This generously illustrated volume on the work of Monet makes the world's greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. Monet's dazzling depictions of flowers, sunsets, fields, and oceans, in which line and shape are suggested through pure color, changed the way we perceive our natural surroundings. His numerous series, in which he depicts the same object at varying times of the day and in different seasons, pushed the limits of representational art. His final series of water lilies are considered to have ushered in the abstract movement of the twentieth century. Overflowing with images, this book offers full-page spreads of masterpieces as well as highlights of smaller details, allowing every aspect of the artist's technique and oeuvre to be appreciated. Chronologically arranged, the book covers important biographical and historic events that reflect the latest scholarship. Additional information includes a list of works, timeline, and suggestions for further reading.

In Neo-Impressionism and Anarchism in Fin-de-Siecle France, Robyn Roslak examines for the first time the close relationship between neo-impressionist landscapes and cityscapes and the anarchist sympathies of the movement's artists. She focuses in particular on paintings produced between 1886 and 1905 by Paul Signac and Maximilien Luce, the neo-impressionists whose fidelity to anarchism, to the art of landscape and to a belief in the social potential of art was strongest. Although the neo-impressionists are best known for their rational and scientific technique, they also heeded the era's call for art surpassing the mundane realities of everyday life. By tempering their modern subjects with a decorative style, they hoped to lead their viewers toward moral and social improvement. Roslak's ground-breaking analysis shows how the anarchist theories of Elisee Reclus, Pierre Kropotkin and Jean Grave both inspired and coincided with these ideals. Anarchism attracted the neo-impressionists because its standards for social justice were grounded, like neo-impressionism itself, in scientific exactitude and aesthetic idealism. Anarchists claimed humanity would reach its highest level of social and moral development only in the presence of a decorative variety of nature, and called upon progressive thinkers to help create and maintain such environments. The neo-impressionists, who primarily painted decorative landscapes, therefore discovered in anarchism a political theory consistent with their belief that decorative harmony should be the basis for socially responsible art.

Catalogue and iconography of the extraordinary wealth of images of Sir Isaac Newton, both before and after his death. Sir Isaac Newton [1642-1727] is rare among figures of the past for the number of authentic paintings, engravings and images of him which survive. He was painted by some nine different artists in the latter part of his life, and after his death both portraits and sculptures continued to proliferate, the amazing demand for representations of his image demonstrating his immense fame. This iconography, lavishly illustrated in both colour and black and white, and involving the disciplines of History of Art and History of Science, catalogues 231 icons in two sections, and is thus an invaluable guide to the images. Part I contains 122 portraits and Part II 109 sculptures, about fifty of which were produced before his death, the rest from then until 1800.

This interdisciplinary study examines painted portraiture as a defining metaphor of elite self-representation in early modern culture. Beginning with Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (1528), the most influential early modern account of the formation of elite identity, the argument traces a path across the ensuing century towards the images of courtiers and nobles by the most persuasive of European portrait painters, Van Dyck, especially those produced in London during the 1630s. It investigates two related kinds of texts: those which, following Castiglione, model the conduct of the ideal courtier or elite social conduct more generally; and those belonging to the established tradition of debates about the condition of nobility -how far it is genetically inherited and how far a function of excelling moral and social behaviour. Van Dyck is seen as contributing to these discussions through the language of pictorial art. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, cultural history, early modern history and Renaissance studies.

The history of collecting is a topic of central importance to many academic disciplines, and shows no sign of abating in popularity. As such, scholars will welcome this collection of essays by internationally recognised experts that gathers together for the first time varied and stimulating perspectives on the nineteenth-century collector and art market for French eighteenth-century art, and ultimately the formation of collections that form part of such august institutions as the Louvre and the National Gallery in London. The book is the culmination of a successful conference organised jointly between the Wallace Collection and the Louvre, on the occasion of the acclaimed exhibition Masterpieces from the Louvre: The Collection of Louis La Caze. Exploring themes relating to collectors, critics, markets and museums from France, England and Germany, the volume will appeal to academics and students alike, and become essential reading on any course that deals with the history of collecting, the history of taste and the nineteenth-century craze for the perceived douceur de vivre of eighteenth-century France. It also provides valuable insight into the history of the art markets and the formation of museums.

This visually stunning and technically detailed book is an in-depth analysis of the materials and techniques used on thirty eight of the V&A's Renaissance frames. The book will teach the reader to recognise frame style, structure and surface decoration of the period, as well as additions and alterations and later frames in the style. * First detailed technical analysis of the V&A's most important Renaissance frames * Highly illustrated with 100 + colour photos of front back and details, digital reconstructions, section profiles, and illustrations of frame types, joints and mouldings. * Provides a comparative reference for Renaissance frames in other publications Christine Powell has worked at the V&A since 1993. She is a Senior Furniture Conservator specialising in gilt wood European Furniture, mirror and picture frames. She has also worked at The National Gallery London for seven years as conservator working on European painted and gilt wood altarpieces and frames and The Wallace Collection for two years on European gilt wood frames and furniture. She has taught and published articles on the history, materials techniques and conservation of gilding. Christine studied furniture making and restoration of furniture at the London College of Furniture (latterly the Metropolitan University) including wood finishing, carving and gilding. Before this she worked in private practice for furniture restoration and special paint effects firms. She also attended Epsom School of Art and Design. Zoe Allen first joined the V&A in 2000 to work on gilt wooden objects for the British Galleries and returned to the V&A in 2003 where she has worked since as Frames and Gilded Furniture Conservator. Before joining the V&A full time she worked as a conservator for both public institutions, such as English Heritage, and private practices including projects at the Royal Academy, St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House. Zoe has published articles on her work. After a first degree in French Literature, Zoe studied conservation at the City & Guilds of London Art School. Her training covered the conservation of objects made from wood, stone and other sculptural materials, gilding and decorative surfaces. Internships included the National Institute for Restoration, Croatia, the Royal Collection, London and the Museum of London.

"Manet comes alive in [Brombert's] pages. . . . At times her biography reads like a substantial and detailed 19th-century novel. . . . Brombert's Edouard Manet gives us not only a portrait of a complex artist but, in its authority and its range, a portrait of an age as well."-James R. Mellow, New York Times Book Review "One of the pleasures of reading her is to follow the way she weaves life, art and history into a smooth tapestry. The art emerges from the life, and in the broadest possible context: in terms of its creator's life and concerns and in terns of its historical and cultural setting."-Eric Gibson, The Washington Times Books "Richly detailed and informative . . . [this biography] exposes the character of an artist who maintained a sharply defined duality between his public and private personas."-Edward J. Sozanski, Philadelphia Inquirer "Brombert's reading of important canvasses . . . shine, as do her accounts of the changing social and political environment in which Manet worked. . . . Well researched, complexly conceived, and clearly written."-Kirkus Reviews "Brilliant . . . [this book] grants us a far deeper understanding of why [Manet's] paintings outraged so many of his peers, and why these same masterpieces resonate so richly in our psyches a century later."-Booklist, starred review

Eggs aren't just for breakfast! With a bit of imagination, they can also be transformed into beautiful decorative items and gifts. A modern and accessible hobby, egg art is something all generations can take part in, and connect over. Egg Art feeds into the current trend of working and crafting with natural, everyday objects, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Hatch a plan and get cracking on your egg-cellent designs now!

The much overused word genius aptly describes only a few people in the history of civilization. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) unquestionably belongs in this elite group. Anyone who has looked in amazement at the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, or the many drawings that sprang from his fertile imagination may wonder how he accomplished these astounding works of art. Fortunately for posterity, Leonardo left his Treatise on Painting, essentially a primer for students interested in learning the craft of drawing and painting.
Even a quick perusal of this multifaceted work will reveal the great artist's famously keen powers of observation and his scientific approach to the study of nature. He begins with careful instructions on drawing the main features of human anatomy, then moves on to techniques of rendering motion and perspective. He discusses aspects of good composition; inventiveness; the expression of various emotions; creating effects of light, shadow, and color; and many other subtle points of artistic composition. Throughout Leonardo stresses the importance of meticulous study of the subjects to be rendered and the need for assiduous practice: "Those who become enamored of the practice of the art without having previously applied to the diligent study of the scientific part of it may be compared to mariners who put to sea in a ship without rudder or compass, and therefore cannot be certain of arriving at the wished-for port."
This outstanding edition - complete with anatomical drawings by the French classicist master Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665) and geometrical illustrations by the great Italian Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), as well as an informative life of Leonardo and an appendix that lists the artist's manuscripts, principal paintings, and drawings - will make an attractive addition to the libraries of art students, art historians, and anyone interested in the works of the original "Renaissance man"

This unique book presents an integrated approach to the chemistry of art materials, exploring the many chemical processes involved. The Chemistry and Mechanism of Art Materials: Unsuspected Properties and Outcomes engages readers with historical vignettes detailing examples of unexpected outcomes due to materials used by known artists. The book discusses artists' materials focusing on relevant chemical mechanisms which underlie the synthesis and deterioration of inorganic pigments in paintings, the ageing of the binder in oil paintings, and sulfation of wall paintings as well as the toxicology of these pigments and solvents used by artists. Mechanisms illustrate the stepwise structural transformation of a variety of art materials. Based on the author's years of experience teaching college chemistry, the approach is descriptive and non-mathematical throughout. An introductory section includes a review of basic concepts and provides concise descriptions of analytical methods used in contemporary art conservation. Additional features include: Illustrations of chemical reactivity associated with art materials Includes a review of chemical bonding principles, redox and mechanism writing Covers analytical techniques used by art conservation scientists Accessible for readers with a limited science background Provides numerous references for readers seeking additional information

First published in 1998, this volume explores the reinvention of Michelangelo in the Victorian era. At the opening of the nineteenth century, Michelangelo's reputation rested on the evidence of contemporary adulation recorded by Vasari and Condivi. Travel, photography, the shift of his drawings into public collections, and, in particular, the publication of his poems in their original form, transformed this situation. The complexity of his work commanded new attention and several biographies were published. As public curiosity and knowledge of the artist increased, so various groups began to ally themselves to aspects of Michelangelo's persona. His Renaissance reputation as a towering genius, a man of great spiritual courage, who had journeyed through and for his art to the depths of despair, was important to the Pre-Raphaelites and other artists. His love for his own 'Dark Lady', Vittoria Colonna, aroused excited speculation among High Church advocates, who celebrated his friendship with the deeply religious woman-poet; and the emerging awareness that some half of his love poetry was dedicated to a younger man, Tommaso de' Cavalieri, was of intense interest to the aestheticists, among them Oscar Wilde, Walter Pater and J.A. Symonds, who sought heroic figures from societies where masculinity was less rigorously defined. In this original and beautifully illustrated study, Lene Ostermark-Johansen shows how the critical discussion of the artist's genius and work became irretrievably bound up in contemporary debates about art, religion and gender and how the Romantic view of art and criticism as self-expression turned the focus from the work of art to the artist himself such that the two could never again be viewed in isolation.

First published in 1999, this book asks what kind of advice was available to somebody wishing to embark upon oil painting in England between 1850 and 1900. It is a fascinating collection of Victorian instruction on how and what to paint, linked to crucial advice about art, its meaning and its relation to contemporary life, given by practising artists, important and often popular in their time, but whose lectures and writings are long overdue for reappraisal: Leslie, Hamerton, O'Neil, Poynter, Watts, Leighton, Armitage, Quilter and Herkomer. Here, beyond the familiar voices of Ruskin, Whistler and Pater, we have a whole range of experience from an age in which issues about painting were hotly debated by large numbers of people: professional artists, amateurs, critics, gallery-goers and Academy students. This anthology brings back to life the humour, seriousness, ambitions, eccentricities and controversies of people whose work shaped the nature of mainstream Victorian art.

In this rich and dream-like collection of photo-paintings, artist and fabulist Fran Forman offers characters, scenes and visual narratives that lure the imagination. She explores the multiple meanings of the word escape, focusing on the central idea of breaking through the normal barriers of everyday life. Many of these figures appear to be floating or rowing or sailing away, trying to leave the rest of the earth-bound world behind. Thus, the artist invites us to ask ourselves what realities exist beyond the traditional limits of gravity, linear time, and social convention. The exquisite poems and story by writer Michelle Blake act as a guidebook to these vast imaginary worlds, suggesting voices for some of the characters and destinations for some of the journeys. All together, the book offers its own particular form of beauty, one that invites the viewer to step outside the known.

Jim Moir loves birds. His popularity as a painter has soared in recent years and the simplicity and sincerity of his bird paintings have given them cult status among his fans. Now, for the first time, one hundred of these beautiful paintings are gathered together in this exquisite book. It is a book to remind us why we love birds: because of the shapes, movement, colours and sounds they bring into our lives.

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, with the beautiful Bex Parkin: Birds & Flowers. This 1000-piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Includes an A4 poster for reference. Bex Parkin is an incredibly talented illustrator. Having spent many years based in London working in a range of artistic jobs, she now lives in rural Staffordshire. Her passion for print, pattern and colour was largely inspired by her work sourcing vintage and antique textiles for the fashion industry, which can be seen throughout her artworks.

"I can't control the paint." "It's not colorful enough." "It's intimidating!" With the fun and easy techniques in Gina Rossi Armfield's No Excuses Watercolor, your excuses for not painting with watercolor don't stand a chance! As you try the demonstrations and exercises, you'll learn the techniques and tricks necessary to achieve amazing, colorful results in your artist's sketchbook. After getting to know your materials, you'll try your hand at thirteen exercises that will help train your hand, and help you identify and refine your artistic style. Along the way, you'll get tips and suggestions for adding journaling and writing to your art. Finally, you'll find an inspirational resource guide packed with reference photos, starter sketches, color palettes, journaling prompts and more to help you fill your watercolor journal! Grab your sketchbook and watercolors--it's time to paint, no excuses! 22 demonstrations for sketching and watercolor painting. 13 exercises for practicing backgrounds, focal images, color mixing, layering and details. 13 resource sections loaded with journaling and painting prompts to keep you inspired.

Portraits are everywhere. One finds them not only in museums and galleries, but also in newspapers and magazines, in the homes of people and in the boardrooms of companies, on stamps and coins, on millions of cell phones and computers. Despite its huge popularity, however, portraiture hasn't received much philosophical attention. While there are countless art historical studies of portraiture, contemporary philosophy has largely remained silent on the subject. This book aims to address that lacuna. It brings together philosophers (and philosophically minded historians) with different areas of expertise to discuss this enduring and continuously fascinating genre. The chapters in this collection are ranged under five broad themes. Part I examines the general nature of portraiture and what makes it distinctive as a genre. Part II looks at some of the subgenres of portraiture, such as double portraiture, and at some special cases, such as sport card portraits and portraits of people not present. How emotions are expressed and evoked by portraits is the central focus of Part III, while Part IV explores the relation between portraiture, fiction, and depiction more generally. Finally, in Part V, some of the ethical issues surrounding portraiture are addressed. The book closes with an epilogue about portraits of philosophers. Portraits and Philosophy tangles with deep questions about the nature and effects of portraiture in ways that will substantially advance the scholarly discussion of the genre. It will be of interest to scholars and students working in philosophy of art, history of art, and the visual arts.

David Hockney introduces his two dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, in this delightful new book. The result of both sharp observation and affection, these paintings and drawings are lyrical studies in form and color. A text by the artist himself gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how to work with models who don't necessarily want to sit still. Hockney has provided additional drawings made specially on the page, and has been largely involved in the layout of the book, creating a charming and unified whole.

Afterlives sees John Barnie engaging with images once again, as he did in his book A Year of Flowers. Here, Barnie deploys his skills of perception to respond to a group of paintings in Peter Lord's art collection. These are images that have been familiar to Barnie for years, yet he approaches them with characteristic freshness and humanity. There are no mere descriptions here. Rather, Barnie inhabits the images, speaking from within or engaging with their subjects as a persona just outside the frame. And as he does so, we are taken on a narrative journey, gaining insight into not only how poetry and art interrogate one another, but how each image, peered at 'through thick cracking varnish', reveals layers of history and the mores that accrete into hierarchies, prejudices, injustices and the inability to read one another across cultural gaps. The poems in Afterlives reverberate with the ghosts from the pictures, whose roles are still being played out in the divisive echo-chambers of today's insiders and outsiders. Rich with social commentary, delivered with wit, and sometimes a hint of mischief, there is a serious intent at work here: the voice of those who know 'whose tragedy they are in'-'their own'. And who know also that they: 'will defy anything / that gets in their way'.

100 Boston Painters celebrates the wide-ranging talents, approaches, and personalities of the vibrant world of Boston arts. A labor of love by George Mason University Art Professor Chawky Frenn, this exciting new book features the work of artists selected by an extensive review of Boston arts, both past and present. Including an introductory essay by art critic Charles Giuliano, this volume provides insights into the roots of the arts in Boston, the city's tradition of painting, and the new directions that painters are pursuing. Brief statements supplement each artist's work with reflections about their inspirations and perspectives on their philosophies, influences, and accomplishments. From realism to expressionism and abstraction, this book covers a remarkable variety of works from well-known as well as upcoming and less recognized artists. This book is a valuable, enriching resource and a must-have for all art enthusiasts.

Step inside the studio of Andres Valencia, the child prodigy who has astonished the art world with his boldly inventive paintings.

In 2021, Andres became the youngest artist in history to showcase his work at Art Miami, where his large-scale portrait paintings informed by Cubism quickly sold out. He has since taken the creative world by storm, selling dozens of paintings for six-figure sums and sharing videos of his paintings-in-process with hundreds of thousands of fans online.

Andres Valencia: Painting Without Rules tells the story of this remarkable self-taught artist and sheds light on his creative process―what inspires him, how he executes his artwork, and what creativity means to him as a young person. You’ll get an inside look as Andres works in his studio―mixing paint, sketching with oil pastels, and expressing his imagination on the canvas―until the large, wildly unique faces and bodies he’s known for come into form.

An inspiring and heartwarming look at one of the most accomplished young artists in the world, this boldly colorful coffee table book features a gallery of over 100 of Andres’ works and can be enjoyed by both casual creatives and serious artists of any age.

First published in 1997, this volume will revolutionise the study of watercolour painting in Britain. The Royal Watercolour Society archive constitutes a major academic resource covering two hundred years of the history of watercolour painting in Britain. The rediscovery in 1980 of 'the Jenkins Papers', the early records of the Society, was a major find for the history of British art. The archives are substantial and remarkably comprehensive. Minutes of annual general meetings, Council and committees, are all intact; extraordinarily, the Society's catalogues for its own exhibitions have also survived, with details of who bought the pictures and for how much. It contains biographical information on several hundred artists who practised throughout the United Kingdom from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. Prepared by the archivist to the RWS, Simon Fenwick, this is not just a work of reference, but an absorbing book to dip into again and again. The Society of Painters in Water Colours, as it was then titled, was founded in 1804 to promote the interests of painters using watercolour and to provide a platform for members to sell their work. As such, its archives provide an excellent insight into the evolving debate on the status of the artists and their medium, and an authoritative account of the way in which watercolour paintings were sold, distributed and acquired. The substantial introduction by Greg Smith surveys some of the purposes and practices of watercolour from 1750 to the present day and highlights key issues, many yet to be examined, relating to the study of watercolour. His survey is arranged around a number of topics including the notion of watercolour as a British art, collecting and display, book illustration, architectural drawing, map-making and topography, antiquarian studies, decorative arts, printmaking, portrait miniatures and drawings, amateur practices and the changing status of the sketch.

The artist Humphrey Ocean RA has painted portraits of Sir Paul McCartney and Philip Larkin, among many others. But alongside these prestigious commissions, he has always returned to drawing the simpler things in life: our 'alluringly unnatural world', as he puts it. The result is this idiosyncratic and charming collection of birds, all rendered in Ocean's unique style. With a species to discover on every page, this book is the perfect gift for any keen ornithologist, aspiring twitcher or dedicated listener to Tweet of the Day. As well as birdwatching around his home and studio in South London, Ocean regularly visits his sister, who is a nun in Nairobi and has loved birds all her life. There, he paints Kenyan birds such as the Eurasian bee-eater, the Bulbul and the Flycatcher that are 'local, a bit like our garden birds so nothing overly exotic, but of course to me they are'. They join the familiar gulls, thrushes and tits of the gardens, parks and hedgerows of the UK in this beautifully produced collection.

More than 30 years after his groundbreaking exhibition at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, Conrad Atkinson is rightly regarded as one of Britain's most important living political artists. Landscapes, the first of a complete series on Atkinson's oeuvre, reviews work relating specifically to the land, and is published in response to the inclusion of Atkinson's early masterwork, "For Wordsworth, For West Cumbria," in the Tate Gallery's recent exhibition, A Picture of Britain, where the work was given central placement. The book includes an essay by Richard Cork, chief art critic of the London Times, an interview with Antony Hudek of the Courtauld Institute, and original writings by the artist. Represented in New York by the Ronald Feldman Gallery, Atkinson is also a Professor of Art at the University of California at Davis.

Part of a series of exciting and luxurious Flame Tree Notebooks. Combining high-quality production with magnificent fine art, the covers are printed on foil in five colours, embossed then foil stamped. And they're powerfully practical: a pocket at the back for receipts and scraps and two bookmarks. These are perfect for personal use and make a dazzling gift. This example is based on Vincent van Gogh's Cafe Terrace. In this painting the brightly lit cafe radiates with warmth and inviting light, becoming a beacon of yellow set against the rich, dark blue of a night sky, which in turn is illuminated by myriad bright stars. Van Gogh attached the colour yellow to feelings of religious inspiration, light and happiness.