Thames & Hudson strana 52 z 126

Fra Angelico and the Rise of the Florentine Renaissance investigates the beginnings of Florentine Renaissance art, with the friar painter Fra Angelico at the centre of the story. Fra Angelico is one of the great masters of Renaissance art and responsible for its early achievements in Florence alongside the painters Masaccio, Masolino, Uccello and Filippo Lippi, the sculptors Ghiberti, Donatello, and Nanni di Banco, and the architect Brunelleschi. Fra Angelico is sometimes seen as separate from his contemporaries, because of his status as a friar. A reconsideration of the chronology of his key early works demonstrates that not only was he a full participant in the artistic culture of his times, but a key innovator: the Prado's great Annunciation Altarpiece, Fra Angelico's breakthrough work from the mid-1420s, is the first Renaissance-style altarpiece in Florence. The Altarpiece has been the subject of extensive conservation and technological research at the Prado, the results of which are presented for the first time here. This catalogue focuses around that masterpiece, as well as two other recently acquired Fra Angelico paintings: the Alba Madonna and the Funeral of Saint Anthony Abbot.

One of the greatest Netherlandish artists, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/30-1569) is best known today for his paintings of peasant life. Yet it was above all through his exceptional graphic work that he achieved widespread fame during the 16th century. This luxurious book offers readers the opportunity to get up close and personal with Bruegel's famous prints. Published as part of this special Bruegel year, it accompanies the exhibition at the Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels, which is renowned as a pioneer in Bruegel scholarship and holds an unparalleled collection of the artist's graphic work.

A Chronology of Architecture presents a fresh perspective on the medium by taking a purely chronological approach to its history, tracing the complex links between structural innovations, social changes, and artistic interventions. Organized around a central timeline that charts the development of architecture from the earliest structures to the present-day skyscrapers and global cities, it features key buildings, together with commentaries and contextual information about the social, political and cultural events of the period in which they were built. Special feature spreads highlight important movements, construction methods and key practitioners. Covering a wide selection of genres, styles and architects, it is invaluable as a comprehensive guide to architecture in all its different forms.

Published to accompany the first Francis Bacon retrospective in Paris for twenty years, this catalogue analyses Bacon's works from 1971 onwards in light of his relationship to literature. Bacon always vigorously opposed over-analysis of his paintings, preferring to interpret them in purely illustrative or symbolic terms; he admitted, however, that literature was a powerful stimulus to his imagination. The artist was inspired by the images conjured up by certain texts: Aeschylus' phrase 'the reek of human blood smiles out at me' in particular haunted Bacon, while his 1978 work Painting refers to T. S. Eliot's seminal poem The Waste Land. The inventory of Bacon's personal library has identified more than 1,300 books, ranging from Bataille and Conrad to Nietzsche and Leiris. Including twelve of Bacon's renowned triptychs, this lavish publication features eleven gatefolds and some sixty paintings created by Bacon between 1971 and his death in 1992. Reproduced here with analyses of Bacon's paintings in the light of some of his most admired authors, these specially commissioned texts reveal new ways of understanding some of the most powerful works in the modern canon.

Avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama's matchless creativity and originality have been captivating the world since she moved from Matsumoto, her hometown in Nagano, Japan, to the USA in 1958. In the last ten years alone, her retrospective exhibitions in four major European and American museums, including Tate Modern, London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, have seen record attendance. Kusama has continuously innovated and re-invented her style. Well-known for her repeating dot patterns, her art encompasses an astonishing variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance and immersive installation. It ranges from works on paper featuring intense semi-abstract imagery, to soft sculpture known as 'Accumulations', to her 'Infinity Net' paintings, made up of carefully repeated arcs of paint built up into large patterns. This comprehensive publication, originally published to accompany a sell-out exhibition at Matsumoto City Museum of Art, offers a comprehensive overview of Kusama's entire career, including works from her youth, when she indulged in drawing in order to escape from her hallucinations; paintings made when she was based in New York, including 'Infinity Nets' and 'Polka Dots'; works from the1980s and 1990s, when she participated in the Venice Biennale; and last but not least, the ongoing large-scale series 'My Eternal Soul'. The plates are in chronological order and followed by detailed captions.

Aspirations for a better - even a perfect - society have existed throughout history, often imagined in intricate detail by philosophers, poets, social reformers, architects and artists. This book explores a perennially powerful idea: the quest for the ideal society. Gregory Claeys surveys the influence of the idea of Utopia on history. Central to his exploration of ideal worlds are creation myths; archetypes of heaven and the afterlife; new worlds and voyages of discovery; ages of revolution and technological progress; model communities and kibbutzim; political and ecological dystopias; space travel and science fiction. The most significant utopias throughout history - whether envisaged or attempted - are covered, including visions of the ideal society in the West as well as American, Asian, African and the Arab worlds. From classical times to the present day, this compelling book traces the enduring human need to imagine and construct ideal worlds.

Since taking their first steps on this planet, humans have changed the environment around them. Anthropocene: A New Introduction to World Prehistory tells the comprehensive story of human prehistory through the lens of anthropogenic environmental change. Each chapter explains how and why ancient humans transformed the Earth, linking prehistory to today's greatest global challenge. As they explore this record of the world's early people and societies, authors Joy McCorriston and Julie Field reject the traditional account of cultural evolution, instead presenting a thematic organization that highlights our Anthropocene narrative. Chapters are devoted to cities and agriculture, but also to such topics as technology, extinction, food production, writing and extractivism. Chapter 9, 'Individuals and Identity,' considers human identity and agency in more recent eras, and the book ends with a contemporary chapter that takes a hopeful look at the future.

One of only seven editors-in-chief in American Vogue's history, Jessica Daves has remained one of fashion's most enigmatic figures-until now. Diana Vreeland's direct predecessor in the role, it is Daves who first catapulted the magazine into modernity. A testament to a changing America on every level, Daves's Vogue was the first to embrace a 'high/low' blend of fashion in its pages and also introduced world-renowned artists, literary greats, and cultural icons into every issue, offering the reader a complete vision of how fashion, interiors, art, architecture, entertaining, literature, and culture were all connected and all contributed to refining and defining personal style. Profiling icons of American style from John and Jackie Kennedy to Charles and Ray Eames, Daves's Vogue also featured the couture creations of Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, and Balenciaga. Organized in multifaceted, thematic chapters, 1950s in Vogue features carefully curated photographs, illustrations and page spreads from the Vogue archives (with both iconic and less-familiar images from photographers including William Klein, Irving Penn, Karen Radkai and Erwin Blumenfeld), as well as reproductions of fascinating archival materials and correspondence.

In December 1948, Henri Cartier-Bresson travelled to China at the request of Life magazine. He stayed for ten months and captured some of the most spectacular moments in China's history: he photographed Beijing in 'the last days of the Kuomintang', and then headed back to Shanghai, where he recorded the new regime's takeover. Moreover, in 1958, Henri Cartier-Bresson was one of the first Western photographers to go back to China to explore the changes that had occurred over the preceding decade. The 'picture stories' he sent to Magnum and Life on a regular basis played a key role in Westerners' understanding of Chinese political events. Many of these images are among the most significant photographs in Cartier-Bresson's oeuvre; his empathy with the populace and sense of responsibility as a witness making them an important part of his legacy. Henri Cartier-Bresson in China allows these photographs to be re-examined along with all of the documents that were preserved: the photographer's captions and comments, contact sheets and abundant correspondence, as well as the published versions that appeared in both American and European magazines. A welcome addition to any photography lover's bookshelf, this is an exciting new volume on one of the 20th century's most important photographers.

Everywhere in the world, tiles add colour and decoration to the facades and interiors of buildings. Both functional and decorative, and found in a multitude of shapes, sizes and designs - ranging from complex geometrical Islamic patterns to figurative 17th-century Delftware - they are among the most varied ceramic products. This striking book gathers together a diverse collection of ceramic tiles, and explores their rich history, purpose and decorative qualities. An introduction traces the little-known history of tiles, from their earliest mass production in Europe in the 13th century to today, and presents the development of different types of tile. Throughout this stunning book, tiles in every variety of shape are organized chronologically to illustrate the evolution of styles. The Tile Book is luxuriously illustrated, with generous examples of individual tile types and their overall laid patterns exhibited over double-page spreads. Captions provide descriptions of each tile, with some detailing interesting locations, trends or influential designers. Interspersed in this invaluable sourcebook, are tiles shown in situ around the world and at different periods in their remarkable history. This book is a dazzling mosaic, with colours and patterns that will uplift and inspire.

The most comprehensive, practical, and beautiful directory of type, organized by type category - Serif, Sans Serif, Display, and Script - and covering all styles throughout history. Type Directory offers over 1,800 examples of the best in type design, spanning almost 600 years of design history. From classics such as Garamond, Baskerville, Futura, and Helvetica, to more idiosyncratic recent creations such as Gotham and Filosofia, Type Directory features illuminating profiles of the most important and influential typefaces ever created. Organized by type category - Serif, Sans Serif, Display, and Script - each typeface is presented in uppercase and lowercase alphabetical letters, along with numbers, key punctuation marks, and symbols. This comprehensive guide also features profiles and interviews with leading designers and type foundries, as well as inspirational examples of graphic designs using specific typefaces.

Focusing on 56 selected works from the 1970s to today, Pushing paper examines why drawing has endured as a method of making art, and explores the vital and fundamental nature of drawing through themes such as systems and process, identity, place and space, time and memory, and power and protest. These broad themes allow for original connections to be made between images, which will inspire all practitioners of drawing. Supported by the Bridget Riley Art Foundation, the book showcases work by major contemporary artists from around the world, including Phyllida Barlow, Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Adel Daoud, Richard Deacon, Tacita Dean, Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, Richard Hamilton, Jacob El Hanani, David Hockney, Ellen Gallagher, Andrzej Jackowski, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Minjung Kim, Marcia Kure, Nja Mahdaoui, Sol LeWitt, Bahman Mohassess, David Nash, Eduardo Paolozzi, Cornelia Parker, Grayson Perry, Gerhard Richter, Bridget Riley, Susan Schwalb, Hamid Sulaiman, Imran Qureshi, Hajra Waheed and Rachel Whiteread, as well as exciting works by lesser-known artists. Aimed at admirers of drawing, and artists and students alike, Pushing paper provides an arresting analysis of the status of drawing in the world of contemporary art.

Ambitious in scope, democratic in nature, Magnum Streetwise is an unmissable tour through the photographs and practices that have helped define what street photography is and can be. Magnum photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson pioneered 'modern' concepts of street photography before the term was even coined. But their influence is far from historic. A rich seam of street photography runs through the heart of Magnum to this day, both in the work of recognized masters of street photography - such as Erwitt, Parr, Gilden and Kalvar - and of those who might not even consider themselves street photographers; a continued influence that has not gone unnoticed among the current generation of budding street photographers and fans. Magnum Streetwise is a true visual feast, interleaving insightful texts and anecdotes within an intuitive blend of photographer- and theme-based portfolios, exploring not only the work of outstanding photographers, but how common subject matter (places of leisure, marketplaces, travel) and locations (Paris, New York, Tokyo) have been addressed, conceptually and practically, across the agency and through the ages. Magnum Streetwise is an essential addition to the bibliography of street photography, showcasing hidden gems alongside many of the genre's most famous images.

Bridget Riley is one of the outstanding figures of modern painting. She has pursued a course of rigorous abstraction for over fifty years, from her celebrated black and white Op Art works in the 1960s to the complex colour paintings of the 1990s. On the occasion of a major exhibition of her work in 1992 at London's Hayward Gallery, BBC Radio broadcast a series of five dialogues, each one between Riley and a well-known figure from the art world. These encounters, edited by an art historian, are contained in this book. With Neil MacGregor, Riley discusses the art of the past in relation to the art of the present; with Sir Ernst Gombrich the perception of colour in painting; with the artist Michael Craig-Martin, the theory and practice of abstraction; and with the critics Bryan Robertson and Andrew Graham-Dixon, she talks about events and travels that have influenced her as an artist. Taken as a whole, this series forms an excellent introduction to the work and ideas of one of the most creative minds of today.

As testified by the monumental success of the recent Dior retrospective curated by the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, 'Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams', which attracted over 700,000 visitors over its extended run, John Galliano's creations for the house of Dior have entered fashion history and are widely recognized as some of the most breathtaking and imaginative collections ever created. John Galliano for Dior is the first publication entirely dedicated to showcasing these unforgettable designs, which have become collectors' items and form a key chapter of the history of the house of Dior - 'the greatest house in the world', as Galliano stated when he was first placed at its helm. 'I see myself as a guardian of [Christian Dior's] spirit, a keeper of his dreams,' he added. The book unfolds chronologically, revisiting the most iconic creations and revealing previously unseen behind-the-scenes moments that capture models, hairdressers, stylists, make-up artists and John Galliano himself at their most creative. Robert Fairer's stunning and high-energy photographs convey the drama, glamour and wild imagination that defined Galliano's Dior shows. A treasure trove of inspiration, they make this publication a must-have reference for fashion and photography lovers alike.

This authoritative visual guide to the artistic materials and painting techniques of J. M. W. Turner brings to life the skills of one of the world's greatest artists. Details of his watercolours and oil paintings, usually only available to small numbers of museum professionals, and an experienced artist's recreation of his core painting processes, combine with in-depth research into Turner's use of new materials to give unique insights into his creative processes. How Turner Painted brings new research and understanding to the subject since the publication of the author's earlier book Turner's Painting Techniques (1993). Joyce Townsend, senior conservation scientist at Tate, which houses the majority of Turner's work and is a centre of expertise on the artist, has revisited, updated and continued the examination of his innovative use of materials and early adoption of new colours. Comparisons are drawn across oil painting and watercolour to illustrate how Turner built up an image, and what his numerous unfinished works can tell us about his working methods. With a foreword by art historian Nicola Moorby and a chapter contributed by artist Tony Smibert, the book will coincide with two major new exhibitions planned for 2020, at Tate Britain and at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Tasmania.