Few creative alliances flourished as productively as that of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe and the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Author Peter-Cornell Richter examines the lives of these artists to reveal the roads they took together and independently. Alternating biographical chapters interweave their stories. More than fifty exquisite reproductions of their paintingsand photographs illustrate how the two artists inspired and influenced each other, producing masterpieces of lasting relevance.

This book addresses the little-studied area of Russian genre painting in the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century. Rosalind Gray begins by examining artistic patronage and published texts which engaged with the visual arts, in order to illustrate the context in which Russian artists were working. Five major painters - Venetsianov, Bryullov, Ivanov, Fedotov and Perov - are then discussed in detail.

Dating back to at least 50,000 years ago, rock art is one of the oldest forms of human symbolic expression. Geographically, it spans all the continents on Earth. Scenes are common in some rock art, and recent work suggests that there are some hints of expression that looks like some of the conventions of western scenic art. In this unique volume examining the nature of scenes in rock art, researchers examine what defines a scene, what are the necessary elements of a scene, and what can the evolutionary history tell us about storytelling, sequential memory, and cognitive evolution among ancient and living cultures?

Until now, no detailed examination has been made of the twenty-four portraits known to have been painted of Coleridge during his life. Most of these are still extant, and together they constitute a kind of biography, as well as revealing the assumptions, not only of the sitter and the artists, but also of the culture to which they belong. Each in its different way seems to reveal some aspect of Coleridge's personality. This sequence of images - to which various posthumous and imaginary portraits supply an interesting postscript - are the subject of this illustrated study and catalogue by the eminent Coleridgean and Romantic scholar Morton D. Paley. There are reproductions throughout, two of them in colour.

David Hopkins analyses the extensive network of shared concerns and images in the work of Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst, the greatest names associated with Dada and Surrealist art. This book covers a broad period from c.1912 to the mid-1940s, during which the emergence of Dada and Surrealism in Europe and the United States challenged earlier movements such as Cubism and Expressionism, creating scope for the expression of the unconscious fears and desires of artists acutely sensitive to the troubled nature of their times. Examining Duchamp's and Ernst's subversion and manipulation of religious and hermetic beliefs such as Catholicism, Rosicrucianism and Masonry, David Hopkins demonstrates the ways in which these esoteric concerns intersect with themes of peculiarly contemporary relevance, including the social construction of gender and notions of ordering and taxonomy. This detailed comparison of components of Duchamp's and Ernst's work reveals fascinating structural patterns, enabling the reader to discover an entirely new way of understanding the mechanisms underlying Dada and Surrealist iconography.

Claude Monet's water lily paintings are among the most iconic and beloved works of art of the past century. Yet these entrancing images were created at a time of terrible private turmoil and sadness for the artist. The dramatic history behind these paintings is little known; Ross King's Mad Enchantment tells the full story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and original portrait of one of our most popular and cherished artists. By the outbreak of war in 1914, Monet, then in his mid-seventies, was one of the world's most famous and successful painters, with a large house in the country, a fleet of automobiles and a colossal reputation. However, he had virtually given up painting following the death of his wife Alice in 1911 and the onset of blindness a year later. Nonetheless, it was during this period of sorrow, ill health and creative uncertainty that - as the guns roared on the Western Front - he began the most demanding and innovative paintings he had ever attempted. Encouraged by close friends such as Georges Clemenceau, France's dauntless prime minister, Monet would work on these magnificent paintings throughout the war years and then for the rest of his life. So obsessed with his monumental task that the village barber was summoned to clip his hair as he worked beside his pond, he covered hundreds of yards of canvas with shimmering layers of pigment. As his ambitions expanded with his paintings, he began planning what he intended to be his legacy to the world: the `Musee Claude Monet' in the Orangerie in Paris. Drawing on letters and memoirs and focusing on this remarkable period in the artist's life, Mad Enchantment gives an intimate portrayal of Claude Monet in all his tumultuous complexity, and firmly places his water lily paintings among the greatest achievements in the history of art.

A selection of works by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, including some never previously released, together with his latest creations, come to life through the work of a large group of military miniaturists who have found inspiration in his paintings for their models. One of the most famous artists of historical realism at both a national and international level, the artist's work can be seen along with the figures and dioramas based on them. These works have been crafted by some of the most outstanding Spanish miniaturists, which today are among the best in the world in this field and can rightly join the world of the arts.

Discover, or return to, the world's greatest heroic fantasy artist, Frank Frazetta in this landmark art collection entitled, Fantastic Paintings of Frazetta. The New York Times said, "Frazetta helped define fantasy heroes like Conan, Tarzan and John Carter of Mars with signature images of strikingly fierce, hard-bodied heroes and bosomy, callipygian damsels" Frazetta took the sex and violence of the pulp fiction of his youth and added even more action, fantasy and potency, but rendered with a panache seldom seen outside of major works of Fine Art. Despite his fantastic subject matter, the quality of Frazetta's work has not only drawn comparisons to the most brilliant of illustrators, Maxfield Parrish, Frederic Remington, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth but, even to the most brilliant of fine artists including Rembrandt and Michelangelo and, major Frazetta works sell for millions of dollars, breaking numerous records. This innovator's work has not only inspired generations of artists, but also movies and directors including the Conan films, John Carter of Mars, the sensationally successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, Robert Rodriguez' films including From Dusk Till Dawn, Ralph Bakshi films, the epic, award-winning Game of Thrones series, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Disney's animated Tarzan films, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now and George Lucas' Star Wars series. The Forbes magazine article Schwarzenegger's Sargent led with the line, "Which artist helped make Arnold governor? Frank Frazetta, the Rembrandt of barbarians." J. David Spurlock started crafting this book by reviving the original million-selling 1970s mass market art book, Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta. But, he expanded and revised to include twice as many images and, presents them at a much larger coffee-table book size of 10.5 x 14.625"! The collection is brimming with both classic and previously unpublished works of the subjects Frazetta is best remembered for including barbarians, beasts, and buxom beauties. Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin said, "Though he bears only a passing resemblance to the Cimmerian as Robert E. Howard described him, Frazetta's covers of the Conan paperback collections became the definitive picture of the character... still is." Schwarzenegger said, "I have not been intimidated that often in my life. But when I looked at Frazetta's paintings, I tell you, it was intimidating." Game of Thrones, Conan and Aquaman film star Jason Momoa said, "I am a huge Frank Frazetta fan. Both of my parents are painters, so I'd known Frazetta's paintings, that's what I wanted to bring to life." See the revolutionary art that helped inspire Schwarzenegger, Momoa, the Lord of the Rings films and Game of Thrones: FRAZETTA!

The Lammermuir Hills have been an important trade route between Scotland and England for generations, as well as an effective barrier when necessary. Drawn by the long history of south-eastern Scotland and the many conflicting elements in play in its natural environment - among them wind farms, pylons, forestry plantations, grouse moors and sheep - the distinguished Scottish painter and printmaker Barbara Rae CBE RA has made numerous studies of these wild expanses. This handsome volume reproduces a wide selection of her intensely colourful images with accompanying photographs and maps, and texts by the art critic Duncan Macmillan, Emeritus Professor of the History of Scottish Art at the University of Edinburgh, and Maureen Barrie, who worked for many years at National Museums Scotland.

Painting, Politics and the Struggle for the Ecole de Paris, 1944-1964 is the first book dedicated to the postwar or 'nouvelle' Ecole de Paris. It challenges the customary relegation of the Ecole de Paris to the footnotes, not by arguing for some hitherto 'hidden' merit for the art and ideas associated with this school, but by establishing how and why the Ecole de Paris was a highly significant vehicle for artistic and political debate. The book presents a sustained historical study of how this 'school' was constituted by the paintings of a diverse group of artists, by the combative field of art criticism, and by the curatorial policies of galleries and state exhibitions. By thoroughly mining the extensive resources of the newspaper and art journal press, gallery and government archives, artists' writings and interviews with surviving artists and art critics, the book traces the artists, exhibitions, and art critical debates that made the Ecole de Paris a zone of aesthetic and political conflict. Through setting the Ecole de Paris into its artistic, social, and political context, Natalie Adamson demonstrates how it functioned as the defining force in French postwar art in its defence of the tradition of easel painting, as well as an international point of reference for the expansion of modernism. In doing so, she presents a wholly new perspective on the vexed relationships between painting, politics, and national identity in France during the two decades following World War II.

Ivon Hitchens (1893-1979) is widely regarded as the outstanding English landscape painter of the 20th century. Immediately recognisable by its daring yet subtle use of colour and brushmark to evoke the spirit of place, his work is to be found in public and private collections throughout the world. This is the definitive study of Hitchens' life and work. Peter Khoroche draws on the painter's published writings, correspondence and conversation to create a critical reappraisal of Hitchens' theory and practice. He surveys the entire oeuvre (still-lifes, flower pieces, nudes, interiors and large-scale murals besides the landscapes), a huge legacy of work spanning sixty years, and charts the journey from conventional beginnings to 'figurative abstraction'. A selection of over 100 colour images, examples of Hitchens' best and most characteristic painting in all genres, provide a retrospective exhibition covering the artist's entire career. These illustrations, singled out for praise by reviewers of the hardback edition, demonstrate the artist's outstanding talents and reinforce his standing as a key figure in the history of British art.

Best known for his depictions of fierce samurai warriors in battle, Utagawa Kuniyoshi also produced landscapes, portraits of Kabuki actors, and images of mythical animals. His dynamic action scenes and fantastic creatures are recognized today as precursors of manga and anime. This dazzling volume by Matthi Forrer, one of the leading experts on ukiyo-e art, traces Kuniyoshi's entire career. Chapters look at the major aspects of Kuniyoshi's oeuvre; his book illustrations and portraits of fashionable women; his enormously popular series featuring actors, warriors, and landscapes; and the influence of Western art on his career. Meticulous, large-scale reproductions highlight the work's clear outlines, elegantly muted palette, and precise details-from electrifying depictions of a tiger, mid-pounce, and light-hearted interpretations of Chinese folktales, to the terrifying figures of samurai swordsmen and romantic winter landscapes. A Japanese-style binding and box complete this luxurious package that promises an endlessly absorbing journey into the life of Kuniyoshi during the latter days of Japan's Edo period.

"Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work."
Chuck Close
Inside an art gallery, it is easy to forget that the paintings there are the end products of a process involving not only creative inspiration, but also plenty of physical and logistical details. It is these "cruder," more mundane aspects of a painter's daily routine that motivated Brooklyn artist Joe Fig to embark almost ten years ago on a highly unorthodox, multilayered exploration of the working life of the professional artist. Determined to ground his research in the physical world, Fig began constructing a series of diorama-like miniature reproductions of the studios of modern art's most legendary painters, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. A desire for firsthand references led Fig to approach contemporary artists for access to their studios. Armed with a camera and a self-made "Artist's Questionnaire," Fig began a journey through the workspaces of some of today's most exciting contemporary artists.
Inside the Painter's Studio collects twenty-four remarkable artist interviews, as well as exclusive visual documentation of their studios. Featured artists were asked a wide range of questions about their day-to-day creative life, covering everything from how they organize their studios to what painting tools they prefer. Artists open up about how they set a creative mood, how they choose titles, and even whether they sit or stand to contemplate their work. Also included are a selection of Fig's meticulously detailed miniatures. In this context Fig's diminutive sculpturesreproducing minutiae of the studio, from paint-tube labels and paint splatters on the floor to the surface texture of canvasesbecome part of a fascinating new form of portraiture as diorama. Inside the Painter's Studio offers a rare look into the self-made universe of the artist's studio. Inside the Painter's Studio features interviews with Gregory Amenoff, Ross Bleckner, Chuck Close, Will Cotton, Inka Essenhigh, Eric Fischl, Barnaby Furnas, April Gornik, Jane Hammond, Mary Heilmann, Bill Jensen, Ryan McGinness, Julie Mehretu, Malcolm Morley, Steve Mumford, Philip Pearlstein, Matthew Ritchie, Alexis Rockman, Dana Schutz, James Siena, Amy Sillman, Joan Snyder, Billy Sullivan, and Fred Tomaselli.

This second volume from Titan Books is a collection of world-renowned visionary artist John Harris' unique paintings captures breath-taking, otherworldly vistas on a massive scale. The Art of John Harris II: Into the Blue is the third collection (second collection published by Titan) of world-renowned visionary artist John Harris' unique paintings that capture future worlds on a massive scale, from vast landscapes and towering cities to breath-taking vistas. Readers will get a unique insight into the creative process behind the worlds depicted in the paintings as Harris takes them on a journey from sketch to finished painting, as well as his striking covers for a variety of esteemed science fiction authors, including John Scalzi, Ben Bova, Jack McDevitt, Orson Scott Card, Ann Leckie and many more.

Presented in a style as stunning as the prints it celebrates, this survey of Hiroshige tells the fascinating story of the last great practitioner of ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." Hiroshige is considered to be the tradition's most poetic artist and his work had a marked influence on Western painting towards the end of the 19th century. Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Paul Ce zanne, and James Whistler were inspired by Hiroshige's serene depictions of the natural world. Arranged chronologically, this book illustrates through text and magnificent reproductions Hiroshige's youth and early career; his artistic development in the genre of landscape prints; his depictions of Edo and the provinces; the flower and bird prints; and his many popular books and paintings. It discusses the historic and cultural environment in which Hiroshige flourished and the many reasons his art continues to be revered and imitated. Filled with 300 color reproductions, and featuring a clamshell box and Japanese-style binding, this volume is destined to become the definitive examination of Hiroshige's oeuvre.

In The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius: Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes, Xiaoyan Hu provides an interpretation of the notion of qiyun, or spirit consonance, in Chinese painting, and considers why creating a painting-especially a landscape painting-replete with qiyun is regarded as an art of genius, where genius is an innate mental talent. Through a comparison of the role of this innate mental disposition in the aesthetics of qiyun and Kant's account of artistic genius, the book addresses an important feature of the Chinese aesthetic tradition, one that evades the aesthetic universality assumed by a Kantian lens. Drawing on the views of influential sixth to fourteenth-century theorists and art historians and connoisseurs, the first part explains and discusses qiyun and its conceptual development from a notion mainly applied to figure painting to one that also plays an enduring role in the aesthetics of landscape painting. In the light of Kant's account of genius, the second part examines a range of issues regarding the role of the mind in creating a painting replete with qiyun and the impossibility of teaching qiyun. Through this comparison with Kant, Hu demystifies the uniqueness of qiyun aesthetics and also illuminates some limitations in Kant's aesthetics.

Anselm Kiefer, born in 1945, is one of the most important and controversial artists at work in the world today. Through such diverse mediums as painting, photography, artists books, installations, and sculpture, he has interpreted the great political and cultural issues at the heart of the modern European sensibility: the connections between memory, history, and mythology; war; the Holocaust; and ethnic and national identity. In this extensively illustrated, thoughtful survey of his work, available again in a new and compact format, author Daniel Arasse analyzes Kiefer s education, influences, philosophy, and art, while demonstrating the unity and continuity of his work. Arasse takes as his starting point the 1980 Venice Biennale, a key moment in Kiefer s career that marked the birth of both his international reputation and the controversy over the strong focus on German civilization that characterized much of his work. Equal parts eloquent tribute and respected monograph, Anselm Kiefer is organized both chronologically and to reflect the artist s recurrent motifs, including Nordic and Germanic mythologies, Jewish mysticism, the cosmos, the legends of the ancient world, and many more. Approximately 250 full-color images reproduce his art at the highest possible quality, to trace Kiefer s creative evolution and reveal as fully as possible his works scope and power."

In diesem interdisziplinaren Sammelband wird nicht nur eine Motivgeschichte des Themas Wasser vorgelegt. Vielmehr eint die Beitrage der Ansatz, Wasser als ein mit vielfaltigen kulturellen Bedeutungen aufgeladenes Phanomen und als Akteur zu verstehen. Alle Aufsatze befassen sich mit der Reprasentation der grundlegenden Eigenschaft von Wasser, namlich dessen materieller Wandelbarkeit. Diese zeigt sich in so faszinierenden Aspekten wie der musikalischen 'Sprache' von Kunstbrunnen oder in der Mittlerfunktion von Wasser zwischen Mensch und Natur. Wasser kann auch zum Protagonisten in der Gartenarchitektur werden oder soziale und geographische Abgrenzung markieren. Nicht zuletzt kann Wasser auch als programmatischer Tragers eines Kunstwerks fungieren.

Met die bundel beeldgedigte stel Marlene van Niekerk op ’n oorspronklike en toeganklike manier die minder bekende Nederlandse skilder Jan Mankes (1889-1920) bekend. Sy lewer daarmee nogeens ’n bewys van die vernuwende aard van haar werk. Die bundel bevat ’n dosyn of wat skilderye, in kleur afgedruk, telkens vergesel van ’n beeldgedig in Afrikaans met die Nederlandse vertaling daarvan op die volgende bladsy. Beskryf as “’n poetiese kragtoer”.

For more than five centuries The Last Supper has been an artistic, religious and cultural icon. The art historian Kenneth Clark called it 'the keystone of European art', and for a century after its creation it was regarded as nothing less than a miraculous image. And yet there is a very human story behind this artistic 'miracle'. Ross King's Leonardo and the Last Supper is both a 'biography' of one of the most famous works of art ever painted and a record of Leonardo da Vinci's last five years in Milan.