In The Dark Side of Genius, Laurinda Dixon examines “melancholia” as a philosophical, medical, and social phenomenon in early modern art. Once considered to have a physical and psychic disorder, the melancholic combined positive aspects of genius and breeding with the negative qualities of depression and obsession. By focusing on four exemplary archetypes—the hermit, lover, scholar, and artist—this study reveals that, despite advances in art and science, the idea of the dispirited intellectual continues to function metaphorically as a locus for society’s fears and tensions. The Dark Side of Genius uniquely identifies allusions to melancholia in works of art that have never before been interpreted in this way. It is also the first book to integrate visual imagery, music, and literature within the social contexts inhabited by the melancholic personality. By labeling themselves as melancholic, artists created and defined a new elite identity; their self-worth did not depend on noble blood or material wealth, but rather on talent and intellect. By manipulating stylistic elements and iconography, artists from Dürer to Rembrandt appealed to an early modern audience whose gaze was trained to discern the invisible internal self by means of external appearances and allusions. Today the melancholic persona, crafted in response to the alienating and depersonalizing forces of the modern world, persists as an embodiment of withdrawn, introverted genius.

Graphic artist Daz Girling creates a visual celebration of alternative counter cultures. 130 pages of art featuring alt models & performers from around the world, such as international fetish icon Masuimi Max, Las Vegas blood sucking metal models The Vamp Girls, Iconic adult performer April Flores and UK Bizarre Ultra vixens Amie Conradine, Star of 'Scruff City' graphic novels-Scruffy Kitten, plus many other dark themed doodles, work-in-progress sketches and photos of many of your favourite alt girls.

Self-portraits have been created by man from ancient times through to the Middle Ages and beyond, for many different reasons and in many different forms. Juliet Heslewood, art historian and author of Mother, Lover and Child, brings together a compelling collection of artists' self-portraits, and tells the stories behind each of the artworks featured. Looking at each work, considering its individual history and examining the motivations behind its creation can reveal much about the artist, and about the time and place in which it was made. The images are shown chronologically, and the changing nature of the subject can be seen as time rolls forward over centuries to the present day. From Durer, Da Vinci and Rembrandt, to Van Gogh, Matisse and Kahlo, the book features over forty self-portraits and provides a fascinating combination of biographical anecdote and art history. Features work from the following collections: Louvre, Paris Muse e Picasso, Paris V&A, London National Gallery, London Tate Gallery, London Ashmolean, Oxford Alte Pinakothek, Munich National Gallery of Art, Washington Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Sistine Chapel, Rome Uffizi, Florence Prado, Madrid Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Women of the Grand Theater offers posters of some of the most glamorous women of the early 20th century. The Grand Posters of the Past collection provides a look into the magical world of theater, aristocracy, and cinema. From portraits of elite women to posters of famous actresses, these beautiful posters let you step into the world of the colorful past and experience the dynamics of that time. Great posters of great women of the theater, art, and movies.

A mother... An artist... A publisher of human emotion... The art of M. Zapp (Marilyn Zapp) has been seen internationally acclaimed on prints and greeting cards. For the first time together, an autobiographical anthology of 40 FULL-COLOR art prints by "M. Zapp," expressing her love and experience as a mother. This current anthology collection of her art work is representative of the first project of this genre, which she completed as a mother, producing a series of over three dozen different original art prints, which sold out the first run of 1500 copies each in less than a year. This specific cycle of material she calls -- "The Family Series" -- reflecting a unifying theme expressing the joy and love of family life and raising children amazingly illustrated in her own famously unique style. She explains: "After my first born, Mark, was born, I created the first piece for The Family Series, 'Mother's Love', in my forties, I had three children a year apart. My time was now occupied marveling, inspired and caring. I had no relatives to share my beautiful children or my strong feelings and emotions of being a parent, so the artist within me shared them with you. I was a mother, an artist, and the publisher of the feelings I needed to share. These art pieces also served as a biography of my life and my love as a mother - the feelings of joy, anxieties and emotions. So, I became a publisher of the feelings I needed to share and over the years many mothers, and even fathers, have understood my work." "For the first time in a collection together, many of these prints are still owned by numerous people worldwide who have identified and collected my work. My son, Mark, modeled for 'Jesus and the Lamb' and then cut his hair and shaved so that he would not be recognized as the model. My daughter, Lea, poised as the Virgin Mary for me. This book includes some, but not all, of the work I have done on this quest, that ended with my models and the youngest daughter, Erika's, teen experiences."

This book of 112 pictures is a selection of drawings and paintings representing Jindrich's artistic endeavours over the last three decades. The collection contains real-life portraits as well as images and portraits based on the works of other artists. Some of the works in the book are the product of Jindrich's own imagination. In addition, there is a section containing icons and symbols and two sections picturing animals (domestic and wild).

With Editorial Revision By Sara E. H. Lockwood.

Carrie Stuart Parks shows you how to draw a realistic face step by step, as she guides you through several demonstrations of facial features. After learning how to measure and draw accurate proportions, chapters are broken down into individual features (eyes, nose, mouth, head shapes). You'll finish up with lessons on how to shade and draw hair. Carrie's friendly instruction and helpful tips will give you the skills you need to draw your own favorite faces.

• Includes 32 pages of bonus instruction
• 90 minutes of premier art demonstration

A study and celebration of the rich diversity of style and forms in paintings of the human figure

From the very beginnings of human existence, artists have made images of people, a continually evolving practice. This book focuses on close and perceptive visual analysis of specific pictures to place the idea of looking at painting at the very center of the process of making paintings. Works are considered in relation to their artistic and social context, and the book includes insightful comparisons between pictures from diverse cultures and periods. It compares the relationships between looking and making; explores the interactions between mark, touch, and form; explains color relationships and perceptual effects; and discusses the potential for paintings to express a wide range of emotion, belief, and experience. Extensive drawings and paintings complement the discussion.

In the latter part of the 1800's, on the island of Nantucket, Josiah Freeman, best known for his stereopticon landscapes, also produced a magnificent body of studio portraits. His photographs are simultaneously serious and playful, and give us a portal through which we can appreciate the diversity of the community and its life through clothing, postures, and physiognomy. Seen all together, Freeman's work gives us a strong insight into the common life of the island during his era. This book was created by Walter and Marilyn Rabetz. Walter is a well known contemporary photographer who happened upon a treasure trove of Freeman's glass negatives that were being discarded. Realizing their historic and artistic value, he and his wife, Marilyn, have curated these images into this elegant compilation.

With Editorial Revision By Sara E. H. Lockwood.

Sheilagh O'Leary and Rhonda Pelley spent two summers travelling from Bonavista Bay to the Great Northern Peninsula and to the communities of the south coast. The women they interviewed shared unique life stories filled with hard work, love, heartbreak, and family. Island Maid documents, with photos and words, the thoughts and lives of these women. It is also the chronicle of a journey, a feminist road-trip taken during one of the most tumultuous times in Newfoundland's modern history. WINNER of the 2011 Rogers Communication Award for Non-Fiction.

With Editorial Revision By Sara E. H. Lockwood.

Introduction by Gabriele Conrath-Scholl. Text by Susanne Lange, Jim Dine.

Symbols of affluence, power and social standing, pearls have been highly prized throughout history for their beauty and purity. Jewellery fashioned from these lustrous gems has adorned some of the world's most elegant women, from Cleopatra to Coco Chanel. This book brings together a fascinating collection of paintings, drawings, prints and photographs of noble women, imperial princesses, society ladies and Hollywood divas wearing their finest pearl tiaras, necklaces, brooches and earrings. Engaging commentaries explain the context in which each image was created and provide glimpses into the life of the artist and his or her model. An insightful introduction charts the history of our fascination with natural and cultured pearls from ancient times to the present day. This book features the work of a diverse range of artists, from Botticelli, Rembrandt and Vermeer to Renoir, Sargent and Man Ray. It is an ideal gift for lovers of jewellery and anyone interested in the depiction of women in art.

Diminutive marvels of artistry and fine craftsmanship, portrait miniatures reveal a wealth of information within their small frames. They can tell tales of cultural history and biography, of people and their passions, of evolving tastes in jewelry, fashion, hairstyles, and the decorative arts. Unlike many other genres, miniatures have a tradition in which amateurs and professionals have operated in parallel and women artists have flourished as professionals. This richly illustrated book presents approximately 180 portrait miniatures selected from the holdings of the Cincinnati Art Museum, the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in North America. The book stresses the continuity of stylistic tradition across Europe and America as well as the vitality of the portrait miniature format through more than four centuries. A detailed catalogue entry, as well as a concise artist biography, appears for each object. Essays examine various aspects of miniature painting, of the depiction of costume in miniatures, and of the allied art of hair work. Published in association with the Cincinnati Art Museum Exhibition Schedule: Cincinnati Art Museum (March 4-May 28, 2006) Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina (August 18-October 22, 2006)

Stars in My Eyes is a revealing and entertaining collection of celebrity portraits, rendered both in acute drawings and in finely observed prose. In the 1970s and 1980s, internationally known artist Don Bachardy made portraits from life, depicting the actors, writers, artists, composers, directors, and Hollywood elite that he and his partner Christopher Isherwood knew. He then made detailed notes about these portrait sittings in the journal he has kept for more than forty years. The result is a unique document: we enter the mind of the artist as he records the images and behavior of his celebrity subjects - from Ruby Keeler and Barbara Stanwyck to Jack Nicholson and Linda Ronstadt - during their often intense collaboration with him.

All royalties, a minimum of GBP2.50 from the sale of each book, will be paid to NHS Charities Together (registered charity no. 1186569) to fund vital projects. When the UK went into lockdown in March 2020 to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, artist Tom Croft offered to paint an NHS key worker's portrait for free. Unsure how to help and offer his support, he wanted to capture and record the bravery and heroism of frontline workers who were risking their physical and mental health for our wellbeing. Tom suggested that other artists might want to do the same. He made his offer via video message on Instagram and was immediately contacted by Harriet Durkin, a nurse at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, who had contracted Covid-19 and, now recovered, was about to return to the frontline. Tom's portrait of Harriet, wearing PPE, was the first in what became a global art project. The response to the initiative was staggering and Tom personally paired up 500 artists and NHS workers in the first two weeks. When numbers reached the thousands, Tom set up a traffic light system so that artists and frontline workers could match themselves. Portraits in all mediums followed, from oils to pencil, sculpture to ceramic, mosaic to mural. This book presents a selection of these remarkable images. Some are by leading artists such as Alastair Adams and Mary Jane Ansell, and they are showcased here as both a celebration and a remembrance, in physical form, of the dedication of our NHS key workers. 'I just couldn't imagine what it must be like to have to put on your PPE and head into the frontline of the pandemic, so I wanted to try and thank NHS workers in some small way. We are indebted to them, so to be able to commemorate, celebrate and record their experiences through portraiture felt fitting. This collection will stand as a permanent record of their bravery in a time of national crisis.' Tom Croft