Книги по живописи

Startling Life. The astonishing oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer

Just 35 works make up the complete known oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer but in their combination of mimesis and mystery, they have secured his place as one of the most admired artists in history. This jumbo-sized monograph presents his astonishing catalogue with numerous spreads, ravishing details, and an essay exploring his outstanding ability to transform oil paint into life.

This book brings together the complete catalogue of Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), presenting the calm yet compelling scenes so treasured in galleries across Europe and the United States into one monograph of utmost reproduction quality. With new photography of many works, Vermeer’s restrained but richly evocative repertoire of domestic actions — ranging from letter writing to music-making to preparations in the kitchen — unfolds in generous format. Numerous details emphasize the artist’s remarkable ability not only to bear witness to the trends and trimmings of the Dutch Golden Age but also to encapsulate an entire story in just one transient gesture, expression, or look.

In his lifetime, Vermeer’s fame barely extended beyond his native Delft and a small circle of patrons. After his death, his name was largely forgotten, with works outside of Holland even misattributed to other artists. It was not until the mid-19th century that Vermeer came to the attention of the international art world, which suddenly looked upon his narrative minutiae, meticulous textural detail, and majestic planes of light, and spotted a forgotten master.

Today, Vermeer’s works have inspired a New York Times bestseller and a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth not to mention record visitor numbers at art institutions from Amsterdam to Washington, DC; and special crowd-control measures at the Mauritshuis, The Hague, where thousands flock to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic and enchanting Girl with a Pearl Earring, also known as the “Dutch Mona Lisa.”

The author

After completing his studies of art history and archaeology at the University of Vienna, Karl Schütz joined the staff of the Gemäldegalerie of the city’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, serving from 1972 as a curator and from 1990 to 2011 as its director. His particular scholarly interests include Netherlandish and Flemish painting, early-16th-century German painting, courtly portraiture, and the history of the Gemäldegalerie collection.

Infallible Eye. The astonishing oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer

Just 35 works make up the complete known oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer but in their combination of mimesis and mystery they have secured his place as one of the most admired artists in history. This monograph presents his astonishing catalogue with numerous spreads, ravishing details, and an essay exploring his outstanding ability to transform oil paint into life.

His works have prompted a New York Times bestseller; a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth; record visitor numbers at art institutions from Amsterdam to Washington, DC; and special crowd-control measures at the Mauritshuis, The Hague, where thousands flock to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic and enchanting Girl with a Pearl Earring, also known as the “Dutch Mona Lisa”.

In his lifetime, however, the fame of Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) barely extended beyond his native Delft and a small circle of patrons. After his death, his name was largely forgotten, except by a few Dutch art collectors and dealers. Outside of Holland, his works were even misattributed to other artists. It was not until the mid-19th century that Vermeer came to the attention of the international art world, which suddenly looked upon his narrative minutiae, meticulous textural details, and majestic planes of light, spotted a genius, and never looked back.

This edition features the complete catalog of Vermeer’s work, presenting the calm yet compelling scenes so treasured in galleries across Europe and the United States in one monograph of utmost reproduction quality. Crisp details and essays tracing Vermeer’s career illuminate his remarkable ability not only to bear witness to the trends and trimmings of the Dutch Golden Age but also to encapsulate an entire story in just one transient gesture, expression, or look.

The Author:

After completing his studies of art history and archaeology at the University of Vienna, Karl Schütz joined the staff of the Gemäldegalerie of the city’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, serving from 1972 as a curator and from 1990 to 2011 as its director. His particular scholarly interests include Netherlandish and Flemish painting, early-16th-century German painting, courtly portraiture, and the history of the Gemäldegalerie collection.

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Vermeer makes the world’s greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. A 17th-century Dutch painter who lived his entire life in Delft, Vermeer is renowned for his masterly use of light. Only a very small number of Vermeer’s paintings are known to exist. Overflowing with impeccably reproduced images, this book offers full-page spreads of masterpieces as well as highlights of smaller details — allowing the viewer to appreciate every aspect of the artist’s technique and oeuvre.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) has been one of the most widely admired European painters since his so-called rediscovery in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Until quite recently, the Romantic roots of writing on the Sphinx of Delft have encouraged the image of him as an isolated genius; the artists private life and religion, his supposed use of a camera obscura, and the fact that his teacher has not been identified have all contributed to an air of mystery. As this new monograph demonstrates, Vermeers life is actually well documented and his work may be more appropriately understood by placing the painter in the context of the Delft school as a whole and of Delft society.

The fact that one local patron acquired about twenty pictures by the artist (only thirty-six are known today) must have been significant for Vermeers subtleties of meaning and refinements of technique and style. In the end, however, the most historical approach to Vermeer still leaves us with a master whose rare sensibility and extraordinary powers of observation may be described but not explained.

395 ills., 382 in color

This publication presents what a wealth and surprising variety of paintings were produced in Europe between the French Revolution and World War I. The selection of about 150 masterpieces, ranging from Classicism to Romanticism and Realism, demonstrates how German painters examined very different themes from European history and literature, how they traveled throughout Europe, and ultimately how they influenced other countries with their artistic ideas: nineteenth-century German painting was European.
Painting ranging from Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich to Adolph Menzel and Max Liebermann is the theme of this richly illustrated publication. Informative brief essays by known experts discuss first-class works from the three largest museum associations in the cities of Berlin, Dresden, and Munich, as well as twenty other important German collections, showing the perception of Europe at that time. An appendix contains extensive commentary on each individual painting. A synopsis of German history with a view to Europe rounds off this standard work on German nineteenth-century art.

An indispensable survey of the most dynamic contemporary drawing, chosen by leading art world professionals - now in paperback

More than 250,000 copies of books in the acclaimed 'Vitamin' series have been bought by art lovers across the world. In 2005, Vitamin D inaugurated a vibrant period for drawing, followed by Vitamin D2, which showcased 115 outstanding artists pushing the medium's boundaries.

With nominations from over 70 international critics and curators and an introduction by drawing expert Christian Rattemeyer, Vitamin D2 provides a broad overview of drawing while also looking towards its future.

Artists include: Charles Avery, Pablo Bronstein, Paul Chan, Ewan Gibbs, Cameron Jamie, Aleksandra Mir, Amalia Pica, Imran Qureshi, Adrián Villar Rojas

Nominators include: Lynne Cooke, Thelma Golden, Christine Macel, Jessica Morgan, Bob Nickas, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Scott Rothkopf, Beatrix Ruf, Barry Schwabsky, Nancy Spector

Introduction by: Christian Rattemeyer, Associate Curator of Drawings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

The next installment in the popular Vitamin series - the world's hottest painters, selected by international expert

Since the publication of the first Vitamin P in 2002, painting has continued to evolve and excite, with new generations responding to its historic importance and taking it in unexpected directions. A central pillar of artistic practice, painting also has enduring appeal, dominating the art market. Vitamin P3 takes the conversation forward, spotlighting more than 100 outstanding artists who are engaging with - and pushing the boundaries of - the medium of paint.

International experts include: Iwona Blazwick, Benjamin Buchloh, Marlene Dumas, Laura Hoptman, Geeta Kapur, Alex Katz, Tim Marlow, Sarah McCrory, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Beatrix Ruf, Nancy Spector.

About the authors:

Conceived and edited by Phaidon editors.
Introductory essay by Barry Schwabsky, art critic for The Nation and regular contributor to Artforum.

As well as being one of the leading figures in the American Pop Art movement, Andy Warhol was a painter, printmaker, occasional sculptor and filmmaker whose work carried on the tradition of Dadaism which questioned the very validity of art itself. He used images and objects, and the means of their production to draw draw parallels with cultural processes. Thus, by means of a variety of techniques, but principally the choice of images, their visual repetition and pictorial isolation, and the use of colour, Warhol makes us aware of contemporary materialism, political manipulation, economic exploitation, conspicuous consumption, media hero-worship, and the creation of artificially-induced needs and aspirations. Through manipulating images and the public persona of the artist, Warhol also confronts us with the contradictions and superficialities of contemporary culture and the art it has engendered, whilst incorporating in his paintings and sculptures the very techniques of mass production that are central to the modern world, emphasizing to the point of absurdity the complete detachment from social and artistic commitment that he saw in the world around him. Despite the unevenness and shallowness of much of his later work, Andy Warhol was one of the most brilliant, challenging and intentionally infuriating artists of the last half of the twentieth century.

Andy Warhol - A critical observer of American society

Andy Warhol is recognized today as the most important exponent of the Pop Art movement. He overturned the traditional understanding of art and placed in its stead a concept that retracts the individuality of the artist.

Warhol was a critical observer of American society, exposing his compatriots' consumerism in his paintings ('Campbell-' and 'Brillo' series), as well as their fascination for sensational journalism. In 1963 Warhol founded his 'Factory' in New York, literally a manufactory of ideas and work, which influenced film in the 1960s, published the influential magazine Interview in the late 1970s, and also produced Warhol's own artwork: Warhol conceived the idea, and a 'worker' in his factory carried it out.

The work remained (consciously) unsigned - a fact which nevertheless did nothing to diminish Warhol's reputation. He once complained that rich New Yorkers would willingly hang his "Electric Chain" in their living rooms - as long as its colours co-ordinated with the wallpaper and draperies.

About the Series:
Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:

* a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
* approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
* a concise biography

Pop star. Soap boxes and celebrities

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) is hailed as the most important proponent of the Pop Art movement. A critical and creative observer of American society, he explored key themes of consumerism, materialism, media, and celebrity.

Drawing on contemporary advertisements, comic strips, consumer products, and Hollywood s most famous faces, Warhol proposed a radical reevaluation of what constituted artistic subject matter. Through Warhol, a Campbell s soup can and Coca Cola bottle became as worthy of artistic status as any traditional still life. At the same time, Warhol reconfigured the role of the artist. Famously stating I want to be a machine, he systematically reduced the presence of his own authorship, working with mass-production methods and images, as well as dozens of assistants in a studio he dubbed The Factory.

This book introduces Warhol s multifaceted, prolific oeuvre, which revolutionized distinctions between high and low art and integrated ideas of living, producing, and consuming that remain central questions of modern experience.

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

Best known for his fêtes galantes such as the famous Pèlerinage à l'île de Cythère, Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) was a major proponent in the revival of the Baroque style and the formation of the Rococo movement. Watteau was inspired by the theater and in particular the commedia dell’arte, hence elaborately costumed actors, dancers, and musicians were recurrent subjects; he was also fond of bucolic scenes and portraiture. Infused with romance, drama, and joie de vivre, Watteau’s paintings depict a idyllic world of pleasure and entertainment.

About the Series:
Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:

• a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
• approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
• a concise biography

Did the Greek gods play tennis? What is the ambassador from the land of Alchemy telling us? What secrets are being told on the shores of the Island of Venus? What is a monk doing on the Ship of Fools?

What Great Paintings Say has the answers to these and many other burning questions asked about the most important and famous paintings of all time. In two volumes, a selection of history`s greatest masterpieces is presented chronologically, including works by Botticelli, Breughel, Chagall, Courbet, Degas, Delacroix, Dürer, Goya, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, and many others. Each chapter focuses on one painting, with enlarged details and in-depth texts describing their significance.

Taking apart each painting and then reassembling it again like a huge jigsaw puzzle, the authors reveal the history of art as a lively panorama of forgotten worlds.

Byzantine empresses, French revolutionaries, and Spanish generals: history’s most impressive figures stare boldly out of the canvases in this collection of formidable paintings. Each individual represented in these images radiates with strength and splendour; be they an aristocratic widow in mourning, a murdered politician, or a jovial group of Ukrainian rebels.

Authors Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen tease out the stories and secrets of 13 masterpieces by artists including Goya, Titian, Velázquez, and Ilya Repin. Regal, holy, and wise, the men and women in these works will inspire you with their conquests and resilience.TASCHEN reproduces these masterworks in stunning quality, working in collaboration with esteemed art collections all over the world, including in Brussels, St. Petersburg, New York, and Naples. Combining astute analysis with magnified painting details, this book is a unique historical investigation in tribute to the movers and shakers of the past.

About the series:

- Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre series features:
- approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions
- a detailed illustrated introduction plus a timeline of the most important political, cultural, and social events that took place during that period
- a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and accompanying interpretation, as well as a portrait and brief biography of the artist

Surreptitious messages, concealed myths, and historical truths lie hidden in the great works of the Italian Renaissance, behind heavy gold leaf and religious symbology.

Although often obscured by the archaic language of historical painting, careful analysis and expert interpretation bring these images to life. Discover masterpieces of the most beloved creative epoch in this fascinating art historical inquiry. Images of war, romance, birth, and knowledge, works of the Italian Renaissance have much to say when given a voice. Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen do just that-pulling apart each of the 12 featured paintings with all the talent of true detectives to offer an illuminating portal to the past.

From Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam to Ucello's The Battle of San Romano, from Antonello da Messina's St. Jerome in His Study to Pinturicchio's Penelope with the Suitors, the artworks under investigation are a diverse representation of the period's innovation and brilliance, sourced directly from some of the most impressive collections in the world, including the Uffizi, Prado, and National Gallery London.

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

The leader of the abstract expressionists

"If you pick up some paint with your brush and make somebody's nose with it, this is rather ridiculous... It's really absurd to make an image, like a human image, with paint, today." — Willem de Kooning

Dutch-born American painter Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was a leader of the abstract expressionist movement. Inspired by Arshile Gorky to abandon the realist style that had dominated his work in the 1930s, he began experimenting with abstraction in the 1940s and quickly gained critical success. His monumental Woman series of the 1950s — characterized by wild colour and aggressive overtones— was received with both controversy and acclaim. He continued to paint until the late 1980s, leaving behind a vast and impressive body of work.

About the Series:

Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:

* a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
* approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions
* a concise biography