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Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects
The Drosten stone - one of Scotland's premier monuments - came to
light during restoration work at St Vigeans church, near Arbroath,
in the 1870s. A rare example of Pictish writing, the Drosten stone
is just one in an astounding collection of exquisitely preserved
Pictish sculptures discovered in and around the church. The
carvings on these stones revel in Pictish inventiveness, teeming
with lively naturalistic animals and innovative compositions of
monsters and people, as well as both Pictish symbols and everyday
objects. The sculptures' iconography also draws on a deep knowledge
of Christian and classical literature, witness to a highly literate
and cosmopolitan society. This definitive study of St Vigeans'
Pictish stones, generously illustrated with plates of the full
collection, begins in the recent past, when the sculptures began to
emerge as a remarkable historic entity. It then explores the
history of the sculptures, including an analysis of the carvings,
the geology of the stones and attempts to extract meaning and
context for this unique stone collection as part of a powerful
ecclesiastical landscape.
"The first biography of this important American Indian
artist"
Artist, teacher, and Red Progressive, Angel De Cora (1869-1919)
painted "Fire Light" to capture warm memories of her Nebraska
Winnebago childhood. In this biography, Linda M. Waggoner draws on
that glowing image to illuminate De Cora's life and artistry, which
until now have been largely overlooked by scholars.
One of the first American Indian artists to be accepted within
the mainstream art world, De Cora left her childhood home on the
Winnebago reservation to find success in the urban Northeast at the
turn of the twentieth century. Despite scant documentary sources
that elucidate De Cora's private life, Waggoner has rendered a
complete picture of the woman known in her time as the first "real
Indian artist." She depicts De Cora as a multifaceted individual
who as a young girl took pride in her traditions, forged a bond
with the land that would sustain her over great distances, and
learned the role of cultural broker from her mother's Metis
family.
After studying with famed illustrator Howard Pyle at his first
Brandywine summer school, De Cora eventually succeeded in
establishing the first "Native Indian" art department at Carlisle
Indian School. A founding member of the Society of American
Indians, she made a significant impact on the American Arts and
Crafts movement by promoting indigenous arts throughout her
career.
Waggoner brings her broad knowledge of Winnebago culture and
history to this gracefully written book, which features more than
forty illustrations. "Fire Light" shows us both a consummate artist
and a fully realized woman, who learned how to traverse the borders
of Red identity in a white man's world.
Keep the page in your book with this gorgeous pack of 10 foiled
bookmarks, printed on both sides, with a silky ribbon and featuring
artwork by Gustav Klimt. The Kiss is a prime example of Klimt's
'Golden Phase', in which he began to feature especially sumptuous
ornamentation on a regular basis in his paintings. The couple in
this artwork represent the mystical union of spiritual and erotic
love, and the connection of life and the universe.
The horror of the First World War brought out a characteristic
response in a group of English artists, who resorted to black
humour. Among these, John Hassall, a pioneering British illustrator
and creator of the influential 'Skegness is so bracing' poster,
holds a special place. Early in the war, he hit on the idea of
drawing a parody of the Bayeux Tapestry to satirize German
aggression and add to the growing genre of war propaganda. Taking
the scheme of the famous tapestry which celebrates William the
Conqueror's invasion of England, Hassall uses thirty pictorial
panels to tell the story of Kaiser Wilhem II's invasion of
Luxembourg and Belgium. In mock-archaic language he narrates the
progress of the German army, never missing an opportunity to
lampoon 'bad' behaviour: 'Wilhelm giveth orders for frightfulness.'
The caricatured Germans loot homes, make gas from Limburg cheese
and sauerkraut, drink copious amounts of wine and shamefully march
through Luxembourg with 'women and children in front.' With comic
inventiveness Hassall adapts the borders of the original to
illustrate the stereotypical objects with which the English then
associated their enemy: they are decorated with schnitzel,
sausages, pilsner, wine corks and wild boar. Drawn with Hassall's
distinctive flat colour and striking outlines, Ye Berlyn Tapestrie
is a fascinating historical example of war-induced farce, produced
by a highly talented artist who could not then have known that the
war was set to last for another two years. Together with an
introduction which sets out the historical background of its
creation, every page of this rarely seen publication is reproduced
here in a fold-out concertina, just like the original, to resemble
the style of the Bayeux Tapestry.
A selection of the most striking images taken from the bestselling "Morphia" series have been gathered together along with a selection of coloured pieces to celebrate the talent of Kerby Rosanes and his fans.
Containing a full-colour section displaying the most accomplished, completed artworks produced by Kerby's fans, along with stylistic comments and opinions from Kerby. The beautiful artworks displayed in the colour section are also included in the black and white section of the book, so you can take inspiration from the colouristas and bring your own images to life.
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