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A revised edition of a classic title, now with digitally restored photographs, showcasing the finest surviving examples of ancient Buddhist art.

'Benoy K. Behl's remarkable photographs, painstakingly gathered and digitally restored over thirty years of hard labour, are probably the best and truest record of these fabulous treasures that will ever be created.' William Dalrymple

A revised edition of a classic title, now with digitally restored photographs, showcasing the finest surviving examples of ancient Buddhist art.

Since their chance re-discovery in 1819, the breathtaking paintings and sculptures of the Ajanta caves have inspired and delighted experts and amateurs alike. Ranging in date from the second century BCE to the sixth century CE, these ancient Buddhist artworks rank among the world's most important cultural treasures. Benoy K. Behl captured the beauty and luminosity of these works using long exposures and only natural light and now presents them here digitally restored to show the paintings closer to their original glory than ever before.

The exquisite murals, depicting the tales of previous incarnations of Buddha, scenes of princely processions and fantastical birds and beasts, provide virtually the only evidence of painting styles that first developed in India and remain crucially important to the understanding of Buddhist art throughout Asia. On UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, the Ajanta caves survive as a potent symbol of the great beauty of India's rich artistic past.

This new edition provides for the first time a view of some of the masterpieces of Ajanta painstakingly digitally restored by Behl. Sensitively carried out, the restoration makes the paintings clearer without interfering with their original grace and nuance, leading to a deeper appreciation of their artistry. Accompanied by expert commentaries to fully immerse the reader in the cultural context of the murals, this book will help preserve the legacy of the glorious art of Ajanta for years to come.

About the Author:

Benoy K. Behl is an art historian, film-maker and photographer who is known for his tireless and prolific output of work over the past forty-six years. He has taken over 53,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage and made 145 documentaries on subjects of art and culture.

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

A compelling and authoritative overview of the drawings of Vincent van Gogh, one of the most celebrated and intriguing figures in the history of art.

Vincent van Gogh's (1853-1890) drawings are some of the most familiar and expressive in the history of art. Van Gogh believed that drawing was the 'root of everything', and this was reflected in his remarkable output of over 1,000 works during his short and tragic life; many of them personal, often lonely explorations of the emerging modern world.

This book is the first comprehensive account to celebrate the singularity of the artist's achievements in this field. Arranged broadly thematically, from drawings of potato harvesters to depictions of knotted poplars, pensive studies from life to a sketch of the famous Yellow House in Arles, eminent art historian and curator Christopher Lloyd encourages readers to consider the artist's drawings from a fresh viewpoint: documenting successes and failures, experiments, trials and disappointments. Primarily self-taught, Van Gogh's approach to drawing was instinctual, but he soon recognized the importance of mastering the grammar of art - anatomy, foreshortening, perspective - as well as materials and techniques, in order to express his emotional responses to a subject as vividly as possible. With examples from the artist's voluminous and emotionally charged family correspondence, sketchbooks, and comparative artworks by the Old Masters and contemporaries, this engaging study outlines why drawing is central to Van Gogh's oeuvre, and equal to the intensity and reputation of his paintings.

Featuring works from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and many other important collections in Europe and the US, this beautifully illustrated volume offers an extensive interpretation of the artist's drawings, beyond what has been published to date.

About the Author:

Christopher Lloyd is an art historian and curator. He was Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures in the British Royal Collection from 1988 to 2005, and is the author of Edgar Degas: Drawings and Pastels (2014), Paul Cézanne: Drawings and Watercolours (2015), Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Drawings (2019) and Masterpieces: An Art Lover’s Guide to Great Britain and Ireland (2022), all published by Thames & Hudson. His many other publications include art monographs, official catalogues of museum collections and general surveys of the British Royal Collection.

Contents List

Preface
Brief Chronology of the Life of Vincent van Gogh
1. Setting Out
2. Figures
3. Compositional Drawings: Figures and Landscapes
4. Place
5. Landscape
6. Portraits
7. Repetitions
Epilogue

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.

A new edition of this classic collection of letters, critical reviews and reminiscences by Impressionist artists and their contemporaries.

The Impressionists - Monet, Manet, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley and others - are probably the most popular of all artistic schools. Their struggle to impose a new vision is one of the most absorbing in the whole history of art. With imagination and insight, art historian Bernard Denvir brings Impressionism into focus by showing it through the eyes of the artists themselves and their contemporaries, against the background of the time.

Through letters, critical reviews, statements and reminiscences - whether explosive or appreciative, blinkered or perceptive - of the people who were there, the story of this ground-breaking art movement comes alive. This was the age of innovation, political liberalization, emergent photography and modern ideas about perception. The Impressionists had new ways of painting, but they also had a new world to paint.

This revised edition now features full colour reproductions of art throughout and an updated bibliography.

About the Author:

Bernard Denvir was a distinguished art critic, art historian and writer. He was head of the Department of Art History at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, a member of the Council for Academic Awards, and for several years President of the British section of the International Association of Art Critics. He wrote widely on art, including books on Chardin, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Fauvism.

Contents List:

Introduction
Documents 1855–1871
Impressionist colour Documents
1. 1871–1873
2. 1874–1876
3. 1877–1881
4. 1882–1885
5. 1886–1894
6. 1895–1920
Biographies
Chronology
Bibliographical note
List of illustrations

There are no rules, and even less justice. Death takes everyone without discrimination. Sometimes it is accidental – like Signorelli, who fell from scaffolding. Sometimes it is expected, as with the diabetic Cezanne, who wrote “I am old, sick, and I swore to die while painting”. But often, researching a painter’s death is an easier task than determining which of their works is truly their ‘last’. Paintings tend to be dated by year and not month, inciting much debate among art historians. This book embraces this ambiguity, studying 100 examples of works that lay completed for several years, or were left unfinished on the easel, or were finished post-mortem by a friend’s grieving hand.

The Last Painting collects 100 terminal paintings from 100 artists, including Dalí, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Goya, Pollock, Rembrandt, Dix, Bonnard, Titien, and many more. Each picture gives us a glimpse into the painter’s mind. Did they know death was coming? Did they paint with denial, or acceptance? Did they return to a favourite subject, or decide to embark on a new, original project while they still had time? A poetic and thought-provoking book, The Last Painting is a sensitive exploration of the relationship between art and death.

- A collection of 100 final paintings from 100 deceased artists, with accompanying biographies and thought-provoking text
- Features a diverse range of artists, from Bosch, Rubens, and Fragonard, to Hopper, Mondrian, and Kahlo
- Generates a fascinating discussion about the relationship between art and death

About the Author:

Born in 1949, Bernard Chambaz is a historian, poet, novelist and essayist. He is the winner of Goncourt's First Novel Award (1993), Apollinaire Awards (2005), Louis- Guilloux (2008) and Roland-de-Jouvenel of the French Academy (2014). He has written about fifty books, including Ghetto, Dernières Nouvelles du martin-pêcheur, À tombeau ouvert and 17.

Bringing the life and works of the great painter to life, Kandinsky explores the extraordinary output of one of Russia’s most well-known and influential artists. This book follows his artistic development, from the early folk art inspired by his native Russia, via his involvement with both Der Blaue Reiter (‘The Blue Rider’) group and the Bauhaus, where he taught for several years, to the later abstract paintings that are so recognizable today.

A complex and intriguing character, Kandinsky trained as a lawyer before abruptly turning to art at the age of 30. Although known internationally as the ‘Father of Abstraction’, this was a concept over which he anguished for years, before embracing it in his later work.

Both in his writings and in his paintings, Kandinsky’s influence has been enormous. He, in turn, was influenced by many different movements, from Art Nouveau to Symbolism and Surrealism. This book charts his artistic progress and is a stunning of an exceptional artist.

Monet's famous painting "Impression: Sunrise, Le Havre" represented the most innovative - and later most popular - art movement the world had ever seen, and its appeal endures today. Monet's experiments with light and colour are described in depth in this latest addition to our best-selling series, "The World's Greatest Art".

Organized into five sections on life, society, places, influences and techniques, the book enables the reader to consider Monet from different angles and contexts, providing a broader understanding of this great artist.

Bringing the life and work of a truly unique artist to life, Van Gogh is a comprehensive guide to one of the most unconventional and highly original artists of the nineteenth century. 

Perhaps the most famous artist in the world, Vincent Van Gogh is perceived by many as the ‘mad’ artist, the man who painted in a frenzy or simply the tormented soul who cut off his ear. His artistic genius is often overshadowed by those who see his paintings as mere visual manifestations of his troubled mind. Whilst in part this may be true, in reality, his innovative and unique artistic style was of enormous importance to a host of artists who followed in his wake. Even when openly influenced by his predecessors or contemporaries his art remained identifiably his own, developing a distinctive style that failed to be accepted by the art-buying public in his own lifetime. 

From his earliest watercolours depicting the plight of rural Dutch peasants, through his attempts to be accepted by the Parisian avant-garde, right up to his final paintings of the Auvers countryside, every aspect of his life is celebrated in this beautiful reference book.

The Venetian Virtuoso. Titian, Renaissance master of form and colour

Immerse yourself in the rich shades and textures of the mighty Titian, the most important member of the Venetian High Renaissance. From the rippling sensuality of Venus of Urbino to the airborne dynamism of Bacchus and Ariadne, Titian pioneered startling, opulent colour and a bold new approach to form in a stunning repertoire of portraits, altarpieces, mythological scenes, and more.

Immerse yourself in the rich shades and textures of Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1490–1576), commonly known as Titian, and the figurehead of 16th-century Venetian painting. With his bold approach to form and startling, opulent colors, Titian worked with a number of prestigious commissions and left behind an astonishing repertoire of portraits, mythological scenes, altarpieces, and landscapes that remains one of the most important legacies of Renaissance art.

This dependable artist introduction traces Titian’s complete career and its trailblazing influence on successive generations of artists, from Diego Velázquez to van Dyck. From the rippling sensuality of Venus of Urbino (c. 1538) to the airborne dynamism of Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523), all the major works are here, charting the artist’s stylistic experimentation over time as well as his consistent and unique ability to work across genres and to bring a defining new level of emotional and spiritual aspect to his subjects.

The author

Ian G. Kennedy studied art history at Cambridge and the Courtauld Institute, London University. He worked for nearly three decades at Christie’s, New York, and as Curator of European Paintings at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, until 2013. He now lives and works as an independent scholar in Chapel Hill.

About the series

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

In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame.

Appropriately known as “the painter of light,” Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature.

This book covers Turner’s illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism.

About the series:

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

Unique view of the ‘tronies’ in art from the Netherlands

Our fascination for faces transcends eras and cultures. Turning Heads – Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer highlights a remarkable genre in painting to which little attention has so far been paid: tronies or study heads, which were intended first and foremost to depict an emotion or a character trait. Since the model’s identity did not matter, painters could truly go to town with these heads. Tronies were drawn and painted by some of the greatest masters: Dürer, Bruegel, Massys, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer, to name just a few. Turning Heads offers a fresh insight into a genre that is older and more varied than you might think. This book includes dozens of illustrations plus the thoughts of contemporary artists for whom the face is essential to their own work.

Catalogue for the exhibition of the same name at the KMSKA in Antwerp (from October 20, 2023 to January 21, 2024) and the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin (from February 24 to May 26, 2024).

About the Author:

Nico Van Hout Head of Collection Research - Curator Seventeenth Century Paintings, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (KMSKA) in Antwerpen (Antwerp), Belgium.

Renaissance Realist. The painted world of a Flemish master

Through intricate detail and captivating compositions, Jan van Eyck was one of the most innovative Renaissance artists of the 15th century. Though only 25 surviving works are confidently attributed to him, his extraordinary recreation of reality highly influenced later generations of Early Netherlandish painters. Examine his masterful oil works in this hardcover introduction exploring his spectacular life and oeuvre.

Often imitated but never equaled, Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441) left an indelible impression on Renaissance art and paved the way for future realist painters. With its unprecedented precision and masterful use of color, Arnolfini Double Portrait, depicting the wedding of a young couple, is testament to the mastery of the Flemish painter and leader of the Early Netherlandish school. Van Eyck painted both secular and religious subject matter, emphasizing a naturalism and realism that moved seamlessly between 15th-century everyday life and poetic, heavenly settings. Working with oil paint, he innovated the medium, allowing for great intensity and depth of color.

Trace the artist’s impressive oeuvre in this hardcover survey of his work, including altarpieces, religious figures, and commissioned portraits. Featuring enlarged details and close analyses of masterpieces like the Ghent Altarpiece, this publication also offers a chronology of van Eyck’s production, including the output of his workshop which continued even after his death.

The author:

Till-Holger Borchert studied art history, musicology, and German literature at the universities of Bonn and Bloomington (IN). An acknowledged expert on Early Netherlandish painting, he has worked as chief curator at the Groeningemuseum in Bruges since 2002 and as Director of the Bruges Museum since 2014. Borchert teaches art history at the universities of Aachen, Memphis (TN), and Middlebury (VT) and has curated exhibitions in Brussels, Rome, Madrid, and New York. He heads the Flemish Research Centre for the Arts in the Burgundian Netherlands.

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

The official book that accompanies the blockbuster exhibition in Ghent

Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck (c. 1390–1441) towered above his contemporaries. With his unprecedented technique, scientific knowledge and unparalleled powers of observation, Van Eyck lifted oil painting to previously unseen heights and helped determine the course of Western art. In Spring 2020 the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent, Belgium hosted the largest ever exhibition of Van Eyck’s work. An Optical Revolution included artworks by Van Eyck, several pieces from his studio and international masterpieces from the late Middle Ages, which made the world of Van Eyck more tangible than ever. Central to the exhibition were the eight restored exterior panels of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a highly exceptional loan from St Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent. After the exhibition the panels were returned to their original place in the cathedral and will never again be shown elsewhere.

This tie-in exhibition catalogue unravels some of the myths that surround Van Eyck and his technique while showing his complete oeuvre and his influence in a new perspective. With essays by leading experts from around the world, this book is an indispensable resource for Van Eyck fans and scholars alike.

About the Authors:

Maximiliaan Martens is a professor of art history at Ghent University.
Till-Holger Borchert is a German art historian and writer specialising in 14th- and 15th-century art. He has been artistic director of the Municipal Museums in Bruges since 2014.
Jan Dumolyn is a Belgian historian and professor at Ghent University.

A landmark publication tracing the final months of Van Gogh’s life

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months offers a unique and impressive overview of the paintings and drawings that Vincent van Gogh created during the last seventy days of his life. He produced no fewer than seventy-four paintings and over thirty drawings in the course of the intense, productive period leading up to his self-inflicted death on 29 July 1890.

Featuring essays by leading specialists on his painted still lifes, portraits, panoramic landscapes and drawings, and on his burgeoning reputation after his death, the book is richly illustrated with drawings, sketches, historical photographs and detailed maps of the places Van Gogh worked and where he found his inspiration.

About the Authors:

Nienke Bakker is Senior Curator at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Louis van Tilborgh is Senior Researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Emmanuel Coquery is Senior Curator and Associate Deputy Director of Collections at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.