Книги з історії мистецтва

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.

The deftness of da Vinci. The drawings of Art History's master genius

One of the most accomplished human beings who ever lived, Leonardo da Vinci remains the quintessential Renaissance genius. Creator of the world’s most famous paintings, this scientist, artist, philosopher, inventor, builder, and mechanic epitomized the great flowering of human consciousness that marks his era.

As part of our Bibliotheca Universalis series, Leonardo da Vinci – The Graphic Work features top-quality reproductions of 663 of Leonardo’s drawings, more than half of which reside in the Royal Collection of Windsor Castle. From anatomical studies to architectural plans, from complex engineering designs to pudgy infant portraits, delve in and delight in the delicate finesse of one of the most talented minds, and hands, in 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!

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.

The grandeur of Imperial Russia is captured in this spectacular book featuring the dress and uniforms of Emperors and officials of the Russian court. Starting in the 1730s with lavishly embroidered coats and elaborately patterned silk banyans from the wardrobe of Tsar Peter II and spanning a period of almost two centuries, these garments document a unique dialogue between military uniform, court dress, European fashion and traditional Russian costume. Magnificence of the Tsars celebrates the majesty of masculine uniform in Russia at its finest.

About the Author:

Svetlana Amelekhina is Curator of Imperial Court Dress at the Kremlin. Dr Rosalind P. Blakesley is a Fellow of Pembroke College and Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Cambridge. A specialist in Russian art, she has worked extensively in Russia, and curated exhibitions in London, Moscow and Washington DC.

Capturing Several Centuries of French Crusades. A faultless facsimile — accurate to the color of the medieval gold heightening

Completed circa 1474, Sébastien Mamerot's lavishly illustrated manuscript is the only contemporary document to capture several centuries of French crusades, when successive kings tried to capture the Holy Land. Jean Colombe, the medieval illuminator best known for his work on the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, is the principal artist of its 66 exquisite miniatures.

Mamerot's manuscript was dedicated to his patron Louis de Laval, governor of Champagne, whose inspiration was the Christian equivalent of extremist jihad - a xenophobic holy war with its origins in a Papal appeal by Urban II. Les Passages d'Outremer (The Expeditions to Outremer) comprises 277 parchment folios, illustrated by Colombe and the finest caligraphers of the medieval era, and now resides in the French national library.

This manuscript is the source of TASCHEN's facsimile reprint, which is accurate down to the color of the medieval gold heightening. This two-volume hardcover edition in a slipcase – comprising a facsimile volume and a commentary volume with the complete translation of the manuscript text and explanations of Jean Colombe’s miniatures – is a particular testimony to that long, glorious and bloody historical epoch. The battles, burials, religious ceremonies, coronations and royal processions depicted in the 66 colourful miniatures come to life before our eyes and create a forceful image of those centuries-long wars.

Bringing together unique and rarely seen photographs, paintings, sculpture and drawings, this exquisite book tells the story of the tumultuous relationship between the artists Man Ray (1890–1976) and Lee Miller (1907–1977). From 1929 to 1932, the two lived together in Paris, first as teacher and student, and later as lovers. Historically, Miller has been described as Man Ray’s muse, but Partners in Surrealism reveals how their brief, mercurial love affair was a key source of mutual and sustained inspiration, resulting in some of the most powerful work of each artist’s career. Featuring a candid and poignant contribution from Antony Penrose, the son of Miller and the English painter Roland Penrose, on the relationship between Man Ray and his parents in later years, this is an extraordinary exploration of the love, lust and desire that drove the art of the Surrealists.

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. 

Selected by an international panel of cartographers, academics, map dealers and collectors, the maps represent over 5,000 years of cartographic innovation drawing on a range of cultures and traditions. 

Comprehensive in scope, this book features all types of map from navigation and surveys to astronomical maps, satellite and digital maps, as well as works of art inspired by cartography. 

Unique curated sequence presents maps in thought-provoking juxtapositions for lively, stimulating reading. 

Features some of the most influential mapmakers and institutions in history, including Gerardus Mercator, Abraham Ortelius, Phyllis Pearson, Heinrich Berann, Bill Rankin, Ordnance Survey and Google Earth. 

Easy-to-use format, with large reproductions, authoritative texts and key caption information, it is the perfect introduction to the subject. 

Also features a comprehensive illustrated timeline of the history of cartography, biographies of leading cartographers and a glossary of cartographic terms. 

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.

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.