Since 1900, the connections between art and technology with nature have become increasingly inextricable. Through a selection of innovative readings by international scholars, this book presents the first investigation of the intersections between art, technology and nature in post-medieval times. Transdisciplinary in approach, this volume's 14 essays explore art, technology and nature's shifting constellations that are discernible at the micro level and as part of a larger chronological pattern. Included are subjects ranging from Renaissance wooden dolls, science in the Italian art academies, and artisanal epistemologies in the followers of Leonardo, to Surrealism and its precursors in Mannerist grotesques and the Wunderkammer, eighteenth-century plant printing, the climate and its artistic presentations from Constable to Olafur Eliasson, and the hermeneutics of bioart. In their comprehensive introduction, editors Camilla Skovbjerg Paldam and Jacob Wamberg trace the Kantian heritage of radically separating art and technology, and inserting both at a distance to nature, suggesting this was a transient chapter in history. Thus, they argue, the present renegotiation between art, technology and nature is reminiscent of the ancient and medieval periods, in which art and technology were categorized as aspects of a common area of cultivated products and their methods (the Latin ars, the Greek techne), an area moreover supposed to imitate the creative forces of nature.

Pictures of animals are now ubiquitous, but the ability to capture animals on film was a significant challenge in the early era of photography. In Developing Animals, Matthew Brower takes us back to the time when Americans started taking pictures of the animal kingdom, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the moment when photography became a mass medium and wildlife photography an increasingly popular genre.Developing Animals compellingly investigates the way photography changed our perception of animals. Brower analyzes how photographers created new ideas about animals as they moved from taking pictures of taxidermic specimens in so-called natural settings to the emergence of practices such as camera hunting, which made it possible to capture images of creatures in the wild.By combining approaches in visual cultural studies and the history of photography, Developing Animals goes further to argue that photography has been essential not only to the understanding of wildlife but also to the conceptual separation of humans and animals.

Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian traveller and painter, who traversed the globe recording the world's flora with her paintbrush and writing her experiences in her journal. In 1879 she offered her painting collection numbering over 800 to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and at her own expense built a gallery to house them. Marianne stayed closely involved with the project, painting beautiful decorative motifs on the interior door panels and surrounds. For the first time, this unique and stunning book brings together all of Marianne North's Kew collection. The paintings are arranged geographically as they appear in the Gallery, and Marianne's original titles are included alongside each painting. With an introduction by Christopher Mills, former Head of Kew's Library, Art and Archives. This is a beautiful gift souvenir in celebration of a stunning body of work.

A magnificent pictorial document of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, the Hortus Eystettensis is in a class of its own when it comes to the range of flowers engraved. First published in 1613, the 367 copperplate engravings by Basilius Besler (1561-1629) capture the spectacular diversity of the palatial gardens of Prince-Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen (1593/95-1612) in Eichstatt, Bavaria, Germany. The meticulous illustrations are organized according to the four seasons, and, following the classification system used today, show plants belonging to a total of 90 families and covering 340 genera. The whole collection is regarded as one of the finest treasures of botanical literature; it was described by Carl Linnaeus, the legendary 18th-century botanist and zoologist, as an "incomparable work." Besler's pictorial catalog long outlived the gardens, which were destroyed in 1634 by invading Swedish troops. In auction, the asking price for a first-edition copy of Hortus Eystettensis is now more than half a million dollars. With this edition, TASCHEN opens up the garden to a much wider audience: a rich and beautiful record, destined to keep the garden's beauty in bloom.

Insects have captivated artists for centuries, as shown in their re-creations of them in gold, canvas, fabric, marble, wood, and other media. This book displays 39 contemporary artists' insect-centric works, showing the extent to which insects fascinate twenty-first century artists and scientists. These American and international artists have many magical and discerning ways to approach their buggy subjects, which each artist explains in their own words. Nearly one million different described species of insects are known today. Now those colorful butterflies, iridescent beetles, little ladybugs, and lacy dragonflies can be with us permanently in many graceful arrangements and a variety of media!

In the early seventeenth century there was eager interest, among the leisured classes, in fruits from the Mediterranean and beyond, not least for the kitchen gardens and orchards of England's grand houses. The volume of charming, vibrant, almost primitif watercolour paintings of orchard fruits on the branch, popularly known as 'Tradescants' Orchard', is a precious and fragile relic of this era of broadening horticultural horizons. This manuscript, traditionally associated with the renowned plantsmen, the John Tradescants, was among the eclectic collections of Elias Ashmole (1617-1692), which came to form the basis of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Then, in 1860 it was transferred to the Bodleian Library. It has been quietly recognized as a mysterious treasure, yet the paintings raise many unanswered questions. Who painted them, and for whom? What was their purpose? Only one apple is represented - were there once others, now missing? Whose handwriting appears in the manuscript? Why did the artist paint wildlife such as birds, frogs and butterflies on many of the folios? All sixty-six of the original illustrations are reproduced here in facsimile for the first time, following a general introduction which maps out the mystery of why and how these beguiling watercolours came to be commissioned and made.

Whether highly bred canines or loveable mixed breeds, America has fallen in love with the dog, and who better than Christine Merrill, America's premier pet portraitist, to chronicle this long term relationship. As best selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford exclaims, She has caught my Jemmy exactly; the portrait is perfect in every way. While grounded in the traditions of 18th and 19th century England, this Baltimore artist has over the past 20 years created a body of work, which depicts the American dog in its own especially American environment. Each chapter of this book features an American dog owner who has commissioned Merrill to capture their dog in oils, and answer the who, what, where and why's of each collector's story, and how they came to seek out Merrill to portray their dogs - members of the family whose portraits often supplant the portraits of their human relatives. Each chapter is lavishly illustrated, not only with Merrill's paintings, but also with colour photographs of the pet owner with their American dog at home. Merrill's paintings, executed in the centuries old style of the great English masters of animal painting, are timeless testaments to our love for the dog, and Americans all over the country have chosen her to create portraits in oil of their beloved pets. Merrill counts movie stars, authors, socialites and captains of industry among her clients, each with one thing in common: their love for their pets. This book provides a glimpse into these worlds, but more importantly something which each of the 40 million dog owners in America can identify with - their pet's unconditional love. Some thirty-five different dog breeds are represented, from fifteen different states. The first part of the book includes 33 essays on Merrill's clients, illustrated with her paintings, but also photographs of the collectors with their dogs, their collections and their homes, personally photographed by the author, William Secord. Each essay has six color photographs. It is exceptional in its access to the largely private lives of these collectors, providing a unique insight into Americans' relationship with their dogs. The second part of the book traces Merrill's career, with over 50 color illustrations of her paintings.

An important reconsideration of landscape photography in 19th-century America, exploring crucial but neglected geographies, practitioners, and themes Although pictures of the West have dominated our perception of 19th-century American landscape photography, many photographers were working in the eastern half of the United States during that period. Their pictures, with the exception of Civil War images, have received relatively scant attention. Redressing this imbalance is East of the Mississippi, the first book to focus exclusively on the arresting eastern photographs that helped shape America's national identity. Celebrating natural wonders such as Niagara Falls and the White Mountains as well as capturing a cultural landscape fundamentally altered by industrialization, these works also documented the impact of war, promoted tourism, and played a role in an emerging environmentalism. Showcasing more than 180 photographs from 1839 to 1900 in a rich variety of media and formats-from daguerreotypes, salted paper prints, tintypes, cyanotypes, and albumen prints to stereo cards and photograph albums-this volume traces the evolution of eastern landscape photography and introduces the artists who explored this subject. Also considered are the dynamic ties with other media-for instance, between painters and photographers such as the Bierstadt and Moran brothers-and the distinctive development of landscape photography in America.

This hardcover book with internal wire-o binding is 6.5in x 8in, a perfect size for readers to keep handy in the studio, and reference often. The stylish design of this book, along with the interior photographs, illustrations and diagrams, make the learning process simple and fun for beginning painters and provides useful tips for more advanced artists.
This book is divided into three sections. In the first section, you will find practical advice on choosing the necessary tools and equiopment as well as hints on mixing colors--one of the trickier skills to master until you have learned some of the basic properties of color. Next, the techniques used in watercolor painting are explained in detail, from the most basic like laying washes and reserving highlights to some of the more unusual and exciting methods like wax-resist or spattering paint.
Tutorials and more than 100 step-by-step sequences demonstrate how to paint a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, buildings, people and still life. Over 180,000 copies sold worldwide.

Praised by Albrecht Du rer as being "the best in painting," Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1430-1516) is unquestionably the supreme Venetian painter of the quattrocento and one of the greatest Italian artists of all time. His landscapes assume a prominence unseen in Western art since classical antiquity. Drawing from a selection of masterpieces that span Bellini's long and successful career, this exhibition catalogue focuses on the main function of landscape in his oeuvre: to enhance the meditational nature of paintings intended for the private devotion of intellectually sophisticated, elite patrons. The subtle doctrinal content of Bellini's work-the isolated crucifix in a landscape, the "sacred conversation," the image of Saint Jerome in the wilderness-is always infused with his instinct for natural representation, resulting in extremely personal interpretations of religious subjects immersed in landscapes where the real and the symbolic are inextricably intertwined.This volume includes a biography of the artist,essays by leading authorities in the field explicating thethemes of the J. Paul Getty Museum's exhibition, anddetailed discussions and glorious reproductions of the twelve works in the exhibition, including their history and provenance, function, iconography, chronology, and style.

Captivating black-and-white photographs of the world's most majestic ancient trees.
Beth Moon's fourteen-year quest to photograph ancient trees has taken her across the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Some of her subjects grow in isolation, on remote mountainsides, private estates, or nature preserves; others maintain a proud, though often precarious, existence in the midst of civilization. All, however, share a mysterious beauty perfected by age and the power to connect us to a sense of time and nature much greater than ourselves. It is this beauty, and this power, that Moon captures in her remarkable photographs.
This handsome volume presents nearly seventy of Moon's finest tree portraits as full-page duotone plates. The pictured trees include the tangled, hollow-trunked yews--some more than a thousand years old--that grow in English churchyards; the baobabs of Madagascar, called "upside-down trees" because of the curious disproportion of their giant trunks and modest branches; and the fantastical dragon's-blood trees, red-sapped and umbrella-shaped, that grow only on the island of Socotra, off the Horn of Africa.
Moon's narrative captions describe the natural and cultural history of each individual tree, while Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections at The New York Botanical Garden, provides a concise introduction to the biology and preservation of ancient trees. An essay by the critic Steven Brown defines Moon's unique place in a tradition of tree photography extending from William Henry Fox Talbot to Sally Mann, and explores the challenges and potential of the tree as a subject for art.

Through exquisite botanical paintings and insightful essays, Flora examines the fascinating history of plants and flowers. Over 20 plant families are profiled, including cacti, daffodils, iris, magnolia, roses, tulips and waterlilies. Flora at the same time tells the remarkable stories of the adventurous botanists who braved disease, slave traders, war, jungles and other dangers to collect plants now commonly grown in our own gardens. It describes how plants have adopted remarkable behaviours for survival in a variety of harsh habitats, and how, throughout history, they have affected our lives, even shaping societies. The seventeenth century spice trade, for example, was so profitable that stevedores who unloaded nutmeg from the boats had to wear coveralls without pockets as a single nutmeg was worth a fortune. The book contains hundreds of stunning colour illustrations selected from the vast collection of original botanical paintings archived at the Natural History Museum.

What's in a name? That which we call a Rose By any other name would smell as sweet.' William Shakespeare The great William Guilfoyle, credited as the architect of Melbourne's Royal Botanic gardens, was an eminent landscape designer, botanist and writer. Here are his collected writings on the dozens of plants, fruits and flowers William Shakespeare referred to in his plays and poems. Each entry is accompanied by Basilius Besler's groundbreaking illustrations and delicate watercolours by Jacques le Morgues. Shakespearian Botany is a feast for those who love the bard, gardens and art. It is the first in the Mr Guilfoyle trilogy. Mr Guilfoyle's Honeymoon: The Gardens of Europe & Great Britain and Mr Guilfoyle's South Sea Islands Adventure on HMS Challenger will be published in 2019.

Flower fans and nature enthusiasts will fall in love with this charming art book from Instagram sensation Flora Forager featuring the best of her unique floral compositions created with botanical materials. Flora Forager creates images out of flower petals, leaves, stones, twigs, and other natural materials that she finds in her garden and in urban wild areas in her neighbourhood. This intimate, lovely book collects her best pieces, including 20% new, exclusive art, along with a peek into her unique creative process. Featured pieces include scenes, mandalas, animals, birds, fish, insects, mythical creatures, iconic women, old masters, and more. Each artwork is accompanied by explanatory text on a facing page including piece name, materials used, and a short, evocative description of the artist's process and inspiration.

Japanese gardens are found throughout the world today their unique forms now considered a universal art form. This stunning Japanese gardening book examines the work of five leading landscape architects in North America who are exploring the extraordinary power of Japanese-style garden design to create an immersive experience promoting personal and social well-being. Master garden designers Hoichi Kurisu, Takeo Uesugi, David Slawson, Shin Abe and Marc Keane have each interpreted the style and meaning of the Japanese garden in unique ways in their innovative designs for private, commercial and public spaces. Several recent Japanese-style gardens by each designer are featured in this book with detailed descriptions and sumptuous color photos. Hoichi Kurisu transformative spaces for spiritual and physical equilibrium. Takeo Uesugi bright, flowing gardens that evoke joyful living. David Slawson evocations of native place that fuse with the surrounding landscape. Shin Abe dynamically balanced visual stories that produce meaning and comfort. Marc Keane reflections on human connections with nature through the art of gardens.Also included are essays on the designers and mini-essays by them about gardens in Japan which have most inspired their work, as well as commentaries by patrons and visitors to their North American gardens. The book focuses on recently-created gardens to suggest how the art form is currently evolving, and to understand how Japanese garden design principles and practices are being adapted to suit the needs and ways of people living and working outside Japan today.

Victor Perard's concise guide for artists at every level features easy-to-follow steps for capturing the magnificence of trees. Shading techniques, composition, shadow and light methods, and outlining approaches are all aimed to help artists draw dozens of varieties with vitality and expression.

Why stop to just smell the flowers when you can paint them? The instruction in this book makes it fun and easy to create beautiful watercolour daisies, hydrangeas, roses, lilies, poppies . . . all your favorite blooms! You'll find everything you need to get painting right away--from basic exercises in colour choice and composition to techniques for painting leaves, backgrounds, arrangements and outdoor scenes. It's all explained in simple language with hands-on exercises, easy-to-follow demonstrations and step-by-step projects!

Classic Sketchbook: Cats shows how it's done by showing museum-quality works, then coaching you to try the techniques with the help an expert's suggestions. Whether scribbling out a quick sketch with minimal detail, or making a finished portrait where every silky hair and polished whisker stands out, the best cat artists can capture the very essence of feline-ness. How do they do it? Firsthand observation of cats will tell you a lot about the way they sit, yawn, tweak their tails, and curl up to sleep, but it won't tell you how to get those things down on paper. Classic Sketchbook: Cats is the second in a series of instructional books that began with Classic Sketchbook: Botanicals. The series shows how to draw your subjects by looking at the details of museum-quality works, then coaching you through the techniques with the help an expert's suggestions. In this case the expert is Patricia Wynne, a noted illustrator with a specialty in animals. Wynne will guide you through fur, paws, and eyes, as well as cats sleeping, playing, or pouncing. Her unique instructions places a close-up of a drawing or painting by a noted artist like Gauguin, Chardin, Gwen John, and Theodore Steinlen on the left side of the page. And on the right side of the page Patricia Wynne coaches you with detailed, step-by-step drawings, that illuminate the process.

This is the first major critical study of the art of Cornish painter Kurt Jackson. Jackson's landscapes have been exhibited widely, and are becoming more popular.