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"The surprising thing about this film was that I succeeded in not going crazy," said director Leo McCarey about working with the manic Marx Brothers on Duck Soup. The madcap antics of Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and (sometimes) Zeppo have driven audiences wild with laughter in such unforgettable films as A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. Whether it's wise-cracking Groucho with his big cigar and bushy eyebrows, street-smart Chico with his fake Italian accent, or skirt-chasing Harpo honking his horn, the Marx Brothers' inimitable and irrepressible humor continues to inspire us today.

The Movie Icon series: People talk about Hollywood glamour, about studios that had more stars than there are in heaven, about actors who weren't actors but were icons. Other people talk about these things, TASCHEN shows you. Movie Icons is a series of photo books that feature the most famous personalities in the history of cinema. These 192-page books are visual biographies of the stars. For each title, series editor Paul Duncan has painstaking selected approximately 150 high quality enigmatic and sumptuous portraits, colorful posters and lobby cards, rare film stills, and previously unpublished candid photos showing the stars as they really are. These images are accompanied by concise introductory essays by leading film writers; each book also includes a chronology, a filmography, and a bibliography, and is peppered with apposite quotes from the movies and from life.

For matte painters and concept artists working in the movie, videogame, and TV industry, it can often be important to be able to quickly and efficiently create artwork, for storyboarding and storytelling purposes. Master the Art of Speed Painting: Digital Painting Techniques aims to be the go-to book for artists training to enter the industry, and for established artists looking to brush up on their knowledge of speed painting.

Featuring helpful time-saving tips and techniques from established industry artists, such as how to create and use custom brushes, and how to implement an impressionistic style, there's plenty to offer to help the artist master their craft. In addition, there are time-specific guides for painting in 10-, 30-, 60- or 120-minute periods, all to enable the artist to tailor their abilities to suit any situation that might arise in the high-pressure, time-sensitive creative industry. Become a speed-painting master in no time!

Master the Art of Speed Painting: Digital Painting Techniques also aims to fill a void within the digital art book market, as no directly comparative title currently exists. In today's fast-moving world, speed is often of the essence, and this book will become an essential guide for students and established artists alike.

Acrylic, watercolours, oil, and pastel colours are the four classical means of artistic expression in painting. With this practice-oriented introduction readers can learn about them by trying their own hand at painting and perfecting their skills step-by-step. The book provides an overview of the artist's tools and the various types of painting. The wealth of illustrative information ranges from simple everyday objects to still life and landscapes, the human body and portrait painting. Examples of each genre demonstrate the various stages of painting a picture. This enables learners to improve their technique from the very first sketch to the most complex composition: Mastering the Art of Painting is the ideal introduction for the prospective artist!

The British Museum has one of the finest collection of antiquities from ancient Greece and Rome outside of those countries.

This beautiful book investigates 160 of the most important, including the most famous (such as the Parthenon sculptures) aswell as a selection of lesser-known but equally important pieces.

Each treasure is illustrated, often with details. The accompanying text tells the unique story of each piece and gives insights into its particular features. A brief background to each period of classical art is also included.

The range and scope of the collection provide the material for a stunning overview of the artistic production of this creative period and a perfect introduction to classical art.

Masterpieces of French Jewelry is a delightful testament to the power of jewelry-like all true art-to mirror changes in America’s evolving social milieu. It offers an enchanting lens through which to view America’s rise from frontier nation to an industrial superpower, with a new moneyed class hungry for recognition and status. French jewelry provided that and more. This sumptuously-designed full color book-the first and only one on this subject-features over 80 photographs of the most remarkable pieces that found their way into prominent American collections. It also showcases a brilliant array of styles. There are chapters devoted to jewelry characteristic of the Art Nouveau period, along with Art Deco, the Victorian Era, 1940s retro, and the 1960s through more contemporary styles. An added bonus: one-of-a-kind jewelry creations from notable artists such as Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Matta, and Arman.

The publication of Masterpieces of French Jewelry coincides with the National Jewelry Institute’s exhibition, "Masterpieces of French Jewelry from Twentieth-Century American Collections," which will begin at The Forbes Galleries in New York in September 2006.

Famous Manuscripts - The fascinating world of medieval miniature painting and illumination. From "The Book of Kells" to Boccaccio's "Decameron" and from the "Vienna Genesis" to Dante's "Divine Comedy" - see the breathtaking originals of 167 of the greatest classics of all time. This lavishly produced book introduces the reader to the fascinating world of medieval miniature painting and illumination. 167 of the most beautiful and important medieval scripts from the 4th century to 1600 are presented in chronological order and described in full. Each sample of script is headed by a highly informative synopses which serves to orient the reader at a glance. These synopses - together with the abundance of brilliant, large-format reproductions - make this book unparalleled in its field. Although the focus is on European manuscripts (French, Dutch, German, Italian, English and Spanish), examples have also been selected to illustrate the refinement and intricacy of manuscript illumination from non-European cultures (Mexican, Persian, Indian, Ottoman etc.).

A 36-page appendix contains biographies of the artists as well as an extensive bibliography, an index and, most importantly, a glossary in which the technical terms used in the book can quickly be found. This is a rare opportunity to come face-to-face with incredibly precious treasures that one would otherwise never see-treasures once belonging to emperors and kings, and now worth many millions.

Masterpieces of Western Art traces the history of painting from medieval times to the present day. But unlike conventional publications, that merely illustrate a few essentials, this work places 900 paintings taken from every era squarely in the foreground.

The ten chapters each feature an introductory essay profiling the age and the achievements of the major artists, and then present selected works accompanied by searching commentaries. The reader is guided through the techniques and motifs of the artists, and familiarised with the spirit and background concerns of the age. Artist to artist, era to era, century to century, Masterpieces of Western Art adds up to an authoritative history - it is for browsing, too, where the reader can make new discoveries or meet old friends on every page.

This imaginary museum of eight centuries of masterpieces by over 500 artists is a place to explore, to acquire a richer understanding of art - a reliable history, a handbook, as entertaining as it is instructive.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings and prints focused on the theater, dance halls, cafés, and even brothels of late-19th-century Paris. Brimming with emotion and atmosphere, his works were characterized by a distinctive and masterly handling of line. This volume illuminates the unique place Toulouse-Lautrec came to occupy in French art during his short lifetime of 37 years.

Jan Vermeer's mysterious and poetic paintings - with their luminous power and their simple, studied, everyday scenes - continue to fascinate us. This volume reproduces all of Vermeer's known works, including Saint Praxedis, which had only recently been validated by scholars as an important early work of the artist at the time of the book's original publication.

Is a watch ever a work of art? Is a watchmaker ever an artist?

To answer these questions and many more, Michael Clerizo spent months listening to eleven of the world’s most renowned watchmakers. In mansions, villas, shops and ateliers of all sizes these extraordinary individuals told their stories.

We hear of lives mastering the skills of mechanical watchmaking, and crowned with the success of finding others willing to buy and treasure their work. These men also speak fervently of their common goal: ensuring that the mechanical watch continues to thrive in a world dominated by disposable quartz watches.

The book’s many photographs offer a retrospective exhibition of the watches of George Daniels, Svend Andersen, Vincent Calabrese, Philippe Dufour, Antoine Preziuso, Franck Muller, Aniceto Jiménez Pita, Alain Silberstein, Marco Lang, Vianney Halter and Roger Smith.

In addition, twenty other remarkable watchmakers and workshops from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Holland, Finland, Ireland and Hungary are introduced and illustrated. Also included are a technical glossary, suggestions for further reading, and a list of specialist websites and magazines.

About the Author:

Michael Clerizo is noted for his in-depth analysis of bespoke luxury products for the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Robb Report and specialist watch and other magazines.

The book intends to show the main stages of drawing history from the beginning of 20th century, with particular regard to European development. Through a large selection of images, the reader is introduced to the knowledge of the most important artistic schools which used drawing as part of their preparation and training for young artists. The reader is also introduced to fundamental graphic techniques and of the classifications that define thevaried areas and types of drawing.

290 color ills

The history of Impressionism, including its forerunners, the great masters, and the representatives of Neo-Impressionism and Pointillism, is closely traced in this publication by exploring the Wallraf’s unparalleled collection.

The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud—“Wallraf” for short—is Cologne’s oldest museum and one of Germany’s great picture galleries, boasting one of the most important accumulations of Western art—from the Middle Ages through to the early twentieth century—in Germany. In fact, the museum’s collection of Impressionist paintings is the largest in the country, not least because of the Fondation Corboud’s contributions, which in 2001 became part of the Wallraf when they were donated by the Swiss collector Gérard J. Corboud.

The Impressionist treasures among the Wallraf’s collection are presented here for the first time in a splendid, richly-illustrated volume. Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and the works of many other great masters are the focus of this book, providing a feast for the eyes on a tour of the history of art from 1874 through to 1926.

The book delineates the evolution of photography from its invention until the 21st century, through the main figures who have done the history of this modern art. The appearance of photography have led to a revelation in the art and culture's world. From Stieglitz to Beaton, from Baron de Mayer to Mapplethorpe, from Capa to Rodchenko, through Doisneau, Cartier Bresson and Berengo Gardin.