Книги з живопису

As a blind person might see the world if the gift of sight were suddenly returned - this is how we might describe the effect of William Turner's paintings on the observer. John Ruskin, Turner's uncompromising 19th-century defender, alluded to this idea when he spoke of an "innocence of the eye" which perceived the world's colours and forms before it could recognize their significance.

But to develop such a style, William Turner (1775-1851) first had to overcome the legacy of late rococo academic teachings. He was simultaneously a romantic and a realist - and yet he transcended both styles. His landscapes, far in advance of their time, have been called forerunners of Impressionism, yet they also possess traits that influenced Expressionism, and many of his late compositions are undeniably surrealistic.

Turner's art cannot be bound by such classifications, and remains an oddity to art history even today. His work arises from a unique relation to the nature that it depicts: through his brilliant sketches, he found a rigorously open kind of painting in which nature sets free the use of colour. And through the workings of the natural elements - especially atmospheric light - Turner confronted nature at the point where nature itself is an image. This book opens up Turner's paintings for the eye, demonstrating that he was not simply illustrating nature, but that his pictures speak directly to the eye as nature does itself - through a world of light and colour.

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

The revised edition of Van Eyck in Detail is also available in a compact format. 

This fascinating book looks at the work of Jan van Eyck under a magnifying glass. Each panel is a collection of minuscule details rendered with superb clarity from foreground to background – or at least that is the impression at first glance. As this book reveals, that is precisely where Van Eyck's exceptional talent lies: he understood that the human brain is able to supplement visual perception where necessary.

Here, details from Van Eyck's paintings are organised by such themes as nature, architecture, daily life, the Divine and humankind. Opening with a biographical note and an introduction on the technique of oil painting on panel, the authors explain the significance of the individual details and how Van Eyck achieved his innovative artistic results. This is an unprecedented look at the work of a popular master.

With new photography of the restored Ghent Altarpiece and a catalogue of Van Eyck’s oeuvre.

Published to accompany the exhibition at the Groeninge Museum, Bruges, this volume celebrates and examines the tremendous influence the Flemish Primitives had on their eastern neighbours in Central Europe, from 1430 to 1530, focusing in particular on the pre-eminent Flemish and German masters of this period, Jan van Eyck and Albrecht Dürer.

In addition to well-known (and less well-known) works by Flemish Primitives, the book also reproduces a selection of artistic gems by less celebrated painters from Germany, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia.

Vincent van Gogh's story is one of the most ironic in art history. He lived an unhappy and difficult life during which his work received almost no appreciation - finally killing himself by a bullet to the chest, so great was his despair - and is now widely considered one of the most important painters of all time, his works fetching record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) represents a rarity in art history: a detailed monograph on his life and art combined with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings. This volume also reproduces most of van Gogh's paintings in colour for the first time.

Tragic genius. One of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting

This richly illustrated and expert study follows Vincent van Gogh from the early gloom-laden paintings in which he captured the misery of peasants and workers in his homeland, through his bright and colourful Parisian period, to the work of his final years, spent under a southern sun in Arles. Here, at last, he found the light that produced the unmistakable Van Gogh style. At Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, in the feverish burst of creative energy that marked his last two and a half years, he produced the 465 paintings on which his immortality rests.

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) craved recognition during his lifetime but was denied it until after his self-inflicted death. Today he is universally seen as one of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting, and one of the tragic masters of art.

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

One of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting

This richly illustrated and expert study follows the artist from the early gloom-laden paintings in which he captured the misery of peasants and workers in his homeland, through his bright and colourful Parisian period, to the work of his final years, spent under a southern sun in Arles. Here, at last, he found the light that produced the unmistakable Van Gogh style. At Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, in the feverish burst of creative energy that marked his last two-and-a-half years, he produced the 465 paintings on which his immortality rests.

Van Gogh craved recognition during his lifetime but was denied it until after his self-inflicted death. Today he is universally seen as one of the great forerunners of painting of the 20th century, and one of the tragic masters of art.

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 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:

Ingo F. Walther (1940-2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther's many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent Van Gogh, Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices Illustres.

Anguished Art. The tortured talents of a post-Impressionist master

A post-Impressionist pioneer, Vincent van Gogh is also one of the most quintessential “tortured artists” in history. Through his lurid colours and emphatic brushwork, this introductory book gathers van Gogh’s most famous paintings to explore his vibrant, feverish portrayal of mood and place and its influence on generations to come.

Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853 –1890) are among the most well-known and celebrated in the world. In Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, and many paintings and drawings beyond, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the portrayal of mood and place through paint, pencil, charcoal, or chalk.

Yet as he was deploying the lurid colours, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms that would subsequently make his name, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of his contemporary audience but also devastating bouts of mental illness. His episodes of depression and anxiety would eventually claim his life, when, in 1890, he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This richly illustrated introduction follows Vincent van Gogh’s story from his earliest pictures of peasants and rural workers, through his bright Parisian period, to his final, feverish burst of creative energy in the South of France during the last two and a half years of his life.

About the Author: 

Ingo F. Walther (1940 – 2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

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

"This man will either go mad or he will outstrip us all." Such was the fate that Camille Pissarro, the great Impressionist painter, predicted for his colleague Vincent van Gogh, a struggling artist still vainly seeking a buyer for his pictures. He was to prove right on both counts.

Van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, near Breda, the eldest son of a Dutch pastor. He tried his hand at numerous professions, working as an art dealer, a teacher, a lay preacher and a book-seller before finally embarking, largely self-trained, upon a career as an artist. All his life, however, he remained a solitary and despairing figure, and his self-destructive nature drove him in his later years to the brink of madness.

Feeling himself alone in the world, his only true friend and source of moral and financial support was his brother Theo, who attended van Gogh's welfare throughout his life and who would ultimately follow him, within the space of six short months, to the grave. The recognition and admiration for which van Gogh fought so bitterly would only be granted him after the self-inflicted revolver shot which ended his tragic life.

Today, van Gogh is not only considered the most important pioneer of 20th-century art, but is widely regarded as one of the most significant and best-loved painters in the entire history of art.

Images included:
The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum in Arles, 1888
Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, summer 1887
Vase with Irises against a Yellow Background, Saint-Rémy, May 1890
Vincent's Bedroom in Arles, 1899
Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889
The Church at Auvers, 1890
Drawbridge at Arles. "Pont de Langlois", 1888
Sower (after Millet), 1888
Irises, 1889
Noon: Rest from Work (after Millet), 1890
The Yellow House (Vincent's House), 1888
Vase with twelve Sunflowers, 1888
Thatched Cottages in Cordeville, 1890
Starry Night, 1888

About the Series:
TASCHEN portfolios feature high quality prints that beg to be framed. Tucked in each portfolio are 14 large-format reproductions, each with a brief description. Guaranteed to brighten any day, they also make great gifts for art lovers!

From the early gloom-laden paintings to the works of his final years under a southern sun in Arles

"This man will either go insane or leave us all far behind," prophesied the great Impressionist Camille Pissarro. The man was Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), a vicar's son born at Groot-Zundert near Breda in Holland, who at that time was struggling to find buyers for his paintings. Van Gogh did indeed go at least to the brink of insanity. And he has long been recognised as one of the greatest modern artists. Van Gogh, who followed a variety of professions before becoming an artist, was a solitary, despairing and self-destructive man his whole life long. His truest friend was his brother Theo, who supported him unstintingly throughout and followed him to the grave just six months later.

This richly illustrated study by two experts on van Gogh follows the artist from the early gloom-laden paintings in which he captured the misery of peasants and workers in his home parts, through the bright and colourful paintings he did in Paris, to the work of his final years under a southern sun in Arles, where he at last found the light that produced the unmistakable van Gogh style. At Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, in the feverish burst of creative energy that marked the last two and a half years of his life, he produced the 463 paintings on which his immortality rests. Van Gogh craved recognition during his lifetime but was denied it till after his self-inflicted death. Today he is universally seen as one of the great forerunners of 20th-century painting, and one of the tragic masters of art.

The authors:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on van Gogh and Chagall.

Ingo F. Walther (1940-2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He has published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther's many titles for TASCHEN include Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices Illustres.

Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers includes more than 300 works by Van Gogh in his most prolific years leading up to his tragic suicide.

Special printed papers and specially die-cut openers enhance the value of this excellent presentation. Van Gogh’s own words, placed together with preparatory sketches for his works and vintage postcards and photographs, enhance an insightful text.

Bold strokes of genius. The amazing work of a tormented soul

Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most ironic in art history. He lived an unhappy and difficult life during which his work received almost no appreciation — finally killing himself by a bullet to the chest, so great was his despair — and is now widely considered one of the most important painters of all time, his works fetching record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction. This comprehensive study of Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) represents a rarity in art history: a detailed monograph on his life and art combined with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings. These volumes also reproduce most of Van Gogh’s paintings in colour.

The author:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on Van Gogh and Chagall.

The editor:

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

Tortured talent. The genius and the angst of an Expressionist master

Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most ironic in art history. Today, he celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, feted museums, and record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.

Yet as he was painting the canvases that would subsequently become these sell-out modern masterpieces, van Gogh was battling not only the disinterest of his contemporary audiences but also devastating bouts of mental illness, with episodes of depression and paralyzing anxiety which would eventually claim his life in 1890, when he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) pairs a detailed monograph on his life and art with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings.

The authors:

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994 and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on Van Gogh and Chagall.

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

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!

The Complete Paintings of Vincent van Gogh. The genius and the angst of a tortured talent

Meet Vincent van Gogh, one of the most famed tragic figures of 19th‑century art. This lush tome collects all his 871 paintings, alongside writings and essays, charting the life and work of a master who continues to tower over art to this day. From Sunflowers and The Starry Night to Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, celebrate an artist uniquely dexterous in the representation of texture and mood, light and place.

Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) are among the most well known and celebrated in the world. In paintings such as Sunflowers, The Starry Night, and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the representation of texture and mood, light and place.

Yet in his lifetime, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of his contemporary audience but also devastating bouts of mental illness. His episodes of depression and anxiety would eventually claim his life, when, in 1890, he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh offers a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings, alongside writings and essays, charting the life and work of a master who continues to tower over art to this day.

The authors:

Ingo F. Walther (1940–2007) was born in Berlin and studied medieval studies, literature, and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. He published numerous books on the art of the Middle Ages and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Walther’s many titles for TASCHEN include Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Art of the 20th Century, and Codices illustres.

Rainer Metzger studied art history, history, and German literature in Munich and Augsburg. In 1994, he earned his Ph.D. on the subject of Dan Graham, and subsequently worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on van Gogh and Chagall. Since 2004, he has worked as Professor of art history at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe.

Vincent van Gogh's story is one of the most ironic in art history. He lived an unhappy and difficult life during which his work received almost no appreciation - finally killing himself by a bullet to the chest, so great was his despair - and is now widely considered one of the most important painters of all time, his works fetching record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.

This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) represents a rarity in art history: a detailed monograph on his life and art combined with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings.

These volumes also reproduce most of van Gogh's paintings in colour.

Inspired by the innovative use of color in Bauhaus art, Hungarian painter Victor Vasarely (1906-1997) developed his own abstract-geometric visual language, exploring the relationship between pure form and pure color. Vasarely`s experimentation with optical effects in the 1940s and 50s earned him a central role in the evolution of Op Art. By the late 50s and early 60s, he concentrated on the "democratization of art" by no longer producing his works as expensive originals but in large editions of affordable screen prints; this attempt to redefine the position and function of the artist in society was an important first step in the Pop Art movement. Vasarely`s boldly colorful and eye-popping paintings are instantly recognizable and remain entirely modern and relevant today.

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 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:

Magdalena Holzhey studied art history, Italian, and musicology in Berlin and Pisa. She has held academic and curatorial positions in galleries and museums, including the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf. She has published on classical modernism and contemporary art and is currently preparing a dissertation on Joseph Beuys.