In Lives of the Prophets: The Illustrations to Hafiz-i Abru's "Assembly of Chronicles" Mohamad Reza Ghiasian analyses two extant copies of the Majma' al-tawarikh produced for the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405-1447). The first manuscript is kept in Topkapi Palace and the second is widely dispersed. Codicological analysis of these manuscripts not only allows a better understanding of Hafiz-i Abru's contributions to rewriting earlier history, but has served to identify the existence of a previously unrecognised copy of the Jami' al-tawarikh produced at Rashid al-Din's scriptorium. Through a meticulous close reading of both text and image, Mohamad Reza Ghiasian convincingly proves that numerous paintings of the dispersed manuscript were painted over the text before its dispersal in the early twentieth century.

Whether your favourite medium is digital, traditional, or a mix of both, Stockholm-based Feefal will have used it to explore her unique world of anthropomorphised figures, animals in dream-like settings, and cool-girl magic. Her spooky-cute style has been a constant throughout her career, amassing 870K dedicated Instagram followers who not only adore her art, but are always keen to know the stories and inspiration behind it. Now for the first time, Feefal has written a beautifully produced book, her work printed on high-quality paper, providing the chance to not only show what she does, but also how. 3dtotal Publishing excels at helping artists to communicate both the motivations behind their unique creativity, and the technical tips and tricks they use. Feefal shares the early influences that put her on the path to becoming the professional character designer she is today, including those of her Swedish-Japanese upbringing. In doing so, the ideas behind paintings such as Lamp Shade Lady, Understanding the Hahahaki Disease (a fictional ailment caused by unrequited love) and Momento Mori are explained. With galleries of curated classics intertwined with step-by-step tutorials and fascinating insights into her creative process, Feefal's work is as intriguing as it is spellbinding.

In this masterly work, Martin O'Kane shows artists at work as readers of the Bible and not simply as illustrators of biblical scenes. The painter's eye commonly sees nuances and subtleties of plot and characterization in the biblical text that traditional biblical criticism has overlooked. Focussing in fine detail on some well-known biblical themes-the deception of Isaac, the depiction of Isaiah's suffering servant, the visit of the Magi and the flight into Egypt, among others-O'Kane argues that modern readers need the artist's exegetical insight and engagement to appreciate the text fully. Ranging widely over mediaeval, Renaissance and modern art, the author situates his work within the hermeneutical aesthetics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Mieke Bal and Paolo Berdini. Some 30 images are reproduced in the text.

Beauty, lust, and the hushed presence of death are a potent mix of ingredients that permeate every exquisite painting that Pete Tapang lovingly creates. His women are enticing, inviting, and ultimately BAD FOR YOU Still, you'll happily throw caution to the wind to get next to these ladies, regardless the danger A must-have for lovers of tattoos, Dia de los Muertos aficionados, and all things edgy and bizarre

The highest honour a Roman citizen could hope for was a portrait statue in the forum of his city. While the emperor and high senatorial officials were routinely awarded statues, strong competition existed among local benefactors to obtain this honour, which proclaimed and perpetuated the memory of the patron and his family for generations. There were many ways to earn a portrait statue but such local figures often had to wait until they had passed away before the public finally fulfilled their expectations. It is argued in this book that our understanding and contemplation of a Roman portrait statue is greatly enriched, when we consider its wider historical context, its original setting, the circumstances of its production and style, and its base which, in many cases, bore a text that contributed to the rhetorical power of the image.

In The Enlightenment's Animals Nathaniel Wolloch takes a broad view of changing conceptions of animals in European culture during the long eighteenth century. Combining discussions of intellectual history, the history of science, the history of historiography, the history of economic thought, and, not least, art history, this book describes how animals were discussed and conceived in different intellectual and artistic contexts underwent a dramatic shift during this period. While in the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century the main focus was on the sensory and cognitive characteristics of animals, during the late Enlightenment a new outlook emerged, emphasizing their conception as economic resources. Focusing particularly on seventeenth-century Dutch culture, and on the Scottish Enlightenment, Wolloch discusses developments in other countries as well, presenting a new look at a topic of increasing importance in modern scholarship.

Modernism, Christianity and Apocalypse stages an encounter between the fields of 'Modernism and Christianity' and 'Apocalypse Studies'. The modernist impulse to 'make it new', to transform and reform culture, is an incipiently apocalyptic one, poised between imaginative representations of an Old Era or civilization and the experimental promise of the New. Christianity figures in formative tension with the 'new', but its apocalyptic paradigms continued to impact modernist visions of cultural revitalization. In three sections tracing a rough chronology from the late nineteenth century fin de siecle, via interwar conflicts and the rise of 'political religions', to post-1945 anxieties such as the Bomb, this thematic is explored in nineteen far-ranging scholarly contributions, outlining a distinctive and fresh interdisciplinary field of study.

Taken from the earlier book "Priceless Florida" (and modified for a stand-alone book), this volume discusses the well-drained areas of Florida, including high pine grasslands, flatwoods and prairies, interior scrub, hardwood hammocks, rocklands and caves, and beach dunes. Introduces readers to the trees and plants, insects, mammals, reptiles, and other species that live in Florida's unique uplands ecosystem.

Over the course of his career, Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) created altarpieces rich in theological complexity, elegant in formal execution, and dazzlingly brilliant in chromatic impact. This book investigates the spiritual dimensions of those works, focusing on six highly-significant panels. According to Steven J. Cody, the beauty and splendor of Andrea's paintings speak to a profound engagement with Christian theories of spiritual renewal-an engagement that only intensified as Andrea matured into one of the most admired artists of his time. From this perspective, Andrea del Sarto - Splendor and Renewal in the Renaissance Altarpiece not only shines new light on a painter who has long deserved more scholarly attention; it also offers up fresh insights regarding the Renaissance altarpiece itself.