Taschen strana 38 z 96

Twisted mind: The graphic pattern genius of M. C. EscherFrom impossible staircases to tesselated birds, Dutch artist M. C. Escher (1898 1972) crafted a unique graphic language of patterns, puzzles, and mathematics. Dense, complex, and structured by intricate principles, his work is at the same time decorative and playful, toying constantly with optic illusions and the limitations of sensory perception. For mathematicians and scientists, Escher is a mastermind. For hippies, he was the pioneer of psychedelic art.Born in Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands in 1898, Escher s early works focused on nature and landscapes, with regular exhibitions in Holland, and some international recognition. It was on a trip to the Alhambra Palace in Spain in the 1920s, however, that Escher found his niche. Sketching the patterns of the palace s Moorish architecture, Escher became captivated by the codependency of forms within and next to each other.Working mainly with lithographs and woodcuts, Escher went on to explore the relationships among shapes, figures, and space with a near-obsessive delight. He reveled in quirky vantage points, multiple perspectives, the transition from paper flatness to illusory volume, and intricate mathematical puzzles such as the Mobius strip, a seemingly infinite loop which twists and recoils on itself in a contortion of apparent physical impossibility.This introductory book from TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 taps into Escher s brilliant mind with key works from his restless investigation of image and perception. Along the way, you ll find fish morphing into birds, lizards crawling off the page, masterful reflections, infinite mazes, and some of the most mind-bending images of 20th-century 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 illustrations with explanatory captions"

Another country: How the Farm Security Administration introduced America to AmericansAmid the ravages of the Great Depression, the United States Farm Security Administration (FSA) was first founded in 1935 to address the country s rural poverty. Its efforts focused on improving the lives of sharecroppers, tenants, and very poor landowning farmers, with resettlement and collectivization programs, as well as modernized farming methods. In a parallel documentation program, the FSA hired a number of photographers and writers to record the lives of the rural poor and introduce America to Americans. This book records the full reach of the FSA program from 1935 to 1943, honoring its vigor and commitment across subjects, states, and stylistic preferences. The photographs are arranged into four broad regional sections but otherwise allowed to speak for themselves to provide individual impressions as much as they cumulatively build an indelible survey of a nation. Through color and black-and-white images, we meet convicts, cotton workers, kids on the street, and relocated workers on the road. We see subjects victim to the elements of nature and the timeless rituals of human life, as much as to the vagaries of the global economic market. We meet Dorothea Lange s iconic Migrant Mother, weather-beaten and worn, with two children leaning on her shoulders.What unites all of the pictures is a commitment to the individuality and dignity of each subject, as much as to the witness they bear to this particular period of the American past and to universal cycles of growing, playing, eating, aging, ailing, and dying. Through the lenses of such perceptive, sensitive photographers as Dorothea Lange, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, Marion Post Wolcott, Walker Evans, and Ben Shahn, subjects are entrenched in the hardships of their historical lot, caught in the loop of humanity, and yet face the viewer with what is utterly their own: a unique, irreplaceable, often unforgettable presence.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, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite 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!Text in English, French, and German"

Bridging the gap: The onset of ExpressionismIn the German city of Dresden on June 7, 1905, the foundation of the Die Brucke artists group (1905 1913) is widely regarded as the birth of Expressionism. Led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, the group sought to reject the limits of academia and, as their name suggested, to bridge the path to an artistic future. Their manifesto, printed with woodblock, insisted on absolute freedom from convention in their work as well as their lives.This new, liberated art incorporated portraits, landscapes, and city scenes, but substituted an objective rendering of reality with an expression of interior geography. In paintings, as well as their favored wood and linocut prints, the artists of Die Brucke would fill pictorial space with jagged lines, crude forms, and clashing colors, all to express their subjective experience of the world. Like the Fauves, the artists took stylistic lead from non-Western traditions of Oceanic and African arts, while also reviving the print and painting techniques of Albrecht Durer and Lucas Cranach the Elder.This richly illustrated book introduces this essential expressionist movement. We examine Die Brucke s key works and protagonists; its varied, international inspirations; and its crucial influence on later 20th century art. Along the way, we find candid nudes, crowded street views, and blissful bathing idylls, each of them vivid with energy and intent on a new kind of art.About the series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Genre series features: approximately 100 color 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 two-page spread with a full-page image and accompanying interpretation, as well as a portrait and brief biography of the artist"

Master of illusion: Velazquez, virtuoso of the Spanish Golden AgeCourt painter to King Philip IV of Spain, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (June 1599 August 6, 1660) is not only a leading light of the Spanish Golden Age, but among the most celebrated masters in all Western art history. Monet and Renoir, Corot and Courbet, Degas and Dali all hailed his influence. Picasso was so inspired by his masterpiece Las Meninas that he painted 44 variations of it.Velazquez s importance is found particularly in his naturalist approach, in contrast to the more ubiquitous idealized manner of his age. Early works included numerous bodegones, genre scenes of everyday life in early 17th century Spain, in which warm, rich tones and textures set off the most ordinary of subjects and humble of faces, such as Old Woman Frying Eggs.Later, his portraiture for the Royal Court brought the same naturalism to the highest echelons of society, marking a profound shift in the depiction of royalty with softer, more relaxed poses that offered his subjects a human warmth and character as much as a sense of grandeur. Velazquez s most famous work, Las Meninas, was also painted in the royal court, but in its enigmatic composition raises many broader questions about reality and illusion and the relationship between the painter, painting, and viewer.This fresh TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 edition introduces Velazquez through key works from throughout his career. From humble genre scenes to the royal portraits, the exquisite Rockeby Venus nude, and the ever-mysterioius Las Meninas, we explore his exceptional attention to composition, masterful handling of tone, and his remarkable influence as, in Manet s words, the greatest painter of all. 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".

16th-century modern: The unique El Greco visionTo his contemporaries in late 16th-century Venice, El Greco (1541 1614) was a contrary fellow, an innate artist blessed with extraordinary talent, but stubborn in the pursuit of his own path. Throughout his career, as he progressed from Crete to Venice, to Rome and ultimately Toledo, Spain, The Greek stood apart from his peers, merging different Western art traditions to create a unique pictorial language.El Greco s single-minded style rejected naturalism and rejected accessibility. Works such as The Disrobing of Christ (1577 79), The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586 88), and The Vision of St John (1608 14) reveal elongated, twisted figures; unreal colors; and an experimental rendering of space all resistant to easy viewing and intent, instead, on an art of epic grandeur and intellectual beauty.Frequently regarded with suspicion and criticism during his lifetime, El Greco was revived by a troop of ardent modern admirers, including Pablo Picasso, Roger Fry, and Der Blaue Reiter pioneer Franz Marc. Today, the artist belongs to the privileged group of great old master painters, as much an anomaly of his age, as a reference point across the centuries.This essential introduction from TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 explores the influences and the ingredients of El Greco s radical and singular vision, from the symbolic world of Byzantine icons and the humanistic values of the Renaissance to the nascent beginnings of conceptual practice.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

Unflinching eye: Goya, the vivid witness to beauty, grandeur, and warFrom court portraits for the Spanish royals to horrific scenes of conflict and suffering, Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746 1828) made a mark as one of Spain s most revered and controversial artists. A master of form and light, his influence reverberates down the centuries, inspiring and fascinating artists from the Romantic Eugene Delacroix to Britart enfants terribles, the Chapman brothers.Born in Fuendetodos, Spain, in 1746, Goya was apprenticed to the Spanish royal family in 1774, where he produced etchings and tapestry cartoons for grand palaces and royal residences across the country. He was also patronized by the aristocracy, painting commissioned portraits of the rich and powerful with his increasingly fluid and expressive style. Later, after a bout of illness, the artist moved towards darker etchings and drawings, introducing a nightmarish realm of witches, ghosts, and fantastical creatures.It was, however, with his horrific depictions of conflict that Goya achieved enduring impact. Executed between 1810 and 1820, The Disasters of War was inspired by atrocities committed during the Spanish struggle for independence from the French and penetrated the very heart of human cruelty and sadism. The bleak tones, agitated brushstrokes, and aggressive use of Baroque-like light and dark contrasts recalled Velazquez and Rembrandt, but Goya s subject matter was unprecedented in its brutality and honesty.In this introductory book from TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 we set out to explore the full arc of Goya s remarkable career, from elegant court painter to deathly seer of suffering and grotesquerie. Along the way, we encounter such famed portraits as Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga, the dazzling Naked Maja, and The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid, one of the most heart-stopping images of war in the history 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 illustrations with explanatory captions"

A Mailbox of Earthly DelightsA boxed set of 25 Hieronymus Bosch postcardsMonsters, symbols, and hidden meanings abound in this boxed set of 25 Hieronymus Bosch postcards, including stunning details The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Space age architecture: Going back to the future with the visionary West Coast architectMichigan-born architect John Lautner (1911 1994) was behind some of the most striking and innovative architectural designs in mid-20th-century America. Designing homes and commercial buildings primarily in Southern California, Lautner s innovative work captured the pioneering optimism of 1950s America, a time of space-age technology, economic growth, and affluence. Today, several of Lautner s houses are labeled Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments.Lautner s projects focused on the relationship between humans, space, and nature. He was always particularly sensitive to the surrounding environment and would often integrate water and natural landscapes into his designs. His houses are characterized by sweeping rooflines, glass-paneled walls, and steel beams, in a heady combination of fantasy and minimalism. Eschewing architectural orthodoxies, Lautner emphasized geometric shapes such as circles and triangles, incorporating myriad technological innovations.Ingenious uses of modern building materials such as concrete allowed him to blend his structures into unique locations in the Californian landscape, perching his sci-fi structures on hillsides, beaches, and deserts. Residences in the Los Angeles area, including the Chemosphere House and the Silvertop, boast panoramic views and still exude an almost otherworldly magnetism.In this new Basic Art guide, we take you into the heart of Lautner s idiosyncratic practice, discover his manifold influences and ideas, and survey the resulting gems of modern architecture."

The real Fidel This is a telling portrait of Cuba and its enigmatic leader. In December of 1958, Lee Lockwood, then a young photojournalist, went to Cuba to cover what looked to be the end of Batista's regime. He arrived the day before Fidel Castro took power and spent a week canvassing the island before finally coming into contact with his subject. In the following decade, Lockwood returned to Cuba a dozen times. Early on Castro began to trust him as a fair-minded and balanced reporter, and granted him access not just to photograph him, but also to conduct a marathon seven-day interview in 1965 that remains to this day one of the most penetrating portraits of the Cuban leader. The interview, together with Lockwood's own writings and photographs, were published in the 1967 book "Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel", a book so radical in its message, that Franco banned it in Spain. This new edition, which brings that long out-of-print book back to life, features a large number of never-before-published color photographs, including intimate scenes from the weeks Lockwood spent travelling with Castro, from military encampments in the Sierra Maestra Mountains to the Jefe's compound on the Isle of Pines. TASCHEN's new edition also includes expanded coverage of Cuba in the '60s - people at work in fields and factories, at play in Havana's dance halls and streets, and at political rallies and marches. Also included is an audio CD with excerpts from the Castro-Lockwood interviews, edited from the original reel-to-reel recordings.

Paintwork pioneer: The anchorman of modernismIn the latter half of the 19th century, in the verdant countryside near Aix-en-Provence, Paul Cezanne (1839 1906), busily plied his brush to landscapes and still lifes that would become anchors of modern art. With compact, intense dabs of paint and bold new approaches to light and space, he mediated the way from Impressionism to the defining movements of the early 20th century and became, in the words of both Matisse and Picasso, father of us all. This fresh artist introduction selects key works from Cezanne s oevure to understand his development, innovation, and crucial influence on modern art. From compositions of fruits and pears to scenes of outdoor bathers, we trace his experimentation with color, perspective, and texture to evoke a harmony parallel to Nature, as well as the very process of seeing and recording.Along the way, we discover Cezanne s celebrated Card Players, his layering of warm and cool hues to build up form and surface, and the geometric rigor of his landscapes from the vicinity of Aix-en-Provence, as bright with the light of southern France as they are bold with a radical new rendering of dimensions and depth.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"

Sculpting life: When marble and clay come aliveWhile anchoring his practice in the traditions of antiquity and the Renaissance, Auguste Rodin (1840 1917) paved the way for modern sculpture. From a very early stage, he was interested in movement, the expression of the body, chance effects, and the incomplete fragment. It was these elements that gave shape, and the impression of life, to such famous works as The Kiss and The Thinker.Produced in collaboration with the Musee Rodin, this TASCHEN Basic Art introduction examines the formative years of Rodin s training as well as the key stages of his subsequent career. It retraces the genesis of his sculptures and monuments from both a historical and an aesthetic point of view and illuminates the links between his different works. The reader gains access to the artist s ideas, as well as to the real material processes in his studio the modelling in clay, the passage from plaster to bronze or to marble, enlargement, the creation of assemblages, and his deeply sensual erotic drawings.An inexhaustible source of inspiration for subsequent generations of artists, Rodin s work incorporated innovation and transgression, but above all an unrivalled passion for working in front of the living model and for capturing the truth of human experience and forms. With rich illustration and texts from Francois Blanchetiere, this book invites us to discover and rediscover this priceless legacy.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"

Futuristic fusion: A poetry of architecture, art, and engineeringSpanish visionary Santiago Calatrava is renowned around the world as an architect, structural engineer, sculptor, and artist. Famed for bridges as much as buildings, he has made his name with neofuturistic structures that combine deft engineering solutions with dramatic visual impact.From the Athens 2004 Olympic sports complex and the Museum of Tomorrow to the Peace Bridge, Calgary; Alamillo Bridge in Seville; and the Mujer Bridge in Buenos Aires, Calatrava s creations show particular interest in the meeting point of movement and balance. With influences ranging from NASA space design to da Vinci s nature studies, the structures dazzle with a sense of lightness, agility, and aerodynamism, but always with a graceful poise amid their particular surroundings.This compact introduction explores Calatrava s unique aesthetic with key projects from his career, from early breakthroughs to his most recent work. Through buildings of culture, science, faith, and across his many famous bridges, we explore his integration of organic forms and human movements, and a uniquely fluid futurism, soaring towards tomorrow.About the series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)"

Master of Montmartre: A world of music, dance, and the Moulin RougeIn our imaginings of Paris, painter and graphic artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 1901) has no small role to play. In his prints, posters, paintings, and drawings, the artist immortalized the city s Belle Epoque nightlife and put the northern neighborhood of Montmartre on the global map of creative-hedonist hotspots.The son of old French nobility, Toulouse-Lautrec seems to have been drawn early on to visions of a demimonde, centering his attention on the dance halls, cabarets, and brothels of Montmartre and adopting famed dancers and singers as his subjects, most notably Jane Avril. His works include both lively performance scenes and quiet, tender after-hours portraits such as The Sofa and In Bed. Stylistically, he mastered both bold graphics, as celebrated in his promotional posters of Jane Avril, and a loose yet evocative sketchwork.Though he died aged just 36, due to complications from alcoholism and syphilis, Toulouse-Lautrec s cultural influence was immense. This introductory book takes a walk through his world of singers, dancers, musicians, and prostitutes to reveal an artist of great humanity, striking figurative skill, and a pronounced sense for the energy and stories of a city.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 Pop star: When art went Whaam!American painter Roy Lichtenstein (1923 1997) pioneered a new epoch in American art, bursting onto a scene dominated by Abstract Expressionism in late 1950s New York and defining a new art vocabulary for a new era.With his groundbreaking use of industrial production techniques and trivial, quotidian imagery such as cartoons, comic strips, and advertising, Lichtenstein joined contemporaries such as Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist to reflect and satirize American mass media and consumer culture. Works such as Look, Mickey! (1961), Drowning Girl (1963), and Whaam! (1963), deployed mass production techniques, particularly Ben-Day dots printing, to create a blow-up effect and pixelated dot style, with which Lichtenstein has become synonymous.This book provides an essential overview of Lichtenstein s career, tracing his earliest Pop statements through to later brushstroke retorts to Abstract Expressionism and reinterpretations of modern masterpieces. We look at his leading position in mid-century modernism, and the ways in which his works both critique and chronicle 20th-century America.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"

Building virtuoso: The exploration and iconoclasm of an Italian masterWhile some architects have a signature style, Renzo Piano seeks to apply coherent ideas to extraordinarily different projects. His buildings impress as much for their individual impact as for their diversity of scale, material, and form.Piano rose to international prominence with his codesign of the Pompidou Center in Paris, described by The New York Times as a building that turned the architecture world upside down. Since then, he has continued to craft many high-profile cultural spaces, including the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Morgan Library Renovation and Expansion in New York; and, most recently, the Whitney Museum of American Art, an asymmetric nine-story structure in Manhattan s Meatpacking District with both indoor and outdoor galleries. In New York and London, the Renzo touch has also transformed the skyline with the towers of the New York Times Building and the Shard, the tallest building in the European Union.This essential introduction travels from Osaka, Japan, to Bern, Switzerland, and through many cities, structures, and islands in between, to explore the staggering scope of the Renzo Piano repertoire. From the inside-out Pompidou to the airy shells of the Tjibaou Cultural Center in Noumea, New Caledonia, this is a thrilling journey through the beauty of architecture, where, in Piano s own words, each time, it is like life starting all over again. About the series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)"

Divine forms: The heavenly grace and human grandeur of a supreme Renaissance master In art history, we tend to be on first name terms only with the most revered of masters. The Renaissance painter and architectRaphael Santi(1483 1520) is one such star. The man we call simply Raphael has for centuries been hailed as a supreme Renaissance artist. For some, he even outstrips his equally famous, equally first-named, contemporaries, Leonardo and Michelangelo.From 1500 to 1508, Raphael worked throughout central Italy, particularly in Florence where he secured his reputation as a painter of portraits and beautifully rendered Madonnas, archetypical icons within the Catholic faith. In 1508 he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II and later embarked on an ambitious mural scheme for theStanza della Segnaturain the Vatican. Within this room, Raphael sThe School of Athensis considereda paradigm of the High Renaissance, merging Classical philosophy with perfected perspectival space, animated figures, and a composition of majestic balance.This essential introduction explores how in just two decades of work, Raphael painted his way to legendary greatness. With highlights from his prolific output, it presents the mastery of figures and forms that secured his place not only in the trinity of Renaissance luminaries but also among the most esteemed artists of all time. 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.