History of art Books
University of California Press David Park A Retrospective
Book SynopsisTrade Review"If you can’t get to Fort Worth, Kalamazoo or San Francisco to see these and many more similarly wonderful works, the superbly designed catalog might be reasonable consolation. The reproductions are large and accurate, and the spare-no-expense paper is glossy and thick." * Wall Street Journal *Table of ContentsForeword Neal Benezra Lenders to the Exhibition Acknowledgments Janet Bishop David Park: A Picture as an Event Janet Bishop PLATES 4–95 The Sessions Men Tara McDowell PLATES 96–127 Man in a T-Shirt: Imogen Cunningham’s Portraits of David Park Corey Keller PLATE 128 An Extension of Life: David Park’s Scroll Sara Wessen Chang PLATE 129 A Simple Medium: David Park’s Last Works Lee Hallman PLATES 130–148 Chronology Sara Wessen Chang Exhibition History Works in the Exhibition
£30.60
Saqi Books Nabil Anani
Book SynopsisThe first collection by a pioneering Palestinian artist Nabil Anani, published to coincide with the 70-year anniversary of the Nakba.Trade Review`An intricate trail of memory ... moves beyond the realm of words.' Middle East Monitor; `One of the most moving and visually-stunning books to have appeared in 2018' al-Hayat
£20.00
Freer Gallery of Art,U.S. Chigusa and the Art of Tea
Book SynopsisNarrates the history of a single object - a tea-leaf storage jar created in southern China during the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries - and describes how its role changed after it was imported to Japan and passed from owner to owner there.
£30.40
Getty Trust Publications Seeing Rothko
Book SynopsisA series of analytic, personal essays that explain how Mark Rothko's most compelling creations elicit profound and varied responses. This volume also reproduces Rothko's "Scribble Book," in which he jotted down his ideas on teaching art to children, and a sketchbook, both dating to the early years of the artist's career.Trade Review"The book is beautifully illustrated with glossy, colour reproductions of the work .... [T]his volume succeeds in once more opening up provocative and exciting new ways of 'seeing Rothko.'"-The Art Book, February 2007; "The critical commentary in Seeing Rothko is rich and engaging."-The Bloomsbury Review, May/June 2006
£42.75
Manchester University Press AfterAffectsAfterImages Trauma and Aesthetic
Book SynopsisIn closely-read case studies, we encounter artworks by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ana Mendieta, Louise Bourgeois, Alina Szapocznikow, Anna Maria Maiolino, Vera Frenkel, Sarah Kofman and Chantal Akerman to explore trauma and bereavement, fatal illness, Holocaust experience, migration, exile and the encounter with political horror and atrocity.Trade ReviewIn Griselda Pollock’s brilliantly-staged encounters between contemporary art and psychoanalysis, the aesthetic emerges as the space in which we can be responsive to the traces of trauma and live with its after-effects. Through incisive and carefully-articulated theoretical insights and reparative acts of close reading, Pollock offers us new ways of thinking about painful aftermaths as well as a new vocabulary for feminist visual studies.Marianne Hirsch, William Peterfield Trent Professor of English and Comparative Literature in the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality at Columbia UniversityIn this powerful latest book, Griselda Pollock brings her writing on her key concept of `the virtual feminist museum’ to a new phase. What are the legacies of trauma in visual space? How might they be gendered? And is there a psychic realm to which women are closer that allows for a generative creativity equal to the horrors of our times? Once again, the meticulous, detailed respect she shows towards her chosen women artists is matched by a sustained theoretical scrutiny, both of which have become the hallmark of her unique feminist intervention into our understanding of images.Jacqueline Rose, Professor of English at Queen Mary, University of London -- .Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Trauma and artworkingI Sounds of subjectivity1. Gasping at violence: Daphne’s open mouth and the trauma of gender2. Seduction, mourning and invocation: The geometry of absence in work by Louise Bourgeois3. Being and language: Anna Maria Maiolino’s gestures of exile and connectionII Memorial bodies4. Traumatic encryption: The sculptural dissolutions of Alina Szapocznikow5. Fictions of fact: Memory in transit in Vera Frenkel’s video installation worksIII Passage through the object6. Deadly objects and dangerous confessions: The tale of Sarah Kofman’s father’s pen7. ‘… that, again!’: Pathosformula as transport station of trauma in the cinematic journey of Chantal AkermanBibliographyIndex
£22.80
Design Studio Press Lovely: Ladies of Animation: The Art of Lorelay
Book Synopsis
£18.69
Thames & Hudson Ltd What Makes a Masterpiece
Book SynopsisAn exploration of the idea of the masterpiece, over fifty world masterpieces, from cave paintings to Cezanne.Trade Review'Intelligent, lucid, intimate, the book is also beautifully illustrated' - Independent (Best Books for Christmas)'An art book that really sets you thinking … a feast of an anthology' - The Spectator'Thought-provoking … the breadth of work considered is impressive and the essays are informative and inspiring … a passionate introduction to the world of great art' - Metro'Brilliantly edited … worth buying for the introduction alone' - DecanterTable of ContentsContents include: Avigdor Arikha on Las Meninas, by Velázquez • Quentin Blake on The Crucifixion, by Tintoretto • Mary Beard on The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii • Anthony Caro on Isis, Messenger of the Gods, by Rodin • Antony Gormley on the reclining Buddha of Polonnaruwa • Germaine Greer on Judith Slaying Holofernes, by Gentileschi • Martin Kemp on the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo • John Julius Norwich on the Cefalú mosaics • Grayson Perry on The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Bosch • Tom Phillips on the Mycerinus Triad • Philip Pullman on A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, by Manet • Pierre Rosenberg on The Phocion Paintings, by Poussin • David J. Roxburgh on The Court of Gayumars, by Sultan Muhammad and Marina Warner on The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Bernini.
£21.21
Merrell Publishers Ltd Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary
Book SynopsisArtistic expression in the Middle East is experiencing something of a renaissance. Domestic patronage is flourishing, and an impressive array of new museums and art fairs across the region is helping to stimulate international interest in an increasingly influential movement. Art of the Middle East is an accessible overview of modern and contemporary art of the Middle East and Arab world from 1945 to the present, with an emphasis on artists active today. This new revised and expanded edition features the work of 12 additional artists, as well as a consideration of the impact of the revolutions of the so-called Arab spring, which erupted across the region in 2011. The featured works are divided into seven themed sections - including literature, portraiture and the body, and politics, conflict and war - while extended captions provide an engaging commentary on each artwork and the artist behind its creation. Lavishly illustrated throughout, this landmark publication is an authoritative guide to a challenging and exciting body of work.
£22.46
Faber & Faber Apostle Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve
Book SynopsisPeter, Matthew, Thomas, John: who were these men and their fellow Apostles? What was their relationship to Jesus? Tom Bissell gives us rich answers to these ancient and surprisingly enigmatic questions in an unusual, erudite and fascinating book. By visiting holy sites around the world, and examining how the Apostles' identities took shape over the course of two millennia, he explores the story of Christianity and its growth from an obscure Jewish sect to the global faith we know today.
£11.69
British Museum Press Dürer
Book SynopsisBeautifully illustrated gift book on the prints and drawings of Albrecht Dürer, the first truly international artist.
£9.49
Tuttle Publishing Wabi Sabi
Book SynopsisWabi sabi refers to an awareness of the transient nature of earthly things and a corresponding pleasure in the things that bear the mark of this impermanence. This work explains of wabi sabi, taking the reader from the art's 15th-century Japanese origins to its modern applications.Trade Review"A rich read detailing the history, art, culture, design, and spiritual aspects of all things wabi sabi. Explains it deeply and accessibly at the same time." --Chicago Tribune"For the majority of Japanese, traditional Japanese culture is a lot like fishing. Everyone has fished, but not everyone is a fisherman. Only a few can tell you what every lure, bobber, and fly in a tackle box is. Even less could use them. The fact is, after reading this book, you'll understand both wabi sabi and Zen Buddhism better than 99.99% of the Japanese population." -- Introvert Japan
£10.44
Prestel Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights
Book SynopsisFew paintings inspire the kind of intense study and speculation as Garden of Earthly Delights, the world famous triptych by Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. The painting has been interpreted as a heretical masterpiece, an opulent illustration of the Creation and a premonition of the end of the world. In this book, renowned art historian Hans Belting offers a radical reinterpretation of the work, which he sees not as apocalyptic, but utopian, portraying how the world would exist had the Fall not happened. Taking readers through each panel, Belting discusses various schools of thought and explores Bosch's life and times. This fascinating study is an important contribution to the literature and theory surrounding one of the world's most enigmatic artists.
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen
Book SynopsisThe broader Regency period 1795-1820 stands alone as an incredible moment in fashion history unlike anything that went before or after. It was the most naked period since Ancient Greece and before the 1960s, and for the first time England became a fashion influence, especially for menswear, and became the toast of Paris. With the ancient regime deposed, court dress became secondary and the season by season flux of fashion as we know it came into being, aided and abetted by the proliferation of new ladies'' magazines. Such an age of revolution and innovation inspired a flood of fashions taking influence from everything including the newly discovered treasures of the ancient world, to radical new ideas like democracy. It was an era of contradiction immortalized by Jane Austen, who adeptly used the newfound diversity of fashion to enliven her characters, Wickham''s military splendor, Mr. Darcy''s understated elegance, and Miss Tilney''s romantic fixation with white muslin.Table of ContentsThe Age of Elegance /The Rise of English Fashion /A Fine Romance /Beau Brummell and the Great Renunciation /Rousseau and Fashion Au Naturel /Reticule and Ridicule /After the Age of Elegance /Index
£8.99
Orion Publishing Co Modern Calligraphy
Book SynopsisBeautifully illustrated with a covetable rose gold foil cover, Modern Calligraphy is a step-by-step workbook for those wanting to learn this super trendy form of lettering.Written by Lucy Edmonds, the founder of Quill London, the book will guide readers through the first steps of pointed pen calligraphy, encouraging you to spend an hour a week developing and practicing the new skill. Designed for complete beginners, the book offers tips, tricks and techniques on the materials required and how to use them properly, how to approach the modern calligraphy letterforms, and most importantly explores ways to develop our own modern calligraphy style. You''ll learn about inks and how to make your own, brush calligraphy, and what you can do with your new skill - from envelope addressing and event stationery to beautiful dinner party menus and gift tags.
£11.69
Rizzoli International Publications Jenny Saville
Book SynopsisThe most comprehensive monograph on figurative painter Jenny Saville, whose large-scale nudes continue to challenge accepted ideals of beauty.Thirteen years after her first Rizzoli monograph, British artist Jenny Saville, an original member of the Young British Artists, releases her most definitive book, including never-before-published paintings from her most recent exhibition at Gagosian in New York. This much-anticipated volume unites new work with many of Saville's paintings and drawings to date, accompanied by essays that explore Saville's continuing fascination with the human body within a broad art-historical context. The book also features Saville in an extensive conversation with acclaimed American photographer Sally Mann. An illustrated chronology of Saville's career completes this elegant volume. This beautifully produced monograph is an important addition to the library on one of the world's most influential and enduring living painters.
£86.25
Taschen GmbH Mondrian
Book SynopsisA key figure in the international avant-garde, Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was at once an extraordinary painter and leading art theoretician whose influence resonates to this day. Coining the term “Neo-plasticism”, he pursued a style of painting composed only of primary colors against a grid of black vertical and horizontal lines and a white base background. Mondrian’s vision was that this essential painting would help to achieve a society in which art as such has no place, but rather exists for the total realization of “beauty.” With stints in Amsterdam, Paris, London, and New York, Mondrian drew upon the modern metropolis and modern music, especially jazz, as points of inspiration. In 1917, he cofounded De Stijl, originally a publication, and subsequently a circle of practitioners, committed to a strictly geometrical art of horizontals and verticals. With key works and succinct texts, this introductory book presents Mondrian's distinctive and pioneering oeuvre, an abiding inspiration for fashion, art, architecture, and design, from White Stripes album covers to Yves Saint Laurent dresses. 2016 © US Mondrian/Holtzman Trust
£14.25
Birkhauser Verlag AG Paul Klee Pedagogical Sketchbook: Bauhausbucher
Book Synopsis
£23.80
Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd Ivon Hitchens
Book SynopsisIvon Hitchens (1893-1979) is widely regarded as the outstanding English landscape painter of the 20th century. Immediately recognisable by its daring yet subtle use of colour and brushmark to evoke the spirit of place, his work is to be found in public and private collections throughout the world.This is the definitive study of Hitchens' life and work. Peter Khoroche draws on the painter's published writings, correspondence and conversation to create a critical reappraisal of Hitchens' theory and practice. He surveys the entire oeuvre (still-lifes, flower pieces, nudes, interiors and large-scale murals besides the landscapes), a huge legacy of work spanning sixty years, and charts the journey from conventional beginnings to 'figurative abstraction'.A selection of over 100 colour images, examples of Hitchens' best and most characteristic painting in all genres, provide a retrospective exhibition covering the artist's entire career. These illustrations, singled out for praise by reviewers of the hardback edition, demonstrate the artist's outstanding talents and reinforce his standing as a key figure in the history of British art.Trade Review'it remains the most comprehensive account of his life and work and draws on much of the artist's own writings and unpublished correspondence.' ARLISTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Note to New Edition; 1893-1919: Parents - Childhood - Schooldays - Travel - Royal Academy Schools; 1919-25: Hampstead studio - Church decorations - Downland - Theories of Dow & Bell - Seven and Five Society - Chantemesle - Ben & Winifred Nicholson; 1925-33: First one-man exhibition - Sussex & Shropshire - Moatlands - London Artists' Association; 1933-40: Hampstead in the 1930s - 'Objective Abstractions': the end of the 7&5 - Marriage - Suffolk; 1940s: Greenleaves - Painting theory - 'Painting is painting' - First retrospective - Isolation in the country - Howard Bliss - The Sheffield Incident; 1950s: Nudes - Large-scale works - Development in landscapes; 1960-65: Motifs - A painting day - Paint, brushes, canvas, palette - Uncertain health & weather - Recognition - Second Retrospective; 1965-79: Seachange - Greenleaves - Music & Painting - Consummation; Notes; Appendix; Chronology; Exhibitions; Public collections; Select bibliography; Index.
£26.99
Flame Tree Publishing William Morris Masterpieces of Art
Book SynopsisWilliam Morris was an outstanding character of many talents, being an architect, writer, social campaigner, artist and, with his Kelmscott Press, an important figure of the Arts and Crafts movement. Many of us probably know him best, however, from his superb furnishings and textile designs, intricately weaving together natural motifs in a highly stylized two-dimensional fashion influenced by medieval conventions. William Morris Masterpieces of Art offers a survey of his life and work alongside some of his finest decorative work.
£11.69
Whitechapel Gallery Oceans
Book Synopsis
£17.06
Phaidon Press Ltd The Art Museum
Book SynopsisVisit the world’s most comprehensive and compelling museum in a single book – the ultimate gallery in your own home Housing the finest art collection ever assembled, this classic format of Phaidon’s bestselling The Art Museum offers the ultimate museum experience without the boundaries of space and time. The rooms and galleries that live within this volume display more than 1,600 artworks, expertly selected from the original collection, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, photographs, installations, performances, videos, prints, ceramics, manuscripts, metalwork, and jewelwork. The artworks included were carefully selected by a team of 28 curators, critics, art historians and artists who contributed their expertise to create this revolutionary 'virtual' museum. These experts came from such institutions as: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The British Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Art, Boston; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; the University of California, Berkley; LaTrobe University, Melbourne; the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London; and the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Works originate from the Palaeolithic era to the present and come from all around the globe and include both iconic and lesser-known pieces. This extraordinary book takes the reader on a tour around the world and through the ages, presenting the finest examples of human creativity within its covers – a dream museum without the boundaries of walls.Trade Review'Compared to other art history texts on the market, The Art Museum is very readable.' – New York Journal of Books
£33.96
Scheidegger und Spiess AG, Verlag HR Giger
Book SynopsisSwiss surrealist artist HR Giger (19402014) achieved international fame in 1979 for designing the fantastic creatures and eerie environments that terrified moviegoers in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Alien. Yet before these iconic creations made him a celebrity and won him an Oscar for visual effects, Giger was already highly regarded in the international art world for his unique freehand painting style and biomechanical dreamscapes.HR Giger: The Oeuvre Before Alien 19611976, first published in 2007 and now becoming available again in a new edition, is the only book to date to document the artist's lesser known, but no less impressive, early work. This lavishly illustrated volume traces Giger's career from his education as an architect and industrial designer at the Zurich College of Art to the development of his ink drawing and oil painting technique and his eventual breakthrough as one of the foremost artists of the fantastic realism school. Featuring many unpublished or rarely available early paintings and drawings, and accompanied by an essay by noted art historian Beat Stutzer, this volume juxtaposes Giger's paintings with works by his predecessors, including Ensor, Fuseli, Goya, and Piranesi.HR Giger: The Oeuvre Before Alien illuminates the mind of a visual genius whose first artistic experiments were decades ahead of their time.
£35.70
Getty Trust Publications The Book of Marvels
Book SynopsisThis fascinating volume explores an important fifteenth-century illustrated manuscript tradition that provides a revealing glimpse of how Western Europeans conceptualized the world.
£33.25
Hoaki Japanese Bestiary Animals in Japanese Mythology
Book SynopsisAt the heart of this book are twenty-eight real-life animals and the myths and literature, paintings, drawings, textiles and ceramics they have inspired some of the most celebrated Japanese artists and writers to create Since the dawn of Japanese folklore and religion, the Japanese soul has cultivated a special connection with nature and wildlife, in part due to the natural abundance of the Japanese archipelago. Every animal, from the frightening crow to the sublime crane, is sacred, occupying a central place in Japanese mythology, literature, arts, and crafts. In this text-rich art book, readers will find twenty-eight real-life animals, including the fox, frog, cat, monkey, and firefly, described in texts combining haikus, tales and anecdotes from everyday life and illustrated with objects produced by the some of the most celebrated Japanese artists and craftsmen. Readers will see just how central animals -from the most fleeting to the most majestic, from the wildest to the most domesticated -are to Japanese legends and literature but also in the latest manga and animated films. In some cases, the animals are transformed and endowed with human attributes; in others, through a representative selection of Japanese art -paintings, prints, fashion and common Japanese objects such as netsuke (miniature sculptures)- they appear lovingly portrayed in their natural element: typical animals of the countryside, mountains, forests, rivers and sea, and even today's cities. While most of the animals in this Japanese bestiary are good omens, even ones a tad mischievous, downright evil or uniquely sacred, such as the sika deer or the crane, all are invested with strong symbolism and have become extremely popular in a country where everything is ephemeral and transient, yet everything remains. Japanese Bestiary is an ideal book for anyone interested in Japanese drawing and painting, animal illustrations and wildlife art and literature. AUTHORS: Nelly Delay, art historian, graduate of the École du Louvre high school, was an art critic at Combat* - founded in 1941 as a clandestine newspaper - and in various Swiss and Italian magazines before specializing, since 1963, in the study of ancient Japanese art. She organized Japanese art events in Paris from 1974 to 1984, for which she published texts on little-explored subjects and books on old Japanese drawings and paintings and the influence of Japanese on Western Art. Since 1989, she has devoted herself to publications and conferences within the framework of different cultural organizations and the OECD. Two of her many titles are available in English: ?The art and culture of Japan? and ?Japan: the fleeting spirit?. Dominique Ruspoli is a writer and photographer. Doctor (PhD) of Philosophy (by Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, France) specialized on the aesthetics of western lough, she became lecturer on written communication and psychology at the EISEA (Graduate School of Engineering in Ivry, France) . Dominique Ruspoli has addressed in her writings subjects as different as psychodrama, the humorous drawing, the Etruscans, Venice or the Lascaux cave, and has published also books on the Japanese artists Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kyôsai. She is, since 2000, member of the College of Pataphysics - The Science of Imaginary Solutions, founded after the principles described by the symbolist writer Alfred Jarry. 180 colour illustrations
£26.99
Thames & Hudson Ltd Imagining Englands Past
Book SynopsisImagining Englandâs Past takes a long look at the countryâs invented histories, from the glamorous to the disturbing, from the eighth century to the present day. England has long built its sense of self on visions of its past. What does it mean for medieval writers to summon King Arthur from the post-Roman fog; for William Morris to resurrect the skills of the medieval workshop and Julia Margaret Cameron to portray the Arthurian court with her Victorian camera; or for Yinka Shonibare in the final years of the twentieth century to visualize a Black Victorian dandy? By exploring the imaginations of successive generations, this book reveals how diverse notions of the past have inspired literature, art, music, architecture and fashion. It shines a light on subjects from myths to mock-Tudor houses, Stonehenge to steampunk, and asks how â and why â the past continues so powerfully to shape the present. Not a history of England, but a history of those who have written, painted and dreameTrade Review'Susan Owens conjures our imagined past with such vivacity and lyricism that I can see the dawn mist rising over fabled fields and hear the tread of fictional histories on the worn stairs of yesteryear. Packed full of myths, stories, poems and paintings I found this book impossible to put down!' - Charlotte Mullins'England has dreamed itself a past – with tenderness and wit, Susan Owens shows how that dream sustains and deludes us' - Matthew Sweet, author and broadcaster'The nationalist nostalgia so evident in today’s discourse has deep roots … The ideal past never existed, so it had to be constructed from clues, whether they be Arthurian tales, or the objects studied by the Society of Antiquaries (founded in 1586), Owens ties it together through a strikingly broad frame of reference and an eye for the telling object or episode' - New Statesman'Fascinating' - Choice'English identity has been steeped in an invented past, which keeps on being reinvented. This lively study traces its journey from Stonehenge to steampunk' - Apollo'Via blitz spirit, Brexit and more than one coronation, Owens charts the nostalgic myth-making mania to today' - World of Interiors'A fascinating study of the ways various generations of the English have conceived of their nation’s history … The book ranges widely to show an England that has always had more than a bit of the mystical about it' - New Criterion'Owens’s exploration of how the English have, for more than 1,000 years, conjured “Englishness” into being, then pondered the matter of identity, is a useful antidote to the idea that the English are too relaxed and confident in their nationhood to bother with self-examination' - TLS'An entertaining study of the seductive legends of England’s past … bewitching' - The Art NewspaperTable of ContentsPrologue 1. Once Upon a Time 2. The Treasures of Time 3. Living in the Past 4. In the Olden Days 5. Cruasades Against the Age 6. Nostalgia 7. Backing into the Future Epilogue
£21.25
Flame Tree Publishing Glasgow Boys Masterpieces of Art
Book SynopsisA group of primarily Scottish artists (mainly William York Macgregor, Joseph Crawhall, George Henry, Edward Atkinson Hornel, Sir John Lavery and Arthur Melville), the Glasgow Boys were active around the turn of the 20th Century. Though they painted in a number of different styles, they are connected by their rejection of classic Victorian painting. Inspired by the luminous techniques of James McNeil Whistler, they harnessed Impressionistic brushwork and livid realism in their work, trying new methods and everyday settings to create stunning works of art. With over 100 images, and broad introduction, this is a fine addition to Flame Tree's ever-increasing series on painting and illustration, Masterpieces of Art.
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Kneelers: The Unsung Folk Art of England and
Book SynopsisA charming and witty history of the quirky - but surprisingly widespread - craft of embroidering kneeler cushions. The perfect gift book this Christmas, for those who love kneelers and those who don't!'A lovely look at a not-quite-vanishing craft that lies, literally, below our knees ... Inventive and interesting' The Oldie, 'Best Reads for All Ages This Christmas''A treasure of a collection' Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before EvensongKneelers is a celebration of the most widely practised - but often overlooked - folk art in England and Wales over the past ninety years: the design and craft of church kneelers. Featuring charming stories and enchanting designs from churches across the country, the book traces the history of kneelers; from their spectacular beginnings at Winchester in the 1930s to their booming popularity after Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the present-day congregations who are keeping the tradition alive.In their range and diversity, the kneelers collected here form a fascinating social record of the concerns and interests that occupied their makers - including local fauna and flora, cricket, dragons, post-war tributes and the thrills of high-speed travel.Filled to the brim with beautiful full-colour images, Kneelers displays the quirky artistry and widely varied (and often surprising) motifs which have characterised church kneelers in the twentieth century. It rejoices in the personal stories of some of the people who have practised and advanced the art form, and is a wonderful commemoration of what happens when communities come together to celebrate their history and their environment.'A glorious and delightful salute' Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread'This book is a Godsend!' Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's AlmanacTrade Review'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' * Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before Evensong *'A glorious and delightful salute to some of the UK's most neglected folk art and its makers' * Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread *'For anyone who has been grateful for a kneeler, and found solace in them during a challenging sermon, this book is a Godsend!' * Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's Almanac *'A treasure of a collection' * Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee *Gives praise at last to an overlooked form of British folk art * Sunday Times *
£17.00
Last Gasp,U.S. Greetings from Delusionville
Book Synopsis
£51.75
Princeton University Press On Weaving
Book Synopsis"In association with The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation."Trade Review"[A] pioneering compendium."---Leslie Camhi, T Magazine"The chief argument of the book—that the hand-made and mechanically reproduced can happily co-exist—is told visually as well as verbally. . . . [Anni Albers] emerges from the new On Weaving as both a historical figure and a living one."---Charles Darwent, Burlington Magazine"It is over 50 years since On Weaving was first published in 1965, but in this new edition it is as fresh and inspiring as ever. Indeed, the colour plates alone . . . could furnish hours of contemplation."---Cally Brooker, Journal of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers"This new edition of On Weaving [is] achingly timely. In an age in which millennials are desperately searching for 'mindfulness' to counter the relentless, bleak news cycle, downloading breathing apps to their phones, and seeking peace in coloring books and knitting, Albers’s celebration of weaving, which forces the weaver to practice a patient and rhythmic meditation, sings to a new generation. . . . The transcultural modernist values and designs of both Anni and Josef Albers still seem fresh and vibrant. . . . By bringing their works to new audiences, making explicit their wide-ranging inspirations, and highlighting the historicity of their seemingly abstract forms [recent exhibitions] and the republication of On Weaving ensure that the Alberses’ legacies will continue to resonate."---Sophie Pitman, West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design, History, and Material Culture"[On Weaving] has luminous simplicity and clarity. . . . [B]y illustrating images that most weavers would regard as quotidian in On Weaving, such as the chequer-board graphics of weave notations, she gave the art world space to make links with other forms of abstraction. By writing with no assumption of a craft audience, Albers was able to announce that weaving was ‘the event of a thread’ and ‘a method of forming a pliable plane of threads by interlacing them rectangularly’, thus allowing all of us to look at the discipline anew."---Tanya Harrod, Apollo
£45.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shaping Femininity
Book SynopsisHighly Commended, Society for Renaissance Studies Biennial Book Prize 2022In sixteenth and seventeenth-century England, the female silhouette underwent a dramatic change. This very structured form, created using garments called bodies and farthingales, existed in various extremes in Western Europe and beyond, in the form of stays, corsets, hoop petticoats and crinolines, right up until the twentieth century. With a nuanced approach that incorporates a stunning array of visual and written sources and drawing on transdisciplinary methodologies, Shaping Femininity explores the relationship between material culture and femininity by examining the lives of a wide range of women, from queens to courtiers, farmer's wives and servants, uncovering their lost voices and experiences. It reorients discussions about female foundation garments in English and wider European history, arguing that these objects of material culture began to shape and define changing notions of the feminineTrade ReviewVirtually nothing is known about early modern undergarments, although they were clearly worn by (nearly) everyone. Moving beyond surviving inventories, images and objects, Bendall reconstructed her own garments in order to understand how they shaped the female body The result is a fascinating exploration of a – literally – disguised history, one that shows how female agency shaped and defined notions of femininity alongside the male gaze. * Judges' comments, Society for Renaissance Studies Biennial Book Prize 2022 *Sarah Bendall’s fascinating exploration of women’s foundation garments in Early Modern England shows not just how artisans made clothes, but how clothes made their wearers. Richly researched and beautifully illustrated, Shaping Femininity is both scholarly and accessible, and its innovative use of historical reconstruction ensures that it will become the essential study of female silhouettes before the Victorian corset. * Timothy McCall, Villanova University, USA *Body shaping garments determined the social spaces females claimed, an embodied assertion, always political. Sarah Bendall’s original and important interdisciplinary study reveals the gendered meanings of shaping garments, in elite and everyday life. History is enriched through her findings. * Beverly Lemire, University of Alberta, Canada *Shaping Femininity provides fascinating insight into female foundation garments in early modern England – their makers and wearers, their materiality and their meanings. With a richly evocative contextual background that takes in a wide range of texts, images, garments and objects, Bendall deftly shows how female bodies were a site of agency and contest, power and beauty. A powerful voice of the role of experiential learning, Bendall charts her own reconstructions of garments. The vital importance of making and experience is at the heart of this book, which insists that we take foundation garments – and the women who wore them – seriously. * Erin Griffey, University of Auckland, New Zealand *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Notes to the Reader Abbreviations Introduction 1. The foundations of the body: foundation garments and the early modern female silhouette 2. The artificial body: courtiers, gentlewomen and disputed visions of femininity, 1560-1650 3. The socially mobile body: consumption of foundation garments by middling and common women, 1560 – 1650 4. The body makers: making and buying foundation garments in early modern England 5. The everyday body: assumptions, tropes and the lived experience 6. The sexual body: eroticism, reproduction and control 7. The respectable body: rising consumption and the changing sensibilities of late seventeenth-and early eighteenth-century England Conclusion: legacies and misconceptions Glossary Notes Selected Bibliography List of Illustrations Index
£27.54
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Inside the Royal Wardrobe
Book SynopsisQueen Alexandra used clothes to fashion images of herself as a wife, a mother and a royal: a woman who both led Britain alongside her husband Edward VII and lived her life through fashion. Inside the Royal Wardrobe overturns the popular portrait of a vapid and neglected queen, examining the surviving garments of Alexandra, Princess of Wales who later became Queen Consort to unlock a rich tapestry of royal dress and society in the second half of the 19th century. More than 130 extraordinary garments from Alexandra's wardrobe survive, from sumptuous court dress and politicised fancy dress to mourning attire and elegant coronation gowns, and can be found in various collections around the world, from London, Oslo and Denmark to New York, Toronto and Tokyo. Curator and fashion scholar Kate Strasdin places these garments at the heart of this in-depth study, examining their relationships to issues such as body politics, power, celebrity, social identity and performance, and interpretTrade ReviewQueen Alexandra used clothes to fashion her self-image throughout her life and Kate Strasdin’s fascinating new book shows us how. From tight tailoring and glamorous evening wear to elegant mourning, Inside the Royal Wardrobe provides an innovative, engaging analysis of how Alexandra led fashionable society. -- Maria Hayward, University of Southampton, UKInside the Royal Wardrobe is an illuminating and poignant study of the clothes that made Queen Alexandra the most stylish woman in Britain. Skilfully weaving together public and private life, Strasdin shines new light on her compelling story. -- Lucy Johnston, author of 19th-Century Fashion in DetailKate Strasdin's fascinating book gives us an intimate history of a queen who dressed to impress, and sets the stage for new understandings of the work that goes into fashioning celebrity. -- Alison Matthews David, Ryerson University, USATable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Managing the Royal Wardrobe 2. Engagement and Marriage 3. Evening and Court Dress 4. The Travelling Princess 5. Fancy Dress 6. Tailoring 7. Mourning Dress 8. The Coronation Gown 9. Dispersal of a Royal Wardrobe Conclusion Bibliography Index
£23.74
Thames & Hudson Ltd The Art of Mesoamerica
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Pallas Athene Publishers Impressions in Watercolour Turner and his
Book SynopsisRarely seen watercolours by the greatest English artists of the 19th century, beautifully reproduced.
£31.50
Thames & Hudson Ltd Silk Roads Peoples Cultures Landscapes
Book SynopsisAs world powers realign their cultural, economic and political outlooks, there is no better time to consider how Afro-Eurasia's complex network of ancient trade routes which spanned the vastness of the steppe, vertiginous mountain ranges, fertile river plains and forbidding deserts across the continents and on to the seas beyond fostered economic activity and cultural, political and technological communication. From silk to slaves, fashion to music, religion to science the movement of interaction of goods, people and ideas was crucial to the flourishing of peoples and their cultures across this vast region. Edited by Susan Whitfield, an established authority on the subject, with contributions from over 80 leading scholars from across the globe, Silk Roads situates the ancient routes against the landscapes that defined them, to reveal the raw materials that they produced, the means of travel that were employed to traverse them and the communities that were shaped by them. OrganizedTrade Review'An extraordinary compendium of history and art … a marvel of a book … a brilliant survey that could not be put together in real time, a catalogue of an exhibition that could never be … This is a book to fundamentally jolt our endemic Eurocentricism and Western complacency … [a] one-volume museum' - V&A Magazine'The many magnificent illustrations make one long to go travelling' - Spectator, Martin Gayford’s Books of the Year'A superbly illustrated volume … the huge variety of the travellers and the merchandise along these complex trajectories is handsomely laid out in this delightful, informative and continually surprising work' - The Arts Desk, Books of the Year'A book to experience rather than read … simultaneously erudite and accessible' - Asian Review of Books'Stunning maps and artifacts combine with evocative landscapes as well as troubling tales of plunder, serving as a timely reminder of the rich rewards of meaningful communication and candid cultural exchange within and between the continents' - Traveller'Sections on Christian monasticism in Africa and Asia and the emergence of lapis lazuli make compelling reading. At a time when global politics and economy are hit by uncertainty, this book emphasises how movement and exchange fostered economic activity and cultural and political ideas' - The Art Society'Revealing on every level and will undoubtedly cast a spell upon the reader … this is one journey not to be missed' - The Lady'This beautiful publication honours the astonishing diversity in the way cultures advance and flourish not in spite of their differences, but because of them' - Antiques Diary'The value of this sumptuous book lies not in its decorative coffee-table desirability but because it serves to remind us that human difference and interaction is vitally necessary for progress. In an era marked by international wall-building and little compassion towards refugees and migrants, we would do well to remember this' - World of Interiors
£40.00
Taschen GmbH Frédéric Chaubin. Stone Age. 45th Ed.
Book Synopsis
£22.98
Getty Trust Publications William Blake - Visionary
Book SynopsisA richly illustrated, comprehensive introduction to the visionary British artist William Blake Celebrated for his boundless imagination and unique vision, William Blake (1757–1827) created some of the most striking and distinctive imagery in art, often combining his poetry and visual images on the page through innovative graphic techniques. He has proven an enduring inspiration to artists, musicians, poets, and performers worldwide and a fascinating enigma to generations of admirers. Featuring over 130 color images, this catalogue brings together many of Blake’s most iconic works. Organized by theme, it explores Blake’s work as a professional printmaker, his roles as both painter-illustrator and poet-painter, his relationship to the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artists that preceded him, and his legacy in the United States. It also examines his visionary prophetic books, including all eighteen plates of America a Prophecy.
£28.50
V & A Publishing Fashion and the Floating World
Book SynopsisAn exclusive insight into glamour of Edo–period society through the medium of 170 exquisite ukiyo-e This sumptuous book explores the important world that woodblock prints played in the fashionable world of Edo–period Japan (1603–1868). One hundred and seventy ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) offer us a vivid view of the culture of entertainment, style, and glamour that developed in bustling urban centers. Expert curators bring to life the scenes and figures depicted, and highlight the fashions, dress accessories, and hairstyles shown in these colorful and compelling images by artists such as Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Hiroshige. Benefitting from the V&A’s world-leading collection and including many rarely seen prints, this is a fascinating glimpse into an exciting world of celebrity actors, courtesans, kimono retailers, fabric workshops, makeup brands, theatre managers, brothel keepers, and restaurant owne
£29.75
HarperCollins Publishers The Gallery of Miracles and Madness Insanity Art
Book SynopsisA riveting tale, brilliantly told'' Philippe SandsThe little-known story of Hitler's war on modern art and the mentally ill.In the first years of the Weimar Republic, the German psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn gathered a remarkable collection of works byschizophrenic patients that would astonish and delight the world.The Prinzhorn collection, as it was called, inspired a new generation of artists, including Paul Klee, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. What the doctor could not have known, however, was that these works would later be used to prepare the ground for mass-murder.Soon after his rise to power, Hitlera failed artist of the old schooldeclared war on modern art. The Nazis staged giant Degenerate Art' shows to ridicule the avant-garde, and seized and destroyed the cream of Germany''s modern art collections. This action was mere preparation, however, for the even more sinister campaign Hitler would later wage against so-called degenerate people, and Prinzhorn''s artists were caught upin bTrade Review‘A superbly told story of worlds colliding …There’s so much that’s wonderful about this book; it’s hard to know where to start heaping praise. It is by turns intriguing, tragic, horrifying and occasionally funny’The Times ‘English has written a terrific book, taut and thematic … As beautiful as it is bleak’Guardian ‘Engrossing …The work of these artists, much of which miraculously survived the war, lives on as testament to the variety of human experience, and of ways to communicate what it feels like to be alive’Economist ‘Compelling … The twin strands of Hitler’s thinking on art and racial purity draw remorselessly together … Memorable’Literary Review ‘A riveting tale, brilliantly told'Philippe Sands ‘A fascinating new book’Daily Mail ‘Fascinating … Journalist English unpacks Hitler’s mad campaign against mentally ill artists … English’s story feels strikingly relevant. While shedding new light on this piece of history, English also provides a cautionary tale for the future’Publishers Weekly ‘An extraordinary, deeply researched work which is a testament to the Prinzhorn artists’The Tablet ‘Perhaps only in 1920s Weimar Germany where expressionism and dadaism were exploring the dark sides of sex and fantasy could the art of the mentally ill first get its due. And perhaps only in Germany could the story Charlie English tells so well have ended in such horror. English takes us through uncharted artistic waters in a narrative of great humanity: a gripping journey into art, madness and modern history’Jonathan Jones, author of Sensations ‘Dazzling … This poignant narrative centres on the complicated psychiatrist Hans Prizhorn and the eccentric patient artists whose work helped usher in a new epoch of the modernist avant-garde only to become fodder for Hitler's hateful ideology of “degeneration”. Richly wrought, and deeply researched’Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Indigo
Book Synopsis
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Bright Ages
Book SynopsisThe Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors.Trade Review“While all of this is the sort of stuff that professional medievalists love to see, the thing I like most about Perry and Gabriele’s effort is that it is fun. The Bright Ages is written in such an engaging and light manner that it is easy to race through. I found myself at the end of chapters faster than I wanted to be, completely drawn in by the narrative. You can tell how much the authors love the subject matter, and that they had a great time choosing stories to share and evidence to consider.” — Slate "Incandescent and ultimately intoxicating, for as the chapters progress, it dawns on the reader that those who lived in this period were more conventional than cardboard figures. . . . They were, in essence, human." — Boston Globe "This revisionist history of medieval Europe takes apart the myth of a savage, primitive period . . . with passion and verve, [Gabriele and Perry challenge] the reader to tackle assumptions, bias and prejudices about the past to create a more joined-up, inclusive picture of the thousand years that followed the sack of Rome." — Peter Frankopan, The Guardian "The Bright Ages is a necessary book. It does the hard work of introducing audiences to a world that we too often overlook for expressly political reasons. It is also a joyful work. The medieval period, Perry and Gabriele argue, has good news for us. The world can be beautiful without centralized and brutal imperial power." — Los Angeles Review of Books "....a magic carpet ride around all manner of medieval places and moments....Perry and Gabriele are particularly keen to wrestle the Middle Ages from the clutches of white supremacists and other dangerous forces that yearn for a full return to a simplified version of the period. And so the authors present the doings of clever and durable women, too often overlooked among the churning dynasties of the early Middle Ages." — Irish Examiner “The Bright Ages shines a light on an age too often obscured by myth, legend, and fairy tales. Traveling easily through a thousand years of history, The Bright Ages reminds us society never collapsed when the Roman Empire fell, nor did the modern world wake civilization from a thousand-year hibernation. Gabriele and Perry show the medieval world was neither a romantic wonderland nor a deplorable dungeon, but instead a real world full of real people with hopes, dreams, and fears making the most of their time on earth.” — Mike Duncan, author of Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution and The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic “This book is perfect for people who are interested in the period but don't know where to start. Because the scale is sweeping but so well organized. . . . Most importantly, it's really entertaining, so. I recommend.” — Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life and Filthy Animals "A lively, searing, and transformative reimagining of the medieval world, The Bright Ages is brilliant in every way, both lucid in its arguments and sparkling in its prose. A gripping and compulsive read." — Bruce Holsinger, author of A Burnable Book and The Gifted School "In this engaging new history of the Medieval period Gabriele and Perry achieve a feat: they have written something eminently readable, suffused with academic rigor, and ethically responsible." — Candida Moss, author of The Myth of Persecution "Historians Gabriele and Perry argue in this accessible revisionist history that the so-called Dark Ages was actually a period of innovation that helped pave the way for the Renaissance and Enlightenment. . . . They add nuance and complexity to popular conceptions of the Dark Ages and make clear that beauty and achievement existed among the horrors. This is a worthy introduction to an oft-misunderstood period in world history." — Publishers Weekly "Although traditional politics-and–great-men history makes an appearance, the authors keep current by including a surprising number of great women and emphasizing their disapproval of racism, sexism, and slavery. The result is an appealing account of a millennium packed with culture, beauty, science, learning, and the rise and fall of empires." — Kirkus Reviews "Noted medieval historians Gabriele and Perry provide an engaging overview of a complex, yet often oversimplified era....sure to become a new standard for those seeking a comprehensive and inclusive review of medieval times." — Booklist "Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry liberate the Middle Ages from stereotypes and half-truths in The Bright Ages, revealing that world as 'not simple or clean, but messy and human'....[a] lively account of a misunderstood era." — Shelf Awareness "This accessible trip through the medieval world is well worth taking for anyone wishing to better understand its complexity." — Library Journal "Chapter by chapter, Gabriele and Perry usher into view, from behind the curtain of the familiar grand narratives and from multiple locations, an eclectic cast of characters—many of them women—who exemplify, in a multitude of ways, a dazzling brightness where history has instructed us to see only gloom." — First Things
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Inc In Search of Van Gogh
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewArt historian Fossi (Art in Florence) and photographers De Marco and Dondero trace how Vincent van Gogh’s travels inspired his art in this perceptive, richly illustrated work. Fossi maps out van Gogh’s life in chronological order, weaving together letters, paintings, and images, along with contemporary photographs from De Marco and Dondero, who set out on a trip across Europe to photograph the geography and places that inspired his works...Insightful and illuminating, this poetic work will entrance historians, artists, and art lovers. — Publishers Weekly (starred review) With this compact trove of contemporary photographs juxtaposed with Van Gogh’s artworks, homes, and friendly commentary, the intensity of the artist’s life will go down more easily. Van Gogh fans will enjoy walking in his footsteps, and it will surely inform new audiences as well. — Library Journal
£22.10
Vintage Publishing The Bayeux Tapestry
Book SynopsisThe vivid scenes on the Bayeux Tapestry depict the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Hicks shows us this world and the miracle of the tapestry's making: the stitches, dyes and strange details in the margins.Trade ReviewHick's enchantment with the tapestry is compelling, and her style confident and writerly -- Kate Colquhoun * Daily Telegraph *Hicks tells her fascinating tale with the deftest of touches -- Helen Castor * Guardian *I was bowled over... it is a book full of page-turning vignettes -- Simon Young * Sunday Telegraph *A fittingly meticulous tribute to the world's fiddliest masterpiece -- Ned Denny * Daily Mail *Well written, well documented, quite often serious but not too grave, allergic to over -imaginative fantasy but not immune to romantic pull of those colourful worsted threads on plain linen. Carola Hicks's book weaves its own spell -- Peter Mandler * Times Literary Supplement *
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Chanel
Book SynopsisIn Chanel: An Intimate Life, acclaimed biographer Lisa Chaney tells the controversial story of the fashion icon who starred in her tumultuous era Coco Chanel was many things to many people. Raised in emotional and financial poverty, she became one of the defining figures of the twentieth century. She was mistress to aristocrats, artists and spies. She broke rules of style and decorum, seducing both men and women, yet in her work expected the highest standards. She took a ''plaything'' and turned it into a global industry which defined the modern woman. Filled with new insights and thrilling discoveries, Lisa Chaney''s Chanel provides the most defining and provocative portrait yet. ''Chaney''s research is laudable, uncovering fresh details of Chanel''s well-trodden rag trade to riches story'' Evening Standard ''An unflinching examination of the historically inscrutable designer'' Vogue Lisa Chaney has lectured and tutored in the history of art and literature, made TV and radio broadcasts on the history of culture, and reviewed and written for journals and newspapers, including The SundayTimes, the Spectator and the Guardian. She is the author of two previous biographies: Elizabeth David and Hide-and-Seek With Angels: The Life of J.M. Barrie.Trade ReviewChaney's research is laudable, uncovering fresh details of Chanel's well-trodden rag trade to riches story * Evening Standard *Chaney ably explores the complexities and inner life of her subject * The Times Literary Supplement *Elegant, meticulously researched and packed with details * Prima *An unflinching examination of the historically inscrutable designer * Vogue *Chaney is adept at elucidating Chanel's paradoxical character. A nuanced account of a contradictory, complex, quite extraordinary life * The Times Higher Education Supplement *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Europeans Three Lives and the Making of a
Book Synopsis''Magnificent. Beautifully written, immaculately researched and thoroughly absorbing from start to finish. A tour de force that explains how Europe''s cultural life transformed during the course of the 19th century - and so much more'' Peter Frankopan From the bestselling author of Natasha''s Dance, The Europeans is richly enthralling, panoramic cultural history of nineteenth-century Europe, told through the intertwined lives of three remarkable people: a great singer, Pauline Viardot, a great writer, Ivan Turgenev, and a great connoisseur, Pauline''s husband Louis. Their passionate, ambitious lives were bound up with an astonishing array of writers, composers and painters all trying to make their way through the exciting, prosperous and genuinely pan-European culture that came about as a result of huge economic and technological change. This culture - through trains, telegraphs and printing - allowed artists of all kinds to exchange ideas and make a liTrade ReviewMagnificent. Beautifully written, immaculately researched and thoroughly absorbing from start to finish. A tour de force that explains how Europe's cultural life transformed during the course of the 19th century - and so much more. -- Peter FrankopanMagnificent and utterly gripping: European identity, culture and commerce through the lives of three remarkable individuals, the book for our times. -- Philippe SandsIt plunged me into another world. I learned so much and was carried away by the intelligence and fluidity of the style - a combination which is unbeatable. -- Antonia FraserA timely, brilliant and hugely enjoyable book ... A magnificently humane book, written with supple grace but firmly underpinned by meticulous scholarship. -- Rupert Christiansen * Sunday Telegraph *The Europeans is a massively impressive work, as enjoyable as it is knowledgeable, full of insights into the mechanisms of history and in the people who make it. It is a book about the making of Europe, and this description, wonderful as it is, has now, in these days, sadly, also almost a utopian quality to it. Orlando Figes is an outstanding historian and writer, he brings distant history so close that you could feel its heartbeat. He did it with the Russian Revolution in A People's Tragedy, and he does it again in The Europeans. -- Karl Ove Knausgaard[There are] a multitude of fascinating pieces of information to be gleaned from Orlando Figes's magisterial and wide-ranging book The Europeans ... Relevant, trenchant and searching. -- William Boyd * The Guardian *I loved the book. I read it in every spare moment, fascinated and sometimes surprised. ... I have been speaking about the book to everyone I know: it is clearly not just a book for musicians but for the widest audience interested in literature, music and art. -- Barbara HanniganMeticulously detailed, exhaustively researched and written with Figes's characteristic verve, The Europeans is a sweeping tour de force and a monumental work of historical synthesis. -- Julian Coman * The Observer *
£14.24
Penguin Books Ltd Living with the Gods
Book SynopsisFollowing the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, a panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs from the celebrated author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany''Riveting, extraordinary ... tells the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety. The emphasis is not on our differences, but on shared spiritual yearnings'' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times, Books of the YearOne of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity. They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics of much of the world today. Throughout history they have most often been, in the widest sense, religious.Yet this book is not a history of religion, nor an argument inTrade ReviewThe David Attenborough of things that don't move ... Think of it as his Blue Planet -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *He shows how human beings have always used religion and objects as a way to understand the world around us, from finding some accommodation with light, water and the seasons, to attempting to find some approach towards death. ... Anyone wishing to deepen, if not change their life, will certainly benefit from this remarkable book -- Douglas Murray * Evening Standard *A mind-expanding book -- John Carey * Sunday Times *
£14.24
Oxford University Press Modern Art
Book SynopsisAs public interest in modern art continues to grow, as witnessed by the spectacular success of Tate Modern and the Bilbao Guggenheim, there is a real need for a book that will engage general readers, offering them not only information and ideas about modern art, but also explaining its contemporary relevance and history. This book achieves all this and focuses on interrogating the idea of ''modern'' art by asking such questions as: What has made a work of art qualify as modern (or fail to)? How has this selection been made? What is the relationship between modern and contemporary art? Is ''postmodernist'' art no longer modern, or just no longer modernist - in either case, why, and what does this claim mean, both for art and the idea of ''the modern''?Cottington examines many key aspects of this subject, including the issue of controversy in modern art, from Manet''s Dejeuner sur L''Herbe (1863) to Picasso''s Les Demoiselles, and Tracey Emin''s Bed, (1999); and the role of the dealer from the main Cubist art dealer Kahnweiler to Charles Saatchi.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION
£9.49
Oxford University Press Fashion
Book SynopsisFashion is a dynamic global industry that plays an important role in the economic, political, cultural, and social lives of an international audience. It spans high art and popular culture, and plays a significant role in material and visual culture. This book introduces fashion''s myriad influences and manifestations. Fashion is explored as a creative force, a business, and a means of communication. From Karl Lagerfeld''s creative reinventions of Chanel''s iconic style to the multicultural reference points of Indian designer Manish Arora, from the spectacular fashion shows held in nineteenth century department stores to the mix-and-match styles of Japanese youth, the book examines the ways that fashion both reflects and shapes contemporary culture. Using historical and contemporary examples, it gives a clear understanding of how fashion has developed since the renaissance, while raising questions about its status, ethical credibility, and influence on consumers.The book provides insight into the structure of the fashion industry and how fashions are designed, promoted and consumed, in relation to relevant historical, social and cultural contexts. It is structured thematically, to look at the role and development of designers, the growth of shopping and the different businesses involved in making and selling fashionable clothes. Fashion''s relationship to the wider culture is also explored, by considering its representation in art and collaborations between designers and artists, the moral controversies surrounding fashion, and attempts to produce ethical clothing, and the effects of globalisation on the fashion trade.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewArnold is an intelligent, communicative writer. * Philippa Stockley, Times Literary Supplement *Her fascinating little book makes a good framework for independent study and has a very useful bibliography. * Philippa Stockley, Times Literary Supplement *Arnold summarises with caption brevity, and [I] admire both her research and her succinctness. * Vera Rule, The Guardian *Table of ContentsIntroduction: What Is Fashion? ; 1. Designers ; 2. Art ; 3. Industry ; 4. Shopping ; 5. Ethics ; 6. Globalisation ; Conclusion: The End of Fashion? ; References ; Further reading
£9.49
Oxford University Press Tarr Oxford Worlds Classics
Book SynopsisTarr is the blackly comic story of the lives and loves of two artists, set against the backdrop of Paris before the start of the First World War. The first edition to do the novel justice, with an introduction and notes placing it in the context of social satire and avant-garde art movements, offering new insights into a major Modernist novel.Trade ReviewThis is a valuable edition. * William Baker, Years Work in English Studies *
£10.44
