Книги по истории искусства

The artists of the renaissance were the first to use the term "Gothic", clearly intended in a derogatory way in reference to the style initialy known as opus francigenum, meaning "made in French style": the term was used as a synonymum for "barbarian" by those who considered themselves to be the upholders of the aesthetic and technical perfection of the classical era.

Japan's impact on Western art was as immediate and almost as cataclysmic as the influence of the West on Japanese life. After Commodore Perry opened Japan's door to the outside world in 1858, a wealth of visual information from the Japanese traditions of ceramics, metalwork and architecture, as well as printmaking and painting, reached the West and brought electrifying new ideas on composition, colour and design. This is a study of how Japanese ideas have inspired artists such as Monet, Degas, Whistler and Van Gogh. Japanese conventions of symbolism underlie the use of decorative motifs in European symbolism and art nouveau, and the Zen idea of spontaneity is the ultimate source of both the apparently capricious shapes of art nouveau ware and the development of an abstract "calligraphy" in abstract expressionism.

This book provides the best study of Art and Crafts style jewelry and metalwork to date. Devised late in the 19th century as a reaction to industrialized manufacturing, the Arts and Crafts movement stressed naturalistic materials, designs and techniques. The book begins with the British movement and traces the roots of this "new art" including its characteristics, materials, motifs, influences and makers' marks. Biographical sketches are provided for over 240 of the most influential British designers/jewelers/metalworkers, with discussions of the guilds, schools and commercial firms. In over 700 photographs, nearly 400 in glorious color, the success of these designs to provide fascinating and beautiful objects is demonstrated.

The Boy King’s Journey through the Underworld. Tutankhamun’s royal voyage into paradise, as told by ancient Egyptian treasures

Buried in the 14th century BC but unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922, the objects entombed with Tutankhamun are an invaluable window into a long-extinct belief system. Seen today, they create an intricate picture of how the ancient Egyptian people viewed the perilous journey to paradise, a utopian Egypt that could only be entered following the final judgment.

When acclaimed photographer Sandro Vannini started his work in Egypt in the late ’90s, a technological revolution was about to unfold. Emerging technologies enabled him to document murals, tombs, and artifacts in unprecedented detail. Using the time-consuming and strenuous multi-shot technique, Vannini produced complete photographic reproductions that revealed colors in their original tones with vivid intensity. Through these extraordinary images, we discover the objects’ quintessential features alongside the sophisticated and cleverly hidden details.

In collaboration with a series of international exhibitions, starting with King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh at the California Science Center in March 2018, this comprehensive guide marks the centenary of Carter’s first excavations in the Valley of the Kings. These inestimable works endure through Vannini's photographs in their full, timeless splendor.

From offerings and rituals to Osiris and eternal life, Vannini’s portfolio covers all facets of ancient Egyptian culture — but it is Tutankhamun’s unique legacy that dominates these images. With texts by the photographer, captions by specialist Mohamed Megahed, and chapter introductions from scholars in the field, King Tut. The Journey through the Underworld puts much-debated mysteries to rest. The learned yet accessible forewords come from distinguished Egyptologists including Salima Ikram and David P. Silverman. Insightful narratives, resplendent images, and a contemporary standpoint make this title a fitting tribute to the Boy King’s odyssey, illuminating an epoch that spanned an unimaginable 4,000 years.

The photographer:

Sandro Vannini started his career as a photographer in 1982, and today lives and works between Italy and Egypt. Active in the latter since 1997, and with special permission to access sites forbidden to the public, he has compiled an extensive visual archive of ancient Egyptian culture. Along the way, he first pioneered techniques that enable the use of leading digital photography in the extreme temperatures in the Valley of the Kings. Vannini’s photographs are among those assisting the work of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in the restoration of artifacts. Since 2016, he has been directing and producing television programs and documentary series in collaboration with Zahi Hawass, and is also the author of several books.

Thinking eye. A unique language of symbols, literature, and light 

With careful theories and many thousands of paintings, drawings, and watercolours, Paul Klee (1879-1940) is considered one of the most cerebral and prolific leaders of 20th-century European art. Though typically small in scale, his works are remarkable for their sophisticated thought and meticulous nuances of line, colour, and tonality. Klee s stylistic formation was shaped by early affiliation with the German expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter and, in particular, by a 1914 trip to Tunisia which transformed his use of colour. 

After the war, he taught at the esteemed Bauhaus school, where his lectures, like his emerging practice, emphasized the symbolic potential of shades, lines, and geometries. Klee was also inspired by Cubism, poetry, music, literature, language, and the simplistic power of children s art. Famed for his simple stick figures, he often combined the appearance of untutored naivety with rigorous composition and intellectual significance.

This book provides a selection of key Klee works to introduce his style and influence. From sun-drenched landscapes to enigmatic wordplay, discover a world at once simplistic, symbolic, and dazzlingly colourful.

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

László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946) was one of the most internationally influential teachers at the Bauhaus. It is essentially owing to his effective artistic and journalistic skills that photography became an integral part of modern art in the twenties. He “discovered” the aesthetic possibilities of photograms in 1922 and continued his inventive work with them until 1943, turning them into icons of the medium that are still waiting to be fully brought to light.

This catalogue raisonné, meticulously edited by photography expert Renate Heyne, is the first to feature all of the known works - close to 450 of them - in chronological order. Until now, most of them had only been published in history books and auction catalogues. This volume contains far more information than is usually found in a classic descriptive catalogue of works: it explains the artistic, technical, and biographical circumstances under which the photograms were created, examines them in relation to other areas of Moholy-Nagy’s work, and analyzes them at length on the basis of selected pieces. A biography and a bibliography of the photograms round off this catalogue raisonné.

Page après page, l’un des plus beaux manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France illustre les exploits du meilleur des chevaliers, Lancelot du Lac, depuis le combat victorieux de Lancelot contre les automates de la Douloureuse Garde ou la délivrance des chevaliers du Val sans retour, jusqu’à la bataille de Salisbury, où Arthur, mortellement blessé, fait jeter son épée Excalibur avant d’être emporté par Morgane vers l’île des fées. UNE CO-ÉDITION BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE - BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’IMAGE À L’OCCASION DE L’EXPOSITION À LA BNF DU 20 OCTOBRE 2009 AU 24 JANVIER 2010 SUR LA LÉGENDE DU ROI ARTHUR. La légende du roi Arthur et des chevaliers de la Table Ronde s’est constituée et développée durant des siècles et le mystère suprême du Saint Graal n’a jamais cessé d’inspirer les plus grands créateurs. Si le nom d’Arthur apparaît dès le VIIème siècle, il faut attendre le XIIème pour que fleurisse le mythe littéraire de ce roi des Bretons – dont rien n’atteste aujourd’hui l’existence réelle – capable de vaincre l’empereur de Rome et d’imposer la foi chrétienne à l’Angleterre. Thierry Delcourt, archiviste-paléographe et docteur ès lettres, conservateur général des bibliothèques, dirige depuis 2006 le département des Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, après avoir notamment été à la tête de la médiathèque de Troyes – il en a conduit la construction de 1996 à 2006 et y a organisé plusieurs expositions : Splendeurs de la cour de Champagne au temps de Chrétien de Troyes (1998), Bestiaire du Moyen Âge (2004), Trésors enluminés de Troyes (2006)… Membre de la Société internationale arthurienne, Thierry Delcourt a publié de nombreux ouvrages et a participé à plusieurs volumes de l’édition du Roman de Tristan en prose dirigée par Philippe Ménard (Droz, t. II, 1990 et t. V, 1992 ; Champion, version du ms. français 757, t. II, 1999), ainsi qu’au volume VI de l’édition de la version française du Devisement du monde, de Marco Polo (Droz, 2009). Il est aussi l’auteur d’un Que sais-je ? consacré à la Littérature arthurienne (PUF, 2000) et il dirige la publication du catalogue de l’exposition La légende du roi Arthur (BNF / Seuil, 2009). On compte en outre parmi ses publications récentes Trésors enluminés de Troyes (CD Rom, Nouveau Monde éditions, 2005), Les Croisades, la plus grande aventure du Moyen Âge (Nouveau Monde éditions, 2007) et Sébastien Mamerot, Les Passages d’outremer, une chronique des croisades jusqu’en 1462 enluminée par Jean Colombe (Cologne, Taschen,2009).

Renaissance Man. The unstoppable curiosity and invention of the da Vinci genius

Filling notebook after notebook with sketches, inventions, and theories, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) not only stands as one of the most exceptional draftsmen of art history but also as a mastermind and innovator who anticipated some of the greatest discoveries of human progress, sometimes centuries before their material realisation.

From the smallest arteries in the human heart to the far-flung constellations of the universe, Leonardo saw nature and science as being unequivocally connected. His points of enquiry and invention spanned philosophy, anatomy, geology, and mathematics, from the laws of optics, gravitation, heat and light to the building of a flying machine.

In his painting, Leonardo steered art out of the Middle Ages with works such as The Last Supper and the world-famous La Gioconda or Mona Lisa depicting not only physical appearances, but a compelling psychological intrigue and depth which continues to draw crowds of mesmerized visitors to masterpieces in Paris, Milan, Washington, London, and Rome.

This book collates some of Leonardo's most outstanding work to introduce a figure of infinite curiosity, feverish imagination and sublime artistic ability often described as having not enough worlds for to conquer, and not enough lives for to live (Alan Woods). 

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

Da Vinci in detail. Leonardo's life and work - the definitive edition

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This two-volume, midsize format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo’s masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes.

 - Part I explores Leonardo’s life and work in ten chapters. All of his paintings are interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on large double-spreads.
 - Part II comprises a catalogue raisonné of Leonardo’s paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation.
 - Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc).

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed one of the greatest minds of all time; his importance and influence are inestimable. This XXL-format comprehensive survey is the most complete book ever made on the subject of this Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and all-around genius. With huge, full-bleed details of Leonardo's masterworks, this highly original publication allows the reader to inspect the subtlest facets of his brushstrokes.

* Part I explores Leonardo's life and work in ten chapters, drawing upon his letters, contracts, diary entries, and writings. All of his paintings are presented and interpreted in depth, with The Annunciation and The Last Supper featured on large double-spreads.
* Part II comprises a catalogue raisonné of Leonardo's paintings, which covers all of his surviving and lost painted works and includes texts describing their states of preservation. Each and every painting that can be justifiably attributed to Leonardo is included here; thanks to new findings and scientific research, this is the first time his definitive painting oeuvre is being published.
* Part III contains an extensive catalogue of his drawings (numbering in the thousands, they cannot all be reproduced in one book); 663 are presented, arranged by category (architecture, technical, anatomical, figures, proportion, cartography, etc). Over half of the drawings included were provided by Windsor Castle, marking the first time that the Castle has allowed a publisher to reproduce so many of their drawings.

Da Vinci in detail. Leonardo's life and work — all pictures, all drawings!

One of the most fully achieved human beings who has ever lived, Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is recognized the world over as a figure of infinite curiosity, feverish imagination and sublime artistic ability.

This updated edition of our XL title provides the most comprehensive survey of the life and work of this master painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, and inventor. Its catalogue raisonné of Leonardo’s paintings covers both his surviving and his lost painted works. With full-bleed details of many paintings, the reader is able to inspect the subtlest facets of brushworks that came to revolutionize Art History.

A further catalogue of Leonardo's drawings arranges nearly 700 of his drawings by category (architecture, technical, proportion, cartography, etc) and showcases his fabulous observational finesse, from anatomical studies to architectural plans, from complex engineering designs to pudgy infant portraits. It includes a fresh chapter exploring the artist's mesmerizing manuscripts.

The accompanying account of Leonardo's life and work includes a special in-depth exploration of his masterworks The Annunciation and The Last Supper.

La fameuse tête de Minerve n’est pas le seul poinçon qui concerne les métaux précieux. Grâce à plus de deux mille dessins reproduisant les détails de chaque poinçon, ce livre permet d’identifier les marques apposées depuis le Moyen-Age jusqu’à nos jours sur les ouvrages d’orfèvrerie et de bijouterie. Emblèmes, symboles, initiales, dates et noms se retrouvent sur ces poinçons et sont soigneusement décryptés par l’auteur.

Pour l’Ancien régime, les poinçons de jurande, de charge et de décharge sont étudiés en détail tant pour Paris que pour la province. Pour le Nouveau régime - après la Révolution -, le dessin, le chiffre, le différent, le contour et la lettre des poinçons de garantie sont passés en revue ainsi que les poinçons de responsabilité, les poinçons doublés ou plaqués, et les poinçons obus, sans oublier la tête de Minerve, le plus célèbre des poinçons de garantie réservés à l’argent.

Les règles à la marque sont ensuite décrites, qui permettent de déterminer l’emplacement du poinçon sur l’objet. De nombreux textes légaux – anciens et récents – sont cités in extenso. Les unités de mesure et la manière de faire des essais qui déterminent le pourcentage de métaux dans un alliage sont ensuite décrits. Un glossaire et une bibliographie terminent le livre.

The exhibition constitutes an important milestone as the first show on kinetic art, means art with moving parts, to be held in Spain that features works created since the late 19th Century up to those produced in 2006. The museum received loans never before seen in Spain from the most important museums in the world, such as the MoMA/NY, the Centre Georges Pompidou/Paris, the Whitney Museum of American Art/NY, the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, the Tate Modern/London and the Galería Nazionale D'Arte Moderna di Roma. Important galleries also loaned pieces, such as the Denise René Gallery, which in 1955 organized the first exhibition dedicated to kinetic artists. The show brings together over 80 works by 45 Spanish and foreign artists. In this exhibition, visitors will be able to view paintings, objects, chronophotographs, calotypes, serigraphs, digital prints and films that all have one thing in common - the implicit concept of movement. Kinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect.The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. The term kinetic sculpture refers to a class of art made primarily from the late 1950s through 1960s. Kinetic art was first recorded by the sculptors Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner in their Realist Manifesto issued as part of a manifesto of constructivism in 1920 in Moscow. Bicycle Wheel, of 1913, by Marcel Duchamp, is said to be the first kinetic

Glasgow Style: The life and work of Glasgow School pioneer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Scottish architect, designer, and painter Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928) was one of the earliest pioneers of modern architecture and design. While he never received major recognition in his hometown of Glasgow, his bold new blend of simplicity and poetic details inspired modernists across Europe.

Mackintosh s avant-garde approach embraced a variety of media as well as fresh stylistic devices. His multi-faceted oeuvre incorporated architecture, furniture, graphic design, landscapes, and flower studies. He embraced strong lines, elegant proportions, and natural motifs, combining a healthy dose of japonisme with a modernist sensibility for function. He preferred bold black typography, restrained shapes, and tall, generous windows suffusing rooms with light.

Mackintosh's projects in Glasgow include the famous Willow Tearooms, the private residences Windyhill and The Hill House, and the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art, widely considered his masterwork. Much of his work was collaborative practice with his wife, fellow artist Margaret Macdonald. The couple made up half of the loose Glasgow collective known as The Four; the other two were Margaret's sister, Frances, and her husband, Herbert MacNair.

On the continent, this Glasgow Style was met with delight. In Italy, Germany, and, in particular, Austria, artists of the Viennese Secession and Art Nouveau drew much from its rectilinear, yet lyrical, forms. In this introductory book, we take in Mackintosh's practice across art, architecture, and design to explore his particular combination of the statuesque and sensual and its vital influence on modernist expression across Europe.

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

Illusion, enchantment, and wonder. The world’s greatest magicians from the Middle Ages through the 1950s

Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility — whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games and the internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible.

This book celebrates more than 500 years of the stunning visual culture of the world’s greatest magicians. Featuring more than 850 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Caravaggio among others, The Big Book of Magic traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, the book explores the evolution of the magician’s craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century’s Golden Age of Magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century’s vaudevillians.

The authors:

Mike Caveney is a writer, collector, professional magician, and the publisher of over 50 books on the theory, practice, and history of magic. His biographical works include Kellar’s Wonders (2003) with Bill Miesel, and Carter the Great (1995). An avid collector and performer for over four decades, he has appeared onstage or on TV in more than 20 countries.

Jim Steinmeyer is the author of many books on magic history and practice, including Los Angeles Times bestseller Hiding the Elephant (2004) and The Glorious Deception (2006). He has created deceptions featured by magicians such as Doug Henning, David Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy, and critically acclaimed illusions for Broadway hits Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and Into the Woods.