Getty Publications

The first book-length material study of the works of Belgian Surrealist René Magritte. René Magritte (1898–1967) is the most famous Belgian artist of the twentieth century and a celebrated representative of the Surrealist movement. Much has been written about his practices, artistic community, and significance within the history of modernism, but little has been documented regarding his process. This volume examines fifty oil paintings made by Magritte between 1921 and 1967, now held at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. This technical study of his works using noninvasive scientific imaging and chemical analysis reveals the artist’s painting materials, his habit of overpainting previous compositions, and the origins and mechanisms of surface and pigment degradation. Of interest to conservators, scientists, curators, and enthusiasts of twentieth-century art, this book expands our understanding of Magritte the artist and provides new and useful findings that will inform strategies for the future care of his works.

The proliferation of new metals-such as stainless steels, aluminium alloys and metallic coatings-in modern and contemporary art and architecture has made the need for professionals who can address their conservation more critical than ever. This volume seeks to bridge the gap between the vast technical literature on metals and the pressing needs of conservators, curators and other heritage professionals without a metallurgy background. It offers practical information in a simple and direct way, enabling curators, conservators and artists alike to understand and evaluate the objects under their care. This invaluable reference reframes information formerly found only in specialised technical and industrial publications for the context of cultural heritage conservation. As the first book to address the properties, testing and maintenance issues of the hundreds of metals and alloys available since the beginning of the twentieth century, it is destined to become an essential resource for conservators, artists, fabricators, curators, collectors and anyone working with modern metals.

"A curator, a paintings conservator, a photographer, and a conservation scientist walk into a bar." What happens next? In lively and accessible prose, color science expert Roy S. Berns helps the reader understand complex color-technology concepts and offers solutions to problems that occur when art is displayed, conserved, imaged, or reproduced. Berns writes for two types of audiences: museum professionals seeking explanations for common color-related issues and students in conservation, museum studies, and art history programs. The seven chapters in the book fall naturally into two sections: fundamentals, covering topics such as spectral measurements, metamerism, or color inconstancy; and applications, where artwork display, painting materials, and color reproduction are discussed. A unique feature of this book is the use of more than 200 images as its main medium of communication, employing color physics, color vision, and imaging science to produce visualizations throughout the pages. An annotated bibliography complements the main text with suggestions for further reading and more in-depth study of particular topics.Engaging, incisive, and absolutely critical for any scholar or student interested in color science, Color Science and the Visual Arts is sure to become a key reference for the entire field.

Due to the technological advances of the nineteenth century, an abundance of black drawing media exploded onto the market. Charcoal, conte crayon, and fabricated black chalks and crayons; fixatives; various papers; and many lifting devices gave rise to an unprecedented amount of experimentation. Indeed, innovation became the rule, as artists developed their own unique-and often experimental-processes. The exploration of black media in drawing is inextricably bound up with the exploration of black in prints, and this volume presents an integrated study that rises above specialization in one over the other. This richly illustrated catalogue brings together such diverse artists as Francisco de Goya, Maxime Lalanne, Gustave Courbet, Odilon Redon, and Georges Seurat and explores their inventive works on paper. Sidelining labels like "conservative" or "avant-garde," the essays in this book employ all the tools that art history and modern conservation have given us, inviting the reader to look more broadly at the artists' methods and materials. This volume accompanies an exhibition of the same name on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from February 9 to May 15, 2016.

This title is a superbly illustrated and insightful guide to the symbols of power in Western art. This latest volume in the acclaimed "Guide to Imagery series" examines the way that sovereign rulers have employed well-defined symbols, attributes and stereotypes to convey their power to their subjects and rivals, as well as to leave a legacy for future generations to admire. Encompassing everything from the legendary rulers of antiquity such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, through medieval leaders like France's Louis IX and the Tsars of Russia, to the great European royal dynasties of the Hapsburgs and the Tudors, exploring how and why they manipulated their images, and what the symbology really meant. A closing chapter is devoted to Napoleon I, arguably the ultimate master of symbolic display

This is a magnificently illustrated and enlightening journey through the visual portrayal of love and sexuality in Western art. Even in the modern world where explicit imagery is manifest, an erotic painting from half a millennia ago can still manage to create a sensation. This new addition to the highly-acclaimed "Guide to Imagery Series" takes readers on a fascinating romp through the portrayal of love and sexuality in Western art - ranging from chaste tenderness to overwhelming frenzies of the senses, and from Classical allusion to sexual fantasy. Individual chapters focus on specific themes, with a detailed and informative reading of the significance and symbolic content of the individual works illustrating each theme.

This title presents a gloriously illustrated exploration of 3,000 years of the iconography of death and resurrection in world art. As one of the unavoidable realities of human existence, death is also one of the oldest and most common themes in art. From Egyptian tomb paintings and battles scenes on Greek vases by anonymous artists, to depictions of the crucifixion of Christ by Renaissance masters, to contemporary encounters with these subjects by artists such as Damien Hirst and Andres Serrano, this new volume in the "Guide to Imagery" series examines three-thousand years of the iconography of death and resurrection. While focusing on the Western artistic tradition, this volume also looks at many works of art from Asia, Africa, and Oceania as it explores depictions of death and resurrection - including violent death, ceremonial tributes to the departed, allegorical depictions, and the journey to the afterlife.

A fascinating look at the history of the Christian Church as portrayed throughout Western art. This richly illustrated volume argues that, because much of Western art depicts key events, leaders, and practices in the history of the Christian Church, knowledge of that history is critical to gaining a deeper appreciation of many of our great masterpieces."The History of the Church in Art" begins by examining artistic representations of liturgical objects - including altars, crosses, and censers. It then goes on to look at the portrayal of the duties and vestments of a variety of cleric in art; the visual documentation of devotional practices; and important episodes from the Church's history - crusades and pilgrimages, the Inquisition and the Reformation, and power struggles between popes and secular leaders. It concludes with an analysis of the lives and portraits of notable leaders, from Peter and Paul to Thomas More and Pope Paul VI.

The seventeenth century was an era of absolute monarchs, the Habsburgs of Spain and Louis XIV of France, whose patronage of the arts helped furnish their opulent palaces. But it was also the beginning of a new era of commercialism, in which artists increasingly catered to affluent collectors.The Baroque, with its roots in classicism but with a new emphasis on emotionalism and naturalism, was the leading style of the period. Masters of the era included Caravaggio, whose innovations in the use of light and shadow were an influence to many - notably Rembrandt; the sculptor, painter, and architect Bernini with his technical brilliance and expressiveness; as well as many others such as Rubens, Poussin, Velazquez, and Vermeer."European Art in the Seventeenth Century" highlights the most important artists, works, concepts, and theories of the period, accompanied by 400 full-colour illustrations.

This latest volume in the acclaimed "Art through the Centuries Series" explores the most important and influential artists and artistic concepts of the eighteenth century.While the Baroque style had dominated the previous century, a new sensibility - the Rococo - emerged during the early 1700s. The Rococo style, characterized by delicately curving forms, pastel colour, and a lighthearted mood began in French architectural and interior design and was popularized by artists such as Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher.The second half of the century, spurred on by excavations and discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum, saw a return to Classical Greek and Roman models which matured into the Neoclassical style exhibited by Antonio Canova and Jacques-Louis David.

Deliciously illustrated with masterpieces of western art, this latest volume in the highly acclaimed "Guide to Imagery" series explores the rituals, customs, and symbolism of food and dining in art.It features a dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to targeted art and food media.This sumptuous new guide describes the importance of food and feasts in art throughout history: as told in the Scriptures and in the lives of the saints; food and dining in Greek and Roman mythology; food in later literature and history; how artists through the ages have created allegories of gluttony and odes to the sense of taste; also discussed is the role of table settings in relation to ceremonies such as formal dinners and royal banquets; and, lastly, a close-up look at the symbolic meaning of individual foods and drinks - from the artichoke to champagne and from chilli peppers to absinthe.

From antiquity to the Enlightenment, astrology, magic, and alchemy have always been considered important tools in unravelling the mysteries of nature and human destiny. As a result of the West's exposure to the astrological beliefs of Arab philosophers and the mystical writings of late antiquity, these occult traditions became rich sources of inspiration for Western artists.This latest volume in the "Guide to Imagery" series, presents an intelligent analysis of occult iconography in many of the great masterpieces of Western art - from the astrological symbols that decorated churches and illuminated manuscripts, through the work of a wide range of Renaissance artists, including Bosch, Brueghel, Durer and Caravaggio, to the visionary works of nineteenth-century artists, such as Fuseli and Blake, as well as in the creative output of the Surrealists during the twentieth century.

An intriguing and richly illustrated analysis of the symbolic imagery found in gardens throughout history, this work features dedicated mailing to targeted art and gardening related media and organisations. This superbly illustrated volume presents readers with an intelligent and engaging analysis of the constituent elements of gardens - both real and imagined - that uncovers their often-hidden symbolic meanings. It uses over 380 paintings to provide a continuous visual record of the myriad and ephemeral form of the garden, with salient details being drawn to the reader's attention for closer examination. The first half of "Gardens in Art" examines the main types of garden throughout history, from the humble medieval enclosure for devotions, through the magnificent gardens celebrating the power of popes and kings, to the great public parks of the 19th century. The second half focuses on the decorative elements - including topiaries, statues, grottoes, and labyrinths - and discusses how they provide clues to their importance in particular cultures.

In the fourteenth century, Europe was a place ravaged by the effects of war and famine and then devastated by the Black Death. These multiple crises lead to a widespread mystical religiosity, which emphasised both ecstatic joy and extreme suffering. This in turn inspired the creation of some of the most magnificent religious art of the period, from depictions of the Crucifixion, to the martyrdom of saints. The ever growing literate elite also created demand for secular art, from magnificent portraits, to lavishly illuminated manuscripts. "European Art in the Fourteenth Century" highlights the most important artists, works, concepts and theories of the period, accompanied by 400 full-colour illustrations.