Since studying with Anthony Gormley and Timm Ulrichs, Josef Rainer (*1970) has created an artistic world theatre made up of incidental and overlooked things, in which perspectives and proportions communicate, big things move out of view, and small things appear on the stage. In his new book, the honeycomb architecture of bees, shrunken human beings in urban surroundings, speaking busts, and reading primates encounter one another. Supplemented by forays into mythology, the history of human development, science, and politics, all of this forms the material for a wondrous 'art chamber' in book form. Text in English, German and Italian.

Innovation, technology, and spectacle combine in wondrous works of decorative art and furniture that embody the splendor and luxury of the royal courts of Europe At once beautiful works of art and technological wonders, the objects featured in Making Marvels demonstrate how European royalty from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment signaled their status through their collections of ingeniously crafted inventions. Featuring 150 exemplary objects ranging from mechanical toys to scientific instruments, timepieces to automata, this groundbreaking study brings to life a glorious period when luxury, a quest for knowledge, scientific invention, and political power combined to produce remarkable works of art. More than frivolous playthings, these works inspired technical innovations that influenced a broad spectrum of activities, including astronomy, engineering, and artisanal craftsmanship. This remarkable volume explores works in a wide range of materials, including precious metals, gemstones, pietra dura, marble, ivory, wood, bone, shell, glass, and paper. The book's compelling essays address the layered historical context in which these objects were fashioned and gathered into cabinets of wonder at courts throughout Europe; elucidate their complex blending of art and science; and provide fascinating details about the patrons who commissioned them and the specialists who made them. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (November 25, 2019-March 1, 2020)