Many people crave a creative outlet, but more often than not, don't know where to start. In Blue, Valentina Zucchi and Viola Niccolai invite you to nurture your creativity and build your confidence by taking inspiration from modern works of art that celebrate blue, perhaps the best-loved colour of all. Discover the most important blues, ones that the all-time greatest painters have used in order to paint velvet, mountains, Madonnas, angels, skies and storms. Throughout the book, Valentina and Viola provide creative and fun prompts - many based on famous works of art - which will encourage you to draw or paint on the pages using various techniques. Packed with inspiration from the world's most celebrated artists, including the ancient Egyptians, John Constable, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Yves Klein and more, you will discover the many meanings of blue and just some of the innumerable stories that bring it to life. Blue is a short course in unlocking your creative self - perfect for budding artists of all ages who are keen to try out different artistic techniques and materials, and begin their artistic journey.

This is a fascinating exploration of the mystery that surrounds of Ruben's most well-known and intriguing drawings. Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most talented and successful artists working in 17th-century Europe. During his illustrious career as a court painter and diplomat, Rubens expressed a fascination with exotic costumes and headdresses. With his masterful handling of black chalk and touches of red, Rubens executed a compelling drawing that features a figure wearing Asian costume - a depiction that has recently been identified as Man in Korean Costume. Despite the drawings renown - both during Ruben's own lifetime and in contemporary art scholarship - the reasons why it was made and whether it actually depicts a specific Asian person remain a mystery. The intriguing story that develops involves a shipwreck, an unusual hat, the earliest trade between Europe and Asia, the trafficking of Asian slave, and Jesuit missionaries.