The incomparable play of light and color in Paul Cezanne's work was the foundation of his reputation as a forerunner of modernism. From the start he went his own way, and his paintings initially evoked a lack of understanding in art critics of the time, as well as ridicule. Despite his romantic, baroque, impressionist, and finally classical influences, it is still difficult to ascribe Cezanne to any particular art movement. Still, which specific places left lasting impressions on the scion of a provincial banker's family? What and who were major influences supporting and advancing his innovative oeuvre? James H. Rubin traces Cezanne's life and work from A to Z in this brief volume, creating an image of a painter who wanted to transform painting itself. The author-and established connoisseur-succeeds in closely approaching the artist while at the same time maintaining the necessary distance to his inimitable paintings.

Pivotal in modern art’s move towards abstraction, Piet Mondrian’s oeuvre is extraordinarily versatile and complex. Not only did he paint and draw, he also wrote extensively about his thoughts and theories on art and life. Moving from traditional Dutch landscape painting to a pronounced rhythmic framework focusing on compositional structure rather than naturalistic representation, Mondrian was profoundly impressed by contemporary culture. Thus, he was not only inspired by the pattern of the extensive Dutch canal system, but also by the rhythm of jazz and the foxtrot. Demonstrating the impact of his oeuvre, Yves Saint-Laurent's famous "Mondrian Dress" even made him a fashion icon posthumously. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth, Ulf Küster entertainingly leads through well- and lesser-known aspects of Mondrian's life and work offering inspiring impulses for reflection and further engagement with the fascinating artist.

Lucas Cranach the Elder created around 500 works during his lifetime. With his portraits of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchton and as court painter to Frederick the Wise, he became one of the most sought-after painters of the Reformation. At the same time, Cranach was the first to translate the Italian Renaissance tradition of the life-size nude into art north of the Alps; his lascivious, barely veiled depiction of Venus, the goddess of love, bears witness to this. On the occasion of the large Cranach exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Austrian writer Teresa Praauer explores the work of this busy prince of painters from A to Z. She focuses not only on Cranach's art, but also on the society that surrounded him, the subjects he painted, and the events that shaped his development.

Known for her paper art and collages, Marion Eichmann spent many weeks in the Reichstag building and the enclosed parliamentary buildings. Not only did she visit the plenary chamber, the floor designated to the parliamentary groups and the committee rooms, but she also keenly observed in corridors, canteens, libraries, and connecting tunnels the everyday life of a highly complex machinery that keeps the heart of democracy beating almost invisibly-focussing her interest at once on the iconic facades and settings familiar to the public, and on the rarely visible workspaces, devices, and often-overlooked details essential to the smooth daily operation of Parliament. Created as part of a commissioned project by the German Bundestag, the series of more than 80 papercuts documented in this volume in its entirety, provides a unique insight into the artist's creative process and working method.