Книги по истории искусства

Decode the secrets and uncover the origins and meanings of over 2,000 signs and symbols, from ancient hieroglyphs to modern-day logos.

Why is a heart pierced by an arrow a classic symbol of love? What are the ancient roots of fertility symbols? Why are scales a symbol of justice?

Delve into the meaning of each symbol and investigate how they have been interpreted in myth, religion, folklore, and art over time, with authoritative text from experts in the field and striking line drawings and photography that emphasize the visual strength and beauty of signs. Divided into six thematic sections - the cosmos, the natural world, human life, myths and religions, society and culture, and symbol systems - this guide to the secret language of signs and symbols is a must-have for those who want to understand the world around them.

Soviets features unpublished drawings from the archive of Danzig Baldaev

They satirize the Communist Party system, exposing the absurdities of Soviet life from drinking (Alcoholics and Shirkers) to the Afghan war (The Shady Enterprise), via dissent (Censorship, Paranoia and Suspicion) and religion (Atheism as an Ideology).

Baldaev reveals the cracks in the crumbling socialist structure, detailing the increasing hardships tolerated by a population whose leaders are in pursuit of an ideal that will never arrive. Dating from 1950s to the period immediately before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, his caricatures depict communisms winners and losers: the corruption of its politicians, the stagnation of the system, and the effect of this on the ordinary soviet citizen.

Baldaevs drawings are contrasted with classic propaganda-style photographs taken by Sergei Vasiliev for the newspaper Vercherny Chelyabinsk. These photographs portray a world the Party leaders dreamed of: where workers fulfilled their five-year plans as parades of soldiers and weapons rumbled through Red Square.

This book examines both broadly and in minute detail the official fiction and the austere, bleak reality, of living under such a system.

Unleash the unconscious: Provoking the establishment with primal instincts 

With Salvador Dalias its figurehead, the great ship of Surrealism traversed the turbulent seas of the early twentieth century with sails billowing with dreams and desires. Inspired by the psychoanalytical practise of Sigmund Freud, the Surrealists championed the unconscious as the domain of truth, uninhibited by the standards or expectations of society.

With techniques ranging from hypnotism to nocturnal walks to automatic writing, the likes of Andre Breton, Max Ernst, Brassai, and Meret Oppenheim produced paintings, drawings, texts, and films in which they sought to excavate their most intimate and primal instincts. 

The results abound with sexual fantasies, with mysterious, menacing creatures, and with the juxtaposition of seemingly contradictory objects or ideas.

This book introduces the origins and the sensational legacy of the Surrealist movement, one of the most profound and enduring influences on film, theatre, literature, art, and thought.

Featured artists: Hans Arp, Andre Breton, Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, Rene Magritte, Andre Masson, Matta, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Meret Oppenheim, Yves Tanguy.

About the series:

- Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre series features:
- approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions
- a detailed illustrated introduction plus a timeline of the most important political, cultural, and social events that took place during that period
- a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and accompanying interpretation, as well as a portrait and brief biography of the artist

This beautifully illustrated new volume on the Surrealist movement uncovers the influence magic, myth and the occult had on its development.

Like no other 20th-century movement, Surrealism was keenly inspired by tropes of magic, myth and the occult. In their engagement with the irrational and the unconscious, numerous of its members looked to magic as a poetic and deeply philosophical discourse, related to both arcane knowledge and individual self-empowerment. In their works, they heavily drew on esoteric symbols and cultivated the image of the artist as a magician, visionary, and alchemist. This catalog explores the myriad ways, in which magic and the occult informed the development of the Surrealist movement in international perspective, from the “metaphysical paintings” of Giorgio de Chirico through to works of the post-war period. Lavishly illustrated, it combines longer research essays with focused chapter introductions, all penned by leading scholars in the field.

Amongst the many fascinating artists included in the volume are Victor Brauner, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Paul Delvaux, Enrico Donati, Max Ernst, Leonor Fini, Wifredo Lam, René Magritte, Roberto Matta, Roland Penrose, Kay Sage, Kurt Seligmann, Dorothea Tanning, Yves Tanguy, and Remedios Varo.

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Пролистать книгу Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity на сайте издательства.

Explore the most important sacred signs and symbols in the world with this visual directory

Chosen for their powerful symbolism, the illustrations in this book range from the myths and legends of the ancient world to the icons used in modern culture and science. You will discover the fascinating origins and meanings of over 500 signs and symbols, from the secrets of the Maya calendar to demon-summoning seals and secretive symbols of the hermetic orders.

Divided into seven thematic sections – astrology; the natural world; sacred writings; alchemy, numerology and sacred geometry; magic; demonology; and the western esoteric tradition – this decoding guide is the ultimate resource for unlocking the secret language of signs and symbols for the modern occultist.

Contents List:

Foreword
1. Astrology
2. The Natural World
3. Sacred Writings
4. Occult Sciences
5. White Magic and Cartomancy
6. Black Magic and Demonology
7. Western Esoteric Tradition

About the Author:

Eric Chaline is a professional author and editor based in London. He has a special interest in religion and philosophy, especially in relation to East Asia, Mesoamerica, and India. He has written books on a range of subjects, such as history, travel, and health and fitness. His published works include The Book of Zen, The Book of Gods and Goddesses, Simple Path to Yoga, 101 Dilemmas for the Armchair Philosopher, Lost Treasures, History’s Worst Inventions, Fifty Minerals that Changed History, Ancient Greece, and Strokes of Genius: A History of Swimming (which won the Lord Aberdare Prize for best book on the history of sport in 2018). Publishers he has worked with include Quarto Publishing plc, Harper Collins, Firefly, New Holland Publishers Ltd, David and Charles Plc, and Reaktion Books Ltd. He has an MA in Japanese Studies and spent seven years in Japan where he studied Zen Buddhism and the martial arts. He also has a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies.

Discover the story of colour through the significant scientific discoveries and key artist’s works over 400 years.

From Isaac Newton’s investigations through to Olafur Eliasson’s experiential creations, this stunning book documents the fascinating story of colour with an extraordinary collection of original colour material that includes charts, wheels, artists’ palettes, swatches and schemes.

“In 1704, the scientist Isaac Newton published Opticks, the result of many years of researching light and colour. By splitting white light, Newton identified the visible range of colours, or the rainbow spectrum. In Opticks, he built a colour system around his findings, and he visualised this system in a circular shape, making it one of the first printed colour wheels.
The influence of Newton and his followers, combined with the invention of many new pigments as well as watercolours in moist cake form, had made painting with colour an exciting occupation not just for serious artists but also for a much wider audience. The colour revolution had begun.”

Contents:
Introduction
1. Unravelling the Rainbow: The Eighteenth-Century Colour Revolution
2. Romantic Ideas & New Technologies: The Early Nineteenth Century
3. Industrialism to Impressionism: The Later Nineteenth Century
4. Colour for Colour’s Sake: Colour into the Future:
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

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Пролистать книгу Tate: Colour: A Visual History на Google Books.

A brand-new revised and updated edition of Phaidon's accessible, acclaimed A-Z guide to the most important artists of all time

Updated for only the third time in its 16-year history, this new edition of the award-winning landmark publication has been refreshed with more than 40 important new artists, including many previously overlooked and marginal practitioners. The new edition spotlights more than 600 great artists from medieval to modern times. Breaking with traditional classifications, it throws together brilliant examples from all periods, schools, visions, and techniques, presenting an unparalleled visual sourcebook and a celebration of our rich, multifaceted culture.

Artists featured for the first time in this edition include: Berenice Abbott, Hilma af Klint, El Anatsui, Romare Bearden, Mark Bradford, Cao Fei, Cecily Brown, Judy Chicago, John Currin, Guerrilla Girls, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall, Joan Mitchell, Zanele Muholi, Takashi Murakami, Louise Nevelson, Clara Peeters, Jenny Saville, Wolfgang Tillmans, and more

• Celebrated and award-winning title, published in more 20 languages and in a variety of formats, which has introduced millions of people worldwide to art and artists
• Showcases art from medieval times to the present day, including paintings, photographs, sculptures, video, installations, and performance
• Updated with 40 additional works, including overlooked historical and cutting-edge contemporary artists
• Each artist is represented by a key work and an informative, explanatory text on the piece and its creator
• Debunks art-historical classifications by juxtaposing brilliant examples across periods, schools, visions, and techniques

What is Fauvism? Which event inspired Picasso's Guernica? Who connects Andy Warhol and David Hockney?

This comprehensive volume answers all these and more. In a grand timeline of art, it explains how one movement influenced the next, discusses influential painters, sculptors, and artists, and showcases 80 of the world's greatest artworks.

Throughout history, art has taken many forms and offers a kaleidoscopic variety of expression. With The Art Book as your companion, you can browse the world's most important artworks, from prehistoric Altamira cave paintings to pop art and avant-garde video installations.

You can observe artistic inspiration evolving from religious themes in the Middle Ages to abstract shapes and colour in the 20th century and understand the ideas that inspired masterpieces by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Klimt, Matisse, Kahlo, and many more. Annotations draw attention to key details of masterpieces, and diagrams offer succinct explanations of art forms and help you contrast techniques of painters such as Cézanne and van Gogh.

With insightful quotations and detailed timelines, The Art Book is a thought-provoking and essential reference for students and art-lovers everywhere.

Visit the world’s most comprehensive and compelling museum in a single book – the ultimate gallery in your own home

Housing the finest art collection ever assembled, this classic format of Phaidon’s bestselling The Art Museum offers the ultimate museum experience without the boundaries of space and time. The rooms and galleries that live within this volume display more than 1,600 artworks, expertly selected from the original collection, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, photographs, installations, performances, videos, prints, ceramics, manuscripts, metalwork, and jewelwork.

The artworks included were carefully selected by a team of 28 curators, critics, art historians and artists who contributed their expertise to create this revolutionary 'virtual' museum. These experts came from such institutions as: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The British Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Art, Boston; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; the University of California, Berkley; LaTrobe University, Melbourne; the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London; and the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Works originate from the Palaeolithic era to the present and come from all around the globe and include both iconic and lesser-known pieces. This extraordinary book takes the reader on a tour around the world and through the ages, presenting the finest examples of human creativity within its covers – a dream museum without the boundaries of walls.

About the Authors:

Twenty-eight curators, critics, art historians, and artists contributed their expertise to create this art-lover's ideal museum. They come from such institutions as: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; the University of California, Berkeley; La Trobe University, Melbourne; the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London; and The Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

A unique approach to the history of art told through the story of colour and pigments.

Did you know that the ultramarine that shimmers at the centre of Vermeer’s Milkmaid connects that masterpiece with 6th-century Zoroastrian paintings found on the walls of cave temples in Bamiyan, Afghanistan? Or that the surging waves that crest and curl in Hokusai’s perilous Great Wave off Kanagawa owe their absorbing blue lustre to an alchemist who was born in Frankenstein’s Castle in 1673? And were the Pre-Raphaelites really obsessed with a murky brown hue derived from the pulverized remains of ancient mummies? (Spoiler: they were.)

Invented by prehistoric cave-dwellers and medieval conjurers, cunning conmen and savvy scientists, the colours of art tell a riveting tale all their own. Over ten scintillating chapters, acclaimed author Kelly Grovier helps bring that tale vividly to life, revealing the astonishing backstories of the pigments that define the greatest works in the history of art. Interwoven between these chapters is a series of features focusing on key moments in the evolution of colour theory – from the revelations of the Enlightenment to the radicalism of the Bauhaus – while reproductions of carefully selected artworks help illuminate the narrative’s twists and turns.

The history of colour is an epic saga of human ingenuity and insatiable desire. Read this book and you will never look at a work of art in quite the same way.

About the Author:

Kelly Grovier is a feature writer for BBC Culture and the author of several acclaimed studies of art, including 100 Works of Art That Will Define Our Age, Art Since 1989, and A New Way of Seeing: The History of Art in 57 Works, published by Thames & Hudson. His most recent book, On the Line: Conversations with Sean Scully, is based on revealing chats with his close friend, the internationally-acclaimed abstract artist. His writings have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, the Sunday Times, the Observer, the RA Magazine and Wired magazine. His history of London’s Newgate Prison, The Gaol, was a BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’. He is co-founder of the scholarly journal European Romantic Review.

He is the author of three collections of poetry, including THE LANTERN CAGE, and has been described by reviewers as “a poet of both truth and beauty” (The TLS) and “a kind of William Blake for the twenty-first century” (Planet magazine).

Kelly was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was educated at UCLA and Oxford University, where he earned his doctorate as a Marshall Scholar. He lives in Ireland with his wife and son.

An extensively illustrated compendium of 45 expertly selected illuminated bibles that transport the reader through 1,000 years of history and across the Christian world

For two millennia the Bible has inspired the creation of art. Within this legacy of remarkable art and beauty, illuminated biblical manuscripts offer some of the best evidence for our understanding of early Christian painting and artistic interpretations of the Bible.

Compiled and written by two internationally renowned experts, this beautiful book immerses the reader in the world of illuminated manuscripts of the Bible. Through its pictures we are transported across 1,000 years of history, passing chronologically through many of the major centres of the Christian world. Starting in Constantinople in the East, the journey moves on to Lindisfarne in the North, to imperial Aachen, back to Canterbury, then to Carolingian Tours in western France. Later we view some of the riches of Winchester, Mozarabic Spain, Crusader Jerusalem, the Meuse valley, northern Iraq, Paris, London, Bologna, Naples, Bulgaria, the Low Countries, Rome and Persia. Our journey ends in Gondar, the capital of imperial Ethiopia. Forty-five remarkable books – each a treasure in its own right – provide our itinerary through time and across continents. Together they enable us to explore and revel in the extraordinary art and beauty of illuminated biblical manuscripts, some of the finest but least-known paintings from the Middle Ages.

Contents List:

Introduction: One Thousand Years of Art and Beauty
The Bibles
1. The Golden Canon Tables
Canon Tables of Eusebius of Caesarea, in Greek Constantinople, 6th or 7th century [Turkey]
Glimpses of early Christian splendour in Constantinople
2. The Lindisfarne Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin, with added interlinear gloss in Old English
Lindisfarne, c. 700 (added gloss, Chester-le-Street, c. 970) [UK]
Spectacular Anglo-Saxon Ornament
3. The Vespasian Psalter
Psalter, in Latin, with interlinear gloss in Old English
Kent, 1st half of the 8th century [UK]
The Earliest Narrative Initials in Western Europe
4. The Harley Golden Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Aachen?, Carolingian Empire, c. 800 [UK]
The Gospels Written in Gold
5. The Canterbury Royal Bible
Bible, in Latin (incomplete, now comprising the Four Gospels only)
Canterbury, 1st quarter of the 9th century, [UK]
An Early Canterbury Bible
6. The Moutier-Granval Bible
Bible, in Latin
Tours, 2nd quarter of the 9th century [France]
Symbolic Figurative Art
7. The Lothar Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
Aachen, c. 842–55 [Germany]
An Imperial Psalter
8. The Aethelstan or Coronation Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Lobbes, south of Brussels, last quarter of the 9th century, or 1st quarter of the 10th century [Belgium]
A Royal Gift
9. Guest-Coutts New Testament
New Testament, in Greek
Constantinople, middle of 10th century [Turkey]
An Illuminated New Testament from Constantinople
10. The Harley Psalter
Psalter, in Latin (Psalms, incomplete)
Canterbury, 1st half of the 11th century [UK]
An Anglo-Saxon Masterpiece
11. The Old English Hexateuch
Hexateuch (Genesis-Joshua), in Old English
Canterbury, 2nd quarter of the 11th century [UK]
The Earliest Illustrated Western Vernacular Bible
12. The Harley Echternach Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Latin
Echternach, middle of the 11th century [Luxembourg]
Ottonian Imperial Style
13. The Tiberius Psalter
Psalter, in Latin, imperfect, with Old English gloss
Winchester, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 11th century [UK]
A Grand Christological Cycle
14. Theodore Psalter
Psalter, in Greek
Constantinople, 1066 [Turkey]
A Byzantine Visual Commentary on the Psalms
15. The Silos Apocalypse
Revelation and Beatus of Liébana’s commentary,
St Jerome’s commentary on Daniel, in Latin
Silos [Spain], 1091 (text) and 1109 (decoration) [Spain]
A Spanish Vision of the Apocalypse
16. The Stavelot Bible
Bible, in Latin
Stavelot, near Liège, 1093–97 [Belgium]
Monumental Art
17. The Egerton Gospel Lectionary
Gospel Lectionary, in Latin
Germany, c. 1100 [Germany]
Illuminating the Liturgy
18. The Burney Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Constantinople, 10th century (script) and 2nd quarter
of 12th century (portraits) [Turkey]
An Imperial Tetraevangelion
19. The Psalter of Queen Melisende
Psalter, in Latin
Jerusalem, between 1131 and 1143 [Middle East]
A Psalter for a Crusader Queen
20. The Winchester Psalter
Psalter, in Latin and French with the Apostles Creed
and some prayers in French
Winchester, England, middle of 12th century [UK]
An Illustrated Bilingual Psalter
21. The Worms Bible
Bible, in Latin
Frankenthal, near Worms, c. 1148 [Germany]
A Romanesque Giant Bible
22. The Floreffe Bible
Bible, in Latin
Meuse valley, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 12th century [Germany]
Visual Biblical Exegesis
23. The Arnstein Bible
Bible, in Latin
Arnstein, Germany, c. 1172 [Germany]
A Grand Monastic Bible
24. The Harley Greek Gospels
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Cyprus or Palestine, late 12th century [Middle East]
A Gospels to Aid Devotion
25. Syriac Lectionary
Gospel Lectionary, in Syriac
Mosul, between 1216 and 1220 [Syria / Middle East]
A Syrian Visualization of the Gospels
26. The Harley Bible moralisée
Moralized Bible (Maccabees and the New Testament),
in Latin, Paris, 2nd quarter of 13th century [France]
Royal Instruction
27. Apocalypse
Revelation, with extracts from the commentary
of Berengaudus, in Latin, imperfect
London or Westminster, c. 1260 [UK]
An English Illustrated Apocalypse
28. Bolognese Bible
Bible, in Latin
Bologna, c. 1280–1300 [Italy]
Italian Splendour
29. Gospel Lectionary of the Sainte-Chapelle
Gospel Lectionary, in Latin
Paris, last quarter of 13th century [France]
Picturing the Gospels in Medieval Paris
30. The Queen Mary Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
London?, 1st quarter of 14th century [UK]
Unprecedented Psalter Illustration
31. Welles Apocalypse
Revelation, with commentary in Anglo-Norman French,
bound with Peter of Peckham, La lumere as lais
England, c. 1310 [UK]
Revelation in the Vernacular
32. Holkham Bible Picture Book
Bible Picture Book, with captions in Anglo-Norman French
London, c. 1320–30 [UK]
The Bible in Pictures
33. The St Omer Psalter
Psalter, in Latin
Norfolk, c. 1330 (with later additions) [UK]
Glorious Marginal Imagery
34. Bible of Clement VII
Bible, in Latin
Naples, c. 1330–40 [Italy]
A Papal Bible
35. The Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander
The Four Gospels, in Slavonic of Bulgarian character
Turnovo (?), 1355–56 [Bulgaria]
Slavonic Emulation of Byzantine Splendour
36. Bible historiale of Charles V
Bible historiale completée moyenne: Genesis to the Apocalypse, in French
Paris, 1357 [France]
The Bible as History
37. Paduan Bible Picture Book
Bibbia istoriata: Exodus to Joshua, in Italian
Padua, c. 1390–1400 [Italy]
The Old Testament in Pictures
38. King’s Biblia pauperum
Biblia pauperum
The Hague, c. 1395–1400 [Netherlands]
The Old Testament revealed in the New
39. The Great Bible of the Kings of England
Bible, in Latin
London, c. 1410–13 [UK]
A Late Medieval Giant Bible
40. Bible historiale of Charles of France
Grande Bible historiale à prologues: Genesis to the Apocalypse
Paris, c. 1420 [France]
Learning Wisdom from the Bible
41. Dutch History Bible
Utrecht Bible: Genesis to Esther
Utrecht, c. 1440–45 [Netherlands]
Seeing Salvation in the Netherlands
42. Edward IV’s Bible historiale
Bible historiale: Tobit to Acts, in French
Bruges, 1470 (script) and c. 1479 (illumination) [Belgium]
A Bible fit for a King
43. The Gospels of Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga
The Four Gospels, in Greek
Rome, 1478 [Italy]
A Renaissance Cardinal’s Gospel book
44. Armenian Gospels
Four Gospels, in Armenian
Isfahan, 1608 [Middle East]
Painting the Gospels in Persia
45. Ethiopian Octateuch and Gospels
Octateuch, Four Gospels and Apostolic Canons, in classical Ethiopic (Ge'ez)
Gondar (?), late 17th century [Ethiopia]
Reviving Former Ethiopian splendour

Further Reading
Index

About the Authors:

Dr Scot McKendrick is Head of Western Heritage Collections at the British Library, and Dr Kathleen Doyle is the Lead Curator, Illuminated Manuscripts at the same institution. Scot and Kathleen edited and contributed to 1,000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts (2013) and, with Professor John Lowden, Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination (2011), which was shortlisted for the William M.B. Berger Prize for British Art History (2012). Together they wrote Bible Manuscripts: 1,400 Years of Scribes and Scripture (2007), and contributed to Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2007).

Never-before-published drawings by Andy Warhol, telling the story of a cheeky snake and the glittering constellation of celebrities that surround him

Noa the Boa is a slave to fashion with the heart of an actor and an obsession with celebrity. He becomes luxurious leather accessories for illustrious clients – from Grace Kelly’s pillow to the codpieces at the Folies Bergère – in a high-fashion gift book for adults that is whimsical, and a little bit naughty.

This charming story and never-before-published, rarely exhibited drawings by one of the world’s most beloved artists, are a veritable who’s-who of celebrities of the 1960s, from Chanel, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy, to Diana Vreeland and a couple of Rockefellers.

Riders on the Storm. The charge of 20th-century expressionism

Join the heady ride of Der Blaue Reiter, the group of artists who galloped just three years of the early 20th century together, but in their rejection of establishment standards and charge into a new artistic realm marked a major step in the evolution of European Expressionist and abstract art.

Although it only lasted three turbulent years, the afterburn of the Blaue Reiter (1911–1914) movement exerted a tremendous influence on the development of modern European art. Named after a Kandinsky painting, The Blue Rider, this loose band of artists, grouped around Russian émigré Wassily Kandinsky and German painter Franz Marc, sought to reject establishment standards and charge into a new artistic unknown.

Articulating spiritual values and concerns in an era of rapid industrialization, the artists of the Blaue Reiter were connected by a shared interest in painting, woodcuts, and prints, as well as the symbolic values of color and spontaneous approaches to artwork. Key pieces such as Franz Marc’s Blue Horse I (1911), Kandinsky’s Picture with a Black Arch (1912), and August Macke’s Woman in a Green Jacket (1913) reveal varying subjects, but all channel distorted perspectives, crude lines, and an emphatic, expressionist use of color.

The Blaue Reiter was abruptly truncated by the onset of the First World War, which killed two of its leading artists, along with growing dissent between the group’s protagonists. This book reveals the movement’s remarkable influence despite its brevity, presenting key works, artists, and their reverberating effects.

The author:

Hajo Düchting studied art history, philosophy, and archaeology in Munich, where he gained his doctorate in 1981 with a thesis on Robert Delaunay’s Windows series. After working in museum and adult education, he moved on to teaching posts and guest professorships at the universities of Munich, Kassel, Leipzig, Saarbrücken, and Mainz. Düchting has published numerous articles on the art of the modern era, color theory, and the teaching of art, and has authored a number of TASCHEN titles, including Paul Cézanne, Wassily Kandinsky, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, and Georges Seurat.

About the series:

Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. 

Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Коллекция Петера и Ирене Людвиг одной из первых в мире объединила в своем составе современные друг другу американское и советское искусство. В этом каталоге, изданном к одноименной выставке в Мартин-Гропиус-Бау, организованной к 30-летнему юбилею падения «железного занавеса», впервые сопоставлены живописные произведения из собрания Людвига, которые были созданы по разные стороны стены, разделявшей два лагеря. Это сопоставление показывает, как художники эпохи «холодной войны» реагировали на политические и эстетические вызовы времени и отражали разные представления о свободе человека и общества.

В книге собрано около 150 работ таких художников, как Энди Уорхол, Илья Кабаков, Джаспер Джонс, Эрик Булатов, Джо Бэр, Виктор Пивоваров, Ли Лозано, Иван Чуйков, Джексон Поллок, Наталья Нестерова, Элен Франкенталер.

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The Peter and Irene Ludwig Collection was one of the first in the world to bring together works of US and Soviet art in the time period when they originated. Occasioned by the 30th anniversary of the opening of the iron curtain, in this book, which accompanies the eponymous exhibition at the Gropius Bau, works contained in the Ludwig Collection from both sides of the East-West conflict are compared for the first time. In this dialogue, it becomes apparent how Cold War era artists responded to the political and aesthetic issues of their age and negotiated concepts of individual and social freedom. The volume features some 150 works, including ones by Andy Warhol, Ilya Kabakov, Jackson Pollock, Erik Bulatov, Lee Lozano, Natalya Nesterova, and Helen Frankenthaler.

A Revolution of Light and Color

Occasionally, when something seems very familiar you lose sight of what makes it so special: Flemish Masters. From van Eyck to Bruegel sets out to counteract this effect and opens our eyes once again to the revolution that took place in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries that shaped the course of European art. In 48 lavishly illustrated analyses, Matthias Depoorter explores how painters such as Van Eyck, Van der Weiden, Massys, Bosch, and Bruegel reached unprecedented heights, and are rightfully considered innovators to this day. The defining factor was their perfecting and mastery of the oil painting technique as well as their groundbreaking attention to optical lighting effects. The new technical possibilities offered a different way of looking at the world and ultimately a new way of painting. No less innovative was the level of detail. These painters were thoroughly acquainted with each other’s work — this volume shows the fundamental artistic cross-fertilization. A must-read for anyone who wants to fall in love with the old masterpieces anew.

About the Author:

Matthias Depoorter (*1980) is a writer and an art historian. He was one of the curators of the seminal exhibition Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent and coordinated the accompanying scholarly publication.