Искусство

Spectacular Specimens. Albertus Seba’s unrivaled catalog of animals, insects and plants

Exotic plants, corals and crocodiles, birds and butterflies. Albertus Seba’s extraordinary catalog of natural specimens is not only one of the 18th century’s greatest natural history achievements, but also one of the most prized natural history books of all time. It is a beautiful tribute to the breadth and the detail of creatures great and small, as well as to some now-extinct animals.

The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century’s greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though scientists of his era often collected natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665–1736) was unrivaled in his passion. His amazing collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime.

In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned careful and often scenic illustrations of every specimen. With these meticulous drawings, he arranged for the publication of a four-volume catalog, covering the entire collection from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, birds, and butterflies, as well as now extinct creatures.

This reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-colored original. The introduction supplies background information about the fascinating tradition of natural collections to which Seba’s curiosities belonged.

The authors:

Irmgard Müsch, born in 1967, studied art history, history, and classical archaeology in Mainz and Berlin. Her PhD thesis from 1999 examines Johann Jakob Scheuchzer’s Kupfer-Bibel, a richly illustrated scientific commentary on the Bible from the early 18th century. She has published on art of the 18th and 20th centuries, scientific illustrations, and Kunstkammer pieces.

Jes Rust, born 1963, completed his studies in geology, paleontology, and zoology at Göttingen and Kiel. His thesis dealt with the evolution of fossil snails living in the fresh and brackish waters of prehistoric Greece. His assistantship at the Institute of Zoology in Göttingen between 1993 and 1999 was followed by his appointment in 2001 as professor of invertebrate paleontology and insect phylogeny at the University of Bonn.

Rainer Willmann holds a chair in zoology at Göttingen University, is director of its Zoological Museum, and is cofounder of its Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology Research. A specialist in phylogenetics and evolution, he conducts research into biodiversity and its history.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

Curious Creatures. Albertus Seba’s unrivaled catalog of animals, insects, and “freaks of nature”

The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century’s greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though scientists of his era often collected natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665–1736) was unrivaled in his passion. His amazing collection of animals, plants, and insects from all around the world earned him international fame.

In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned careful and often scenic illustrations of every specimen. With these meticulous drawings, he arranged for the publication of a four-volume catalog, covering the entire collection from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, birds, and butterflies, as well as creatures that are now extinct.

Taken from a rare hand-colored original, the best-selling collection features an introduction that contextualizes the fascinating tradition of natural collections to which Seba’s curiosities belonged.

The authors:

Irmgard Müsch, born in 1967, studied art history, history, and classical archaeology in Mainz and Berlin. Her PhD thesis from 1999 examines Johann Jakob Scheuchzer’s Kupfer-Bibel, a richly illustrated scientific commentary on the Bible from the early 18th century. She has published on art of the 18th and 20th centuries, scientific illustrations, and Kunstkammer pieces.

Jes Rust, born 1963, completed his studies in geology, paleontology, and zoology at Göttingen and Kiel. His thesis dealt with the evolution of fossil snails living in the fresh and brackish waters of prehistoric Greece. His assistantship at the Institute of Zoology in Göttingen between 1993 and 1999 was followed by his appointment in 2001 as professor of invertebrate paleontology and insect phylogeny at the University of Bonn.

Rainer Willmann holds a chair in zoology at Göttingen University, is director of its Zoological Museum, and is cofounder of its Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology Research. A specialist in phylogenetics and evolution, he conducts research into biodiversity and its history.

Is a self-portrait of an artist a medium of reflection—or is it merely a black void, the “false mirror,” as the surrealist René Magritte entitled his 1928 painting of an eye? Do self-portraits reveal how artists see themselves, or how they wish others would see them? From the 15th century to today, this collection brings together many of the best examples of self-portraiture in art history whilst exploring these and many more questions pertaining to the art of self-reflection.

Featured artists: Meister Gerlachus, Fra Filippo Lippi, Albrecht Durer, Giorgione, Parmigianino, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Salvator Rosa, Nicolas Poussin, David Bailly, Diego Da Silva Y Velazquez, Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn, Rosalba Carriera, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Francisco De Goya, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, James Ensor, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frida Kahlo, Felix Nussbaum, Max Beckmann, Diego Rivera, Salvador Dali, Lucian Freud, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Albert Oehlen, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre Series features:

* a detailed introduction with approximately 35 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, etc.) that took place during the time period
* a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work and brief biography of the artist as well as additional information such as a reference work, portrait of the artist, and/or citations

Sin and temptation, wisdom and deceit, death and damnation, but also eternity and renewal, protection and healing power - the symbolic meanings of the snake are as manifold as the myths, sagas and legends in which it plays a significant role. The snake led Adam and Eve into temptation in the Garden of Eden, the Uraeus snake was the symbol of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt, the Midgard serpent inhabited the ocean of Germanic mythology, it was the ancient symbol of the art of healing, was worshipped as the snake spirit in India and as a deity in African and Central American cultures.

In all eras and in all cultures, the snake has fascinated humankind and inspired the creation of striking works of art. Serpentina is dedicated for the first time to the whole spectrum of the snake in jewellery, for few artists, jewellers or even the jewellery industry could resist the temptation to incorporate this creature into jewellery design. The examples span everything from Hellenistic snake bangles to the glittering art nouveau creations by Lalique and Fournet, from the luxurious creations by Cartier and Fabergé to the playful objects of contemporary jewellery artists, from snake motifs from Mexico and the golden snakes of the Akan in Ghana to Indian snake jewellery and Japanese snake netsukes. In jewellery the seductive power of the snake is unfailing. Let it put you under its spell!

Sünde und Versuchung, Klugheit und List, Tod und Unheil, aber auch Ewigkeit und Erneuerung, Schutz und Heilkraft – die symbolischen Bedeutungen der Schlange sind so vielfältig wie die Mythen, Sagen und Legenden, in denen sie eine bedeutende Rolle spielt: die Schlange führte Adam und Eva im Paradies in Versuchung, war als Uräusschlange im Alten Ägypten Symbol der Pharaonen, bewohnte als Midgardschlange das Weltmeer der germanischen Mythologie, war in der griechischen Antike Symbol der Heilkunst, wurde als Schlangen-Geist in Indien, als Gottheit in afrikanischen und mittelamerikanischen Kulturen verehrt.

Zu allen Zeiten und in allen Kulturen faszinierte die Schlange den Menschen und inspirierte ihn zu herausragenden Kunstwerken. Die Publikation widmet sich erstmals der gesamten Bandbreite der Schlange im Schmuck, denn kaum ein Künstler, Juwelier oder selbst die Schmuckindustrie konnte der Versuchung widerstehen, diesem Wesen im Schmuck Gestalt zu verleihen. Die Beispiele reichen vom hellenistischen Schlangenarmreif bis zu den glanzvollen Kreationen des Jugendstils von Lalique und Fouquet, von den luxuriösen Kreationen von Cartier und Fabergé bis zu verspielten Objekten zeitgenössischer Schmuckkünstler, von Schlangenmotiven aus Mexiko, den goldenen Schlangen der Akan in Ghana über indischen Schlangenschmuck bis zu den japanischen Schlangen-Netsukes – im Schmuck ist die Verführungskraft der Schlange ungebrochen. Lassen Sie sich in ihren Bann ziehen!

Daring sexual humor from the irreverent magazine Sex to Sexty

Some call it the most vulgar magazine ever made; others see it as the last honest compendium of American sexual humor, starting just as the sexual revolution was expanding minds and stomping taboos, and ending when political correctness made all such humor socially unacceptable. Whatever your stance, the magazine Sex to Sexty was and is an outrageous collection of dirty jokes and cartoons published from 1965 to 1983 by Texas entrepreneur John Newbern, whose life was lifted straight from the pages of his publication. His partner in crime against good taste was hillbilly artist Pierre Davis, who created elaborate oil painted covers for each issue that celebrate every permutation of manly humor. No topic was safe from the lowbrow wit of these two men and the cartoonists they recruited to preserve what they called the "True Jokelore of America".

Sex to Sexty reproduces all 198 covers of the magazine and many of the original paintings that adorned them. Then, in the first in-depth analysis of American sexual humor, author and editor Dian Hanson categorizes the great themes revealed by the thousands of cartoons and jokes into spreads with titles like "Stinkfinger," "Incest on the Best," "Cannibal Cuisine," and "I Love Ewe!" Raw, irreverent, uncensored and all-American, Sex to Sexty spares no gender, sexual preference, ethnic orientation, or hygienic dysfunction in bringing you what the magazine's original publisher called the "World's Largest Accumulation of He-Man Robust Humor in the World." Special fold-out dust jacket shows every cover image and unfolds to reveal a poster of a never before seen, unreleased Sex to Sexty cover originally deemed "too tasteless" by the magazine's publisher, but definitely "suitable for framing in your bar, rumpus room or bathroom".

This pocket-book for lovers of the romantic and erotic is illustrated with the most famous paintings and sculptures of amorous encounters through the ages. It provides commentaries on the art-works as well as biographies of the artists.

A step-by-step guide to all the tricks-both freehand and digital-to creating the best manga characters, Shonen Manga is a fun, easy to read manga manual for artists of all ages and languages.

Focusing on Shonen-style manga and anime (a genre targeting young boys-”Shonen” means young boy, referring to elementary through grade school age groups), Shonen Manga is a practical, hands-on guide to learning the skills of action-packed drawing. It includes detailed information on how to apply digital colour, 3D designs, vectorial drawing, and a host of other fascinating and useful design applications. Each project in Shonen Manga includes step-by-step instructions specifying software, tools, and professional tricks to achieve the gritty eyes, roaring faces, and clenched fists of teen heroes, martial art masters, ninja girls, and violent samurai, integral to the Shonen genre.

Shonen Manga will walk an audience of manga artists, illustrators, and graphic designers through the basic stages of manga production, beginning with black-and-white sketches and ending with vibrant, fully costumed characters.

Shunga portrays the erotic expression of a couple with pleasures and pains, and the beauty of their bodies with the finest Japanese woodblock print technique. It is a type of Ukiyo-e, which was especially all the rage among people in the Edo period (17th-19th century). Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers. 

This big book of 586 pages features various Shunga works by masters of Ukiyo-e artists such as Hokusai Katsushika, Utamaro Kitagawa, Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Kiyonaga Torii, and Eisen Keisai. 

The magic by Kazuya Tkaoka, art director for this book, and our successful title Hokusai Manga, makes this book a one-of-a-kind Shunga collection.

This fascinating and lavishly illustrated introduction to the world of Japanese erotic art includes many previously unpublished images. Demonstrating a high level of artistic and technical achievement, Shunga is an under-explored area of Japanese art. This beautiful book takes a fresh look at the centrality of eroticism in Edo urban culture, including highlights from the collections of erotic Japanese art at the British Museum, which are unrivalled in Europe.

Over the course of the Edo period (1615-1868), was extraordinarily large quantity of paintings, prints and illustrated books with sexual and erotic themes produced in Japan. From the 1760s on, printed works were produced using full-colour woodblock technology and these constitute some of the finest examples of art printing in Japan, employing deluxe materials and special printing effects.

This book features pictures by some of the most renowned artists, such as Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai, who produced erotic imagery as a standard part of their work.

A collection of Japanese eroticism by Ukiyo-e artists.

A new volume in the Traditional Patterns series, this book features Shunga, a type of Ukiyo-e that is made using the finest Japanese woodblock print techniques and portrays the erotic expressions of men and women; and the pleasure, the pain, and the beauty of the human body.

This Japanese erotic art was made by all Ukiyo-e artists and was usually more profitable than "normal" art during the Edo period. It is believed that Shunga, literally "springtime picture," originated from Chinese medical books. It was not only intended to provide the fun that comes from viewing erotic images, but also the book could be held as a charm against evil. Shunga was also used as textbooks for the sexual education of young men and women. Because there were fewer restrictions on Shunga, ukiyo-e artists used a variety of colors usually not seen in usual woodblock prints. Only the best techniques of Ukiyo-e are found in Shunga.

This glorious volume features works from the Edo period to the present. Including works by Ukiyo-e artists such as Hishikawa Moronobu, Kitagawa Utamaro, Utagawa Kunisada, Katsushika Hokusai, this Japanese "kama sutra" manages to be erotic, artistic, and fun all at the same time.

'a mixture of artistic sensibility and imagery that leaves nothing to the imagination'  - The Telegraph

In early modern Japan, thousands of sexually explicit paintings, prints, and illustrated books with texts were produced. These were euphemistically called ‘spring pictures’ (shunga) and were originally created by the artists of the ukiyo-e school of the floating world to advertise brothels in 17th-century Yoshiwara, including the celebrated artists Utamaro and Hokusai.

This catalogue of an exhibition in 2013/4 at the British Museum aims to answer some key questions about what shunga is and why was it produced. Erotic Japanese art was heavily suppressed in Japan from the 1870s onwards and it is only in the last twenty years or so has it been possible to publish unexpurgated examples in Japan. 

Drawing on the latest scholarship and featuring over 400 images of works from major public and private collections, this book sheds new light on this unique art form within Japanese social and cultural history.

About the author:

Timothy Clark, Head of Japanese Section, British Museum

Few people realise the extent to which the Hollywood movie industry today was shaped in the silent era. Drawing on the resources of The Library of Congress, one of the greatest repositories for silent film and associated memorabilia, Peter Kobel explores the fascinating world of silent film, from its birth in the 1890s, with the earliest narrative shorts, through the full-length features of the Twenties and puts directors, actors and their films into a broad historical perspective. The book also looks at the technology of early film, the use of colour photography and the restoration work being spearheaded by some of Hollywood's most important director such as Scorcese and Francis Ford Coppola. Lavishly illustrated by the Library of Congress's extensive collection of posters, paper prints, film stills and other memorabilia, most of which has never been in print, SILENT MOVIES will take its place as the defining work on this most important and fascinating aspect of American culture.

В этой книге представлено несколько сотен разнообразных силуэтов многих веков, видов и стилей, начиная со старинных восточноазиатских и заканчивая силуэтами начала 20-го века.

Они помогут вам придумать ваши собственные модели для любого случая, или вы можете просто разглядывать их как будто при свете волшебного фонаря.

В книге выбраны самые оригинальные, интересные и необычные модели силуэтов, чтобы усладить ваш взор и развить воображение.

A captivating tribute to one of the best-loved performers the world has ever known

Frank Sinatra was an entertainer of mesmerizing talent, charisma and style. As well as being one of the bestselling musical artists of all time, he was an Academy Award-winning actor who starred in over sixty movies, and a cultural icon of seismic influence.

Published as part of the celebrations to commemorate Frank Sinatra’s one-hundredth birthday, Sinatra 100 follows the full trajectory of his remarkable life, from his childhood in 1930s New Jersey through legendary Las Vegas performances in the 1960s to world tours that extended into his late seventies.

Created in close collaboration with the Sinatra family and Frank Sinatra Enterprises, this momentous book captures the man in public and private, with exclusive unseen photographs and memorabilia from the family archives, as well as the most iconic images, outtakes and contact sheets from celebrated photo shoots.

In candid accounts from his closest friends and associates, a portrait emerges of a man who was intensely loyal to his friends, enthusiastically devoted to charity and who demonstrated exceptional stamina and resilience in a career that spanned an incredible six decades.

Featuring afterwords by Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Tina Sinatra, Sinatra 100 is the definitive celebration of the ultimate entertainer, whose unique and enduring legacy continues to win him fans in every generation, all over the world.

Charles Pignone is a producer and writer. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Sinatra Treasures, The Sinatra Family Photo Album and co-author of The Copa: Jules Podell and The Hottest Club North Of Havana. He has produced numerous albums including Frank Sinatra: Nothing But The Best and the television special Sinatra Sings. Pignone has been associated with the Sinatra family for over thirty years.

Tony Bennett is a singer and painter. In terms of his artistry and accomplishments, Mr. Bennett is in a class of his own.

Steve Wynn who contributes a forward, is the founder of Wynn Resorts Ltd. Mr. Wynn is a visionary and legendary figure in the hotel and casino industry.

The Sistine Chapel is the geographical and spiritual centre of the Vatican City, but it is also one of the most internationally famous artistic sites. The chapel's outstanding beauty lies above all in its vast cycle of paintings covering the entire vault, featuring stories from the Book of Genesis and the Last Judgement, the grandiose, bustling scene located on the back wall. Michelangelo's masterpieces are what make the Sistine Chapel the most visited place in the world, illustrated in this volume in the minutest detail, so the reader can not only appreciate the works as a whole, but also the artist's creative process. This can be observed in the preparatory marks on the plaster, the brush strokes and occasionally traces left by the painter's actual fingers. A graphic diagram of the vault is a guide to the different parts and scenes depicted. Biographies and an index of artists conclude the volume.