A sweeping exploration of animals in Japanese art and culture across sixteen centuries Few countries have devoted as much artistic energy to the depiction of animal life as Japan. Drawing upon the country's unique spiritual heritage, rich literary traditions, and currents in popular culture, Japanese artists have long expressed admiration for animals in sculpture, painting, lacquerwork, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, and woodblock prints. Real and fantastic creatures are meticulously and beautifully rendered, often with humor and whimsy. This beautiful book celebrates this diverse range of work, from ancient fifth-century clay sculpture to contemporary pieces. The catalog is organized into themes, including the twelve animals of the Japanese zodiac; animals in Shinto and Buddhism; animals and samurai; land animals, winged creatures, and creatures of the river and sea; and animals in works of humor and parody. Contributors address such issues as how animals are represented in Japanese folklore, myth, religion, poetry, literature, and drama; the practice of Japanese painting; and the relationship between Japanese painters and scientific study. Featuring some 300 masterpieces from public and private collections, many published for the first time, The Life of Animals in Japanese Art is a sumptuous celebration of the connections between the natural world and visual and creative expression. Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Exhibition Schedule National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC June 2-August 18, 2019 Los Angeles County Museum of Art September 22-December 8, 2019

Perspective determines how we, as viewers, perceive painting. We can convince ourselves that a painting of a bowl of fruit or a man in a room appears to be real by the ways these objects are rendered. Likewise, the trick of perspective can prevent us from being absorbed in a scene. Connecting contemporary critical theory with close readings of seventeenth-century Dutch visual culture, "The Rhetoric of Perspective" puts forth the claim that painting is a form of thinking and that perspective functions as the language of the image.
Aided by a stunning full-color gallery, Hanneke Grootenboer proposes a new theory of perspective based on the phenomenological aspects of non-narrative still-life, trompe l'oeil, and anamorphic imagery. Drawing on playful and mesmerizing baroque images, Grootenboer characterizes what she calls their "sophisticated deceit," asserting that painting is more about visual representation than about its supposed objects. Grootenboer demonstrates how these paintings--ones that are often marginalized by art historical discourse--skillfully articulate the complexities of the visual and, consequently, gain new relevance in the context of recent interest in visual theory.
Offering an original theory of perspective's impact on pictorial representation, the act of looking, and the understanding of truth in painting, Grootenboer shows how these paintings both question the status of representation and explore the limits and credibility of perception.

Rudolph Zallinger's 110-foot (33.5-meter) fresca secco painting of The Age of Reptiles is one of the largest natural history murals in the world. Completed in 1947, it is an overview of prehistoric life told through the principal features and concepts of The Age of Reptiles. The mural has defined our view of the prehistoric world, and continues to teach, inform and spark the imagination of thousands of visitors that walk through the Yale Peabody Museum's Great Hall each year, as well as to admirers around the world over through countless reproductions in publications and textbooks. This second edition of the Peabody's guide to Zallinger's masterwork is a compilation of earlier material and new information-including Vincent Scully's classic essay on the mural's place in the history of art-contributed by the staff and scientists of the Yale Peabody Museum. Filled with full color illustrations throughout, the concealed spiral paperback includes updated descriptions and identifying illustrations of the animals and plants depicted in the mural keyed to a 12 page foldout full-color poster that is bound into the book. Distributed for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

The rise in sea level is a visible and remorseless indicator of global warming, the consequences of which can be experienced worldwide - in contrast to other effects of climate change that are not yet noticeable at a larger scale. The book illustrates, in an impressive way, the ecological, commercial, and social impact associated with the rise in sea levels, taking the examples of the American East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico: the author has documented this region from his Cessna between 2005 and 2018 using large-format aerial photography. The pictures illustrate the different conditions of the areas documented at different times of the year, before and after major weather events, and thereby provide evidence of how dramatically the geography and landscape are altered due to climate change.

Mary Randlett's photographic vision of the Northwest is big-hearted, intricate, and tender and fully inhabited by the animals, tides, forests, mountains, and spirits that dwell there. What others may take for granted, Randlett sees as quintessential: overcast days with endless and often exquisite variations of gray clouds, raindrops on puddles, dripping branches, and distant shafts of sunlight breaking through the cloud cover. She is steeped in the history of the Northwest and its many art forms. Mary Randlett Landscapes presents a visual record of the Northwest at its most pristine and poetic. During her many years of finely tuned observation, Randlett has learned to take the time to ponder the essences of what she sees-the curl of a bird's drifting feather, a water strider not quite breaking the surface of the water, fog ascending a hillside, the moment a pond's surface turns to ice. Her photography brings this corner of the Northwest to the world.

A lavish showcase of paleoartist Jay Matternes's spectacular murals and sketches For half a century, the artwork of Jay Matternes adorned the fossil halls of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. These treasured Matternes murals documenting mammal evolution over the past 56 million years and dioramas showing dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era are significant works of one of the most influential paleoartists in history. Simultaneously epic in size and scope and minutely detailed, they also provide a window into the study and interpretation of vertebrate paleontology and paleoecology. Visions of Lost Worlds presents these unparalleled works of art, and also includes the sketches and drawings Matternes prepared as he planned the murals. Known for his technical genius and eye for detail, Matternes sketched from skeletons in museum collections and added muscle, skin, and fur to bring mammals and dinosaurs from prehistory to vivid life. This book offers a close look at these works of art, a peek inside the artist's process, and an examination of the works' impact and legacy.

Water belongs to our most profound dreams: it evokes motherhood, cleanliness, purity, sensuality, and death. Naturally, this is true for every civilisation, but in Islam this series of ideas found its most profound meaning, turning water into one of the cornerstones of human existence: a cornerstone that is both spiritual as well as social and aesthetic. Statements in the Koran and subsequent literature illustrate the historic development of the many roles and meanings of water and the incarnation of its significance in Islamic art and craftsmanship. This volume tells a story through images, artefacts, books, and miniatures: technology, everyday life, and art, which for centuries mirrored one another in the many ways of enjoying and using water.

Explore the national parks in this relaxing coloring book for nature lovers Featuring 34 of the most popular and scenic parks and recreation sites across the country including the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Zion, the Badlands and more, Coloring the National Parks provides hours of coloring fun and relaxation for creatives who love the outdoors. Add your creative touch to nature scenes as diverse as the parks themselves, from mountains to caves to glaciers, Saguaros, redwoods, elk, bears, and many more.

A unique collaboration between two photographers, which resulted in color (Robert Huber) and black and white (Stephan Vanfleteren) photos inspired by Elvis Presley Huber and Vanfleteren traveled trough the US looking for interesting places to shoot, using themselves as costumed protagonists for their photo series In 1999, photographers Robert Huber and Stephan Vanfleteren travelled through the US in the wake of their hero, Elvis Presley. Elvis (Huber) and Presley (Vanfleteren) invite you to share their journey across the American landscape, from Times Square to Death Valley. Decked out in glittering jumpsuits and big hair, this is the story of two European photojournalists who travelled across eleven states taking pictures of each other, Stephan Vanfleteren using black and white film, Robert Huber, color. This is the ultimate pop idol on a tour of America, interacting with the people, the places, the history, the cool glances, the warm embraces, the hot coffee and the cheap motels that define modern life."

Thomas J. Lyon Book Award from the Western Literature Association A Planetary Lens delves into the history of the photo-book, the materiality of the photographic image on the page, and the cultural significance of landscape to reassess the value of print, to locate the sites where stories resonate, and to listen to western women's voices. From foundational California photographers Anne Brigman and Alma Lavenson to contemporary Native poets and writers Leslie Marmon Silko and Joy Harjo, women artists have used photographs to generate stories and to map routes across time and place. A Planetary Lens illuminates the richness and theoretical sophistication of such composite texts. Looking beyond the ideologies of wilderness, migration, and progress that have shaped settler and popular conceptions of the region, A Planetary Lens shows how many artists gather and assemble images and texts to reimagine landscape, identity, and history in the U.S. West. Based on extensive research into the production, publication, and circulation of women's photo-texts, A Planetary Lens offers a fresh perspective on the entangled and gendered histories of western American photography and literature and new models for envisioning regional relations.

An illustrated, comprehensive guide to botanical painting written by the Society of Botanical Artists. In this new book the Society of Botanical Artists provides a comprehensive guide to the different styles and methods of botanical painting, harvesting the talent of both Members and Distance Learning Diploma Course students around the world, past and present. Botanical Painting features techniques and materials for all levels and demonstrates how these skills can be used to develop your own expertise. There are chapters on drawing with graphite and metal point, coloured pencil, body and watercolour in plant portraiture and illustration as well as 'The Mixed Bunch'. The inclusion of the historic methods used for egg tempera and metal point, as well as the technique required for working on vellum, makes this a valuable source of advice on subjects not readily available elsewhere. An inspirational gallery of paintings at the end of the book provides a guided walk around an SBA exhibition. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout, with comprehensive critiques on the artworks and step-by-step demonstrations. It will be an invaluable and inspirational addition to the library of the more experienced botanical painter.

This fantastic book showcases the prestigious Embroiderers' Guild's huge collection of embroidered animals through the ages. Featuring photographs taken especially for the book, items are displayed in full along with detailed images that show off the stunning variety of creatures at their best. Dr Annette Collinge's informative extended captions for each of the pieces give information on the provenance where known, and evaluate the quality of, and variety in, each of the works from her expert perspective. Rarely exhibited in public, these beautiful and important embroideries that span the centuries are now available for everyone to see.

In American Waters is the catalog of an exhibition co-organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.The exhibition and this associated catalog invite visitors to discover the sea as an expansive way to reflect on American culture and environment, learn how coastal and maritime symbols moved inland across the United States, and question what it means to be 'in American waters.' Work by Georgia O'Keeffe, Amy Sherald, Kay WalkingStick, Norman Rockwell, Hale Woodruff, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Valerie Hegarty, Stuart Davis, and many others is included, along with essays from scholars, critics, and the curators.

From the artist behind the popular Pigeon Letters website, an easy, no-skills-necessary guide to drawing flowers, leaves, and cacti with 200 step-by-step prompts.

Line drawing is an easy-to-master art form featuring illustrative, doodle-like designs. It's used widely among artists of many types with both fine and bold lines, creating different variations. Botanical Line Drawing teaches you how to start with the simplest doodles, building into more elaborate, delicate illustrations. This book focuses on the extremely popular subject matter of the natural world and includes flowers, leaves, succulents, houseplants, trees, branches, mushrooms, and more. These simple line drawings will allow you to branch out and have fun with your own personal style, as well as inspire you to add flourishes to other projects.

When Jane Gooch first camped at Lake O'Hara in 1975, she could not have foreseen how important the Rockies would become in her life. She travelled from her home in Vancouver many times during the summer months to hike in the mountains, and her love of the alpine landscape eventually inspired her to study the artists who have painted in the Rockies. Her great enjoyment of the outdoors and a lifelong interest in art were combined with her academic background in writing and research."Mount Robson: Spiral Road of Art" celebrates the centennial of Mount Robson Provincial Park with over a century of remarkable landscape paintings inspired by the Robson region in the Canadian Rockies. This volume includes an extensive Introduction with historical and cultural background to the 50 colour plates, all documented and described, illustrating artists' works in a variety of styles and media from 1907-2012. Early artists include A.P. Coleman, the first explorer, and Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. In addition, the works of 17 contemporary artists show that the Mount Robson area continues to stimulate landscape art up to the present. Only 10 of the images have been published before.

Todd Forsgren (born 1981) creates intimate portraits of birds at the moment of their capture in mist nets as part of scientific surveys and ornithological research. This monograph serves as an effective and original critique of our impulse to name, classify and quantify wildlife.