadwork featured range from Sotho-, Tsonga-, Xhosa- and Zulu-speakers, ending with a focus on fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo, whose work has been inspired by Xhosa beadwork. Questions of ethnic affiliation and beadwork patterns are explored in relation to the different aesthetic forms of beadwork and its use as a marker of identity and status within and beyond communities.

This important re-evaluation of the Dutch- born painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema traces his personal and artistic journey towards international fame and success in London and investigates how this exceptionally creative artist used his own houses and studios as laboratories to produce vivid paintings of life in ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Lawrence Alma-Tadema s paintings were immensely popular among his contemporaries, and have since enchanted a wide audience through the medium of cinema. Anyone who has ever enjoyed the great epic films of antiquity from Italian silent classics and Cecil B. DeMille to Ridley Scott s Gladiator will instantly recognize their origins in sets and costumes Alma- Tadema invented. Accompanied by glowing reproductions of the artist s rich and detailed works, this book boldly re-assesses Alma-Tadema s art through the idea of home: from his admiration for the interiors depicted in early Dutch paintings through his fascination with Pompeian ruins, to his creation of large studio houses that were artworks in their own right. Building upon Alma-Tadema s renown as the archaeologist of artists, the new scholarship in this impressive volume shows how the spaces he created and inhabited with his talented artist-wife Laura and their two daughters reflected an aesthetic vision that has thrilled viewers and other artists for more than a century. Appealing to general and scholarly audiences alike, this book underscores Alma-Tadema s reputation as one of his era s greatest creative talents."

A new look at the ways van Gogh represented the seasons and the natural world throughout his career The changing seasons captivated Vincent van Gogh (1853-90), who saw in their unending cycle the majesty of nature and the existence of a higher force. Van Gogh and the Seasons is the first book to explore this central aspect of van Gogh's life and work. Van Gogh often linked the seasons to rural life and labor as men and women worked the land throughout the year. From his depictions of peasants and sowers to winter gardens, riverbanks, orchards, and harvests, he painted scenes that richly evoke the sensory pleasures and deprivations particular to each season. This stunning book brings to life the locales that defined his tumultuous career, from Arles, where he experienced his most crucial period of creativity, to Auvers-sur-Oise, where he committed suicide. It looks at van Gogh's interpretation of nature, the religious implications of the seasons in his time, and how his art was perceived against the backdrop of various symbolist factions, antimaterialist debates, and esoteric beliefs in fin de siecle Paris. The book also features revealing extracts from the artist's correspondence and artworks from his own collection that provide essential context to the themes in his work. Breathtakingly illustrated and featuring informative essays by Sjraar van Heugten, Joan Greer, and Ted Gott, Van Gogh and the Seasons shines new light on the extraordinary creative vision of one of the world's most beloved artists.

Richard Cosway was one of the most significant multifaceted artistic personalities active in Regency Britain. He was arguably the pre-eminent pupil of William Shipley as well as a versatile oil portraitist and a sophisticated draftsman of subject compositions. He was undoubtedly the most important, influential, and fashionable portrait miniaturist active during the last two decades of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth; his delicate style and flattering portrayals have come to epitomize Regency society. Cosway's flamboyant personality, eccentric mysticism, and brilliant marriage to Maria Hadfield during the 1780s brought him celebrity and notoriety.

What is modernism in Southeast Asia? What is modern art, as embodied in the paintings of Southeast Asia? These questions and more are answered in Reframing Modernism: Painting from Southeast Asia, Europe and Beyond, published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name. Featuring 217 works by 51 Southeast Asian and European artists, from the Centre Pompidou and National Gallery Singapore as well as other Southeast Asian collections in the region and beyond, this catalogue tells the compelling story of modernism as it developed across continents, and reveals artists' powerful, and sometimes surprising, responses to modernity.

Painted screens have long been synonymous in the popular imagination with the Baltimore row house. Picturesque, practical, and quirky, window and door screens adorned with scenic views simultaneously offer privacy and ventilation in crowded neighborhoods. As an urban folk art, painted screens flourished in Baltimore, though they did not originate there--precursors date to early eighteenth-century London. They were a fixture on fine homes and businesses in Europe and America throughout the Victorian era. But as the handmade screen yielded to industrial production, the whimsical artifact of the elite classes was suddenly transformed into an item for mass consumption. Historic examples are now a rarity, but in Baltimore the folk art is still very much alive.

"The Painted Screens of Baltimore" takes a first look at this beloved icon of one major American city through the words and images of dozens of self-taught artists who trace their creations to the capable and unlikely brush of one Bohemian immigrant, William Oktavec. In 1913, this corner grocer began a family dynasty inspired generations of artists who continue his craft to this day. The book examines the roots of painted wire cloth, the ethnic communities where painted screens have been at home for a century, and the future of this art form.

A definitive new biography, deftly interweaving an account of Turner's early life with profound scholarly and aesthetic appreciation of his work A complex figure, and divisive during his lifetime, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) has long been considered Britain's greatest painter. An artist of phenomenal invention, complexity, and industry, Turner is now one of the world's most popular painters. This comprehensive new account of his early life draws together recent scholarship, corrects errors in the existing literature, and presents a wealth of new findings. In doing so, it furnishes a more detailed understanding than ever before of the connections between Turner's life and art. Taking a strictly chronological approach, Eric Shanes addresses Turner's intellectual complexity and depth, his technical virtuosity, his personal contradictions, and his intricate social and cultural relations. Shanes draws on decades of familiarity with his subject, as well as newly discovered source material, such as the artist's principal bank records, which shed significant light on his patronage and sales. The result, written in a warm, engaging style, is a comprehensive and magnificently illustrated volume which will fundamentally shape the future of Turner studies.

This exquisite book takes you to a jewelry Magical Kingdom of theatrical beauty, showcasing dazzling Juliana crystal jewelry made by William DeLizza and Harold Elster from 1947 to the 1990s. Over 375 color photographs display the largest collection of striking Juliana jewelry ever brought together, revealing many rare, highly sought after, and coveted pieces. Lavish designs have components of great quality: amazing art glass, incredible intaglios and cameos, mesmerizing margaritas, dramatic dangles, ravishing rivoli and rhinestones, and distinctive Juliana figural brooches. Information is provided on the makers, design elements, and construction techniques, with details to assist in identification. Captions are provided with a value guide. Useful information on techniques for the repair and restoration of the jewelry, storage and care, and specific terminology are included. This is an inspiring book for seasoned collectors and novices who are beginning the fantastic voyage into the world of Juliana jewelry.

Sarah Angelina Acland (1849-1930) is one of the most important photographers of the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. Daughter of the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, she was photographed by Lewis Carroll as a child, along with her close friend Ina Liddell, sister of Alice of Wonderland fame. The critic John Ruskin taught her art and she also knew many of the Pre-Raphaelites, holding Rossetti's palette for him as he painted the Oxford Union murals. At the age of nineteen she met the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, whose influence is evident in her early work. Following in the footsteps of Cameron and Carroll Miss Acland first came to attention as a portraitist, photographing the illustrious visitors to her Oxford home. In 1899 she then turned to the challenge of colour photography, becoming, through work with the 'Sanger Shepherd process', the leading colour photographer of the day. Her colour photographs were regarded as the finest that had ever been seen by her contemporaries, several years before the release of the Lumiere Autochrome system, which she also practised. This volume provides an introduction to Miss Acland's photography, illustrating more than 200 examples of her work, from portraits to picturesque views of the landscape and gardens of Madeira. Some fifty specimens of the photographic art and science of her peers from Bodleian collections are also reproduced for the first time, including four unrecorded child portraits by Carroll. Detailed descriptions accompany the images, explaining their interest and significance. The photographs not only shed important light on the history of photography in the period, but also offer a fascinating insight into the lives of a pre-eminent English family and their circle of friends.

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, the Glasgow Style introduced Art Nouveau in Britain and helped transform an industrial city into Scotland's premier cultural capital. The predominant force behind the Glasgow Style was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an architect and designer who personified the movement's intellectual freedom, sensuality, and spirit of collaboration. This lively and informative book showcases the work of Mackintosh and contextualizes it in relation to a larger circle of designers and craftspeople with which he shared sources, stylistic features, and patrons. Filled with color illustrations, archival materials, and essays, this volume explores every aspect of the Glasgow Style-from beautifully appointed homes and restaurants to everyday works of needlepoint, cups and saucers, stained glass windows, magazine illustrations, and textiles. It traces the birth of the Glasgow Style to The Glasgow School of Art, where Mackintosh met fellow students, including his future wife, who would form an influential circle nicknamed the "Immortals." And it reveals how the rise of the Glasgow Style went hand-in-hand with the founding of the city's Technical Arts School, where students trained in both industrial and artistic crafts, which helped establish a talented and creative workforce. Far-reaching and influential, the Glasgow Style improved nearly every facet of daily life. This book celebrates the immense achievements of Mackintosh and his fellow designers and highlights their impact in the United States and beyond.

Robert Lehman, one of the foremost art collectors of his generation, embraced both traditional and modern masters. This volume catalogues 130 nineteenth- and twentieth-century paintings that are now part of the Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. The majority of the works are by artists based in France, but there are also examples from the United States, Latin America, and India, reflecting Lehman's global interests.

The catalogue opens with outstanding paintings by Ingres, Theodore Rousseau, and Corot among other early nineteenth-century artists. They are joined by an exemplary selection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist canvases by Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Seurat, Signac, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin. Twentieth-century masters include Bonnard, Matisse, Rouault, Dali, and Balthus. Newly researched modern works are represented by Vicente do Rego Monteiro, Kees van Dongen, Dietz Edzard, and D.G. Kulkarni (DIZI).

From Robert Lehman's studied and conventional taste for nineteenth-century French academic practitioners to his intuitive eye for emerging young artists of his own time, all are documented and discussed here. Some three hundred comparative illustrations supplement the catalogue entries, as do extensively researched provenance information, exhibition histories, and references. The volume also includes a bibliography and indexes."