Search results for ""Yale University Press""
National Gallery Company Ltd Titian: A Fresh Look at Nature
Titian (c. 1485–1576) is best known for his portraits and mythological and religious works. Yet his first great achievement was to refashion the portrayal of nature in his own distinctive style. He did this by studying the work of Albrecht Dürer, whose naturalistic paintings of plants, animals, and landscape had caused a sensation in Venice in the first decade of the 16th century.In this beautifully illustrated book, Antonio Mazzotta presents this experience, together with Titian's native landscape of Pieve di Cadore, as crucial influences in the artist's early representation of nature. The recently restored Flight into Egypt (now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg)—probably painted when Titian was still a teenager—is vivid proof of his interest in the depiction of animals, plants, and figures in the landscape.The author shows how Titian's contemporaries Bellini, Giorgione, and del Piombo also influenced his unique and innovative approach to painting nature.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:National Gallery, London(04/04/12–08/19/12)
£11.24
National Gallery Company Ltd A Closer Look: Colour
A Closer Look is the new series title for the updated and refreshed National Gallery Pocket Guide range. The series has been enhanced with a stronger format, attractive design, new photography, and additional information. It is self-evident that colour is fundamental to painting, but it is not always obvious from looking at pictures what kinds of materials may be used by an artist to make colour. This Pocket Guide explains how coloured pigments are combined with a medium to form a paint layer, and how this affects our perception of the appearance of colour. It not only describes the materials of colour but also explains colour theories and examines writings about colour, including painters’ treatises.Through a selection of superb pictures from the National Gallery, London, including works by Piero della Francesca, Leonardo, Titian, Caravaggio, Canaletto, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Monet, and Seurat, the authors demonstrate how painters through the centuries have exploited the characteristics of colour in paint.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£11.24
Metropolitan Museum of Art Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents
This timely study of Winslow Homer highlights his imagery of the Atlantic world and reveals themes of racial, political, and natural conflict across his career Long celebrated as the quintessential New England regionalist, Winslow Homer (1836–1910) in fact brushed a much wider canvas, traveling throughout the Atlantic world and frequently engaging in his art with issues of race, imperialism, and the environment. This publication focuses, for the first time, on the watercolors and oil paintings Homer made during visits to Bermuda, Cuba, coastal Florida, and the Bahamas. Among these, The Gulf Stream (1899), often considered the most consequential painting of his career, reveals Homer’s lifelong fascination with struggle and conflict. Recognizing the artist’s keen ability to distill complex issues, Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents upends popular conceptions and convincingly argues that Homer’s work resonates with the challenges of the present day.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (April 11–July 31, 2022)National Gallery, London (September 10, 2022–January 8, 2023)
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd The Italian Paintings Before 1400
The National Gallery in London houses one of the most important collections of early Italian paintings outside Italy, including works by Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto and the di Cione brothers. This completely updated catalogue of the collection is the first published since 1989, and it now includes four exceptional acquisitions from the intervening years: the 13th-century diptych now attributed to the Master of the Borgo Crucifix, The Virgin and Child by Cimabue, The Virgin and Child by the Clarisse Master, and The Coronation of the Virgin by Bernardo Daddi. For this volume, Dillian Gordon takes into account the substantial body of new research published over the past twenty years to review and in some cases reattribute the works. All but two paintings have been re-examined by the National Gallery's team of curators, conservators, and scientists. Through the use of infrared reflectography, much new information has been revealed regarding the significance of underdrawings and technique. Each work is illustrated in color, and many are accompanied by details and technical and comparative illustrations.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£75.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Lake Keitele: A Vision of Finland
In 1999, Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s Lake Keitele (1905) became the first Finnish painting to enter the National Gallery and is now one of the most popular pictures in the collection. Although the artist and his work are relatively unknown to audiences outside of Finland, he was not only a leading figure in modern Finnish painting but an accomplished practitioner of the decorative arts and a key figure in the development of early twentieth-century Modernism.This book focuses on four versions of his shimmering depictions of Lake Keitele, north of Helsinki; a stylized lake composition which first appeared in the early 1880s, when the artist was still elaborating his own descriptive language, and continued to preoccupy him until well into the 1920s. Anne Robbins examines these abstract and modernist pictures in the light of the international avant gardes with which Gallen-Kallela was in contact for much of his career, and the ways in which his work expressed his fervent Finnish nationalism.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:National Gallery, London (11/15/17–02/04/18)
£15.15
Metropolitan Museum of Art How to Read Chinese Ceramics
Chinese ceramics are among the most significant and widely collected decorative arts produced anywhere in the world, with a history that spans millennia. Despite the saturation of Chinese ceramics in global culture—in English, the word “china” has become synonymous with “porcelain”—the function of these works and the meaning of their often richly decorated surfaces are not always readily apparent. This new installment in the successful How to Read series enlightens readers on Chinese ceramics of all kinds, using highlights from the outstanding collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a teaching tool. Accessible to a general audience and written by an expert on the subject, this book explains and interprets 40 masterworks of Chinese ceramics. The works represent a broad range of subject matter and type, from ancient earthenware to 20th-century porcelain, and from plates and bowls to vases and sculptural figures. Lavish illustrations showcase these stunning works and the decorations that adorn them, including symbolic scenes, flowers, and Buddhist and Chinese historical figures. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
£19.95
National Gallery Company Ltd The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings: Volume III: Ferrara and Bologna
This new volume in the series of National Gallery collection catalogues focuses on 16th-century Bologna and Ferrara. The Gallery holds the most important collection of these paintings outside Italy, including works by Garofalo representing his entire range as an artist; exquisite and grotesque miniature narratives by Mazzolino; a large masterpiece by the short-lived genius known as Ortolano; and some of the most dazzling paintings by the eccentric Dosso Dossi. There are two altarpieces by Lorenzo Costa along with his highly original Concert, and Francesco Francia's Buonvisi altarpiece. The book defines the special quality of works from the region, but also traces the influence of Perugino, Raphael, and Titian. New archival and technical research and provenance information reveal the fortunes of artists’ reputations across a long arc in the history of taste.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£75.00
Zephyr Press Darkness Spoken The Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann
Darkness Spoken is the most complete volume of Ingeborg Bachmann’s poetry in English and German. Considered one of the premiere poets of her generation, Bachmann’s various awards include the Georg Büchner Prize, the Berlin Critics Prize, the Bremen Award, and the Austrian State Prize for literature. Darkness Spoken collects her two celebrated books of poetry, as well as the early and late poems not collected in book form. First published by Zephyr Press in 2006, the volume also contains 129 poems released from Bachmann’s archives that had never been translated before. Twenty-five of them also appeared in German for the first time. Continued research by Peter Fikins on Bachmann’s writing since 2006 as well as his current work on Bachmann’s biography (forthcoming in 2026 from Yale University Press), has drawn him even closer to Bachmann’s
£21.99
National Gallery Company Ltd Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery
Presenting new work by American artist Kehinde Wiley, as he explores the European landscape tradition through film and painting The American artist Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977) is best known for his spectacular portraits of African Americans with knowing references to the grand European tradition of painting. He was commissioned in 2017 to paint Barack Obama, becoming the first Black artist to paint an official portrait of a president of the United States. His work makes reference to old master paintings by positioning contemporary Black sitters in the pose of the original historical figures, raising issues of power and identity, and the absence or relegation of Black and minority-ethnic figures within European art. For his first collaboration with a major UK gallery, Wiley will depart from portraiture to explore the European landscape tradition through the medium of film and painting, casting Black Londoners from the streets of Soho. His new works will explore European Romanticism and its focus on epic scenes of oceans and mountains, drawing inspiration from the National Gallery’s masterpieces in landscape and seascape.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London (December 10, 2021–April 18, 2022)
£25.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Young Bomberg and the Old Masters
Reflecting on the vitality of the past, through the works of one of Britain’s most audacious 20th-century painters The British painter David Bomberg (1890–1957) was among the most precociously talented artists of his generation, and the influence of his legacy continues to be felt. This catalogue is the first to explore Bomberg’s early work in relation to the collection of London’s National Gallery, demonstrating the importance of painterly tradition for this deeply innovative artist. As a teenager Bomberg intensively copied old master paintings; Botticelli’s Portrait of a Young Man (c. 1480–85) was reportedly one of his favorites. But after joining the Slade School of Art, he embraced the idea of a new, increasingly abstract art that would reflect the drama of the world around him. By placing Bomberg’s rebellious, youthful works alongside those he most admired in the National Gallery, this book explores the true extent of the young artist’s engagement with history, and how it shaped his contribution to the language of early 20th-century modernist art.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:National Gallery, London (November 27, 2019–March 1, 2020)
£16.95
National Gallery Company Ltd Durer's Journeys: Travels of a Renaissance Artist
An exploration of Dürer’s career and legacy as an international traveling artist The visual legacy of Dürer’s travels extends far beyond his lifetime and throughout Europe, and the documents illuminating them offer unique insights into the distinctive ways Dürer conducted and managed his career, making him an intriguing—and even controversial—figure. This generously illustrated book examines the career of preeminent Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) as an international traveler, addressing his relations with artists from Italy to the Low Countries, including Giovanni Bellini, Joos van Cleve, Jan Gossaert, Lucas van Leyden, Quentin Massys, and Bernard van Orley. Bringing together paintings, drawings and prints, the book examines Dürer as an artist-entrepreneur, explorer, and innovator of artistic theory. Dürer’s treatises and letters, and his detailed journal documenting his journey to the Low Countries in 1520–21, offer insights into his artistic practices and encounters with artists and patrons, as well as the nature of travel in the early 16th century. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London March 6, 2021—June 13, 2021 Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, Aachen July 18, 2021—October 24, 2021
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd An American Experiment: George Bellows and the Ashcan Painters
In the first decades of the 20th century, George Bellows and other painters of the Ashcan School, a loosely connected group of gritty, urban realists, created images of the city from street level. Following older artist Robert Henri's insistence that artists should make "pictures from life," the Ashcanners renounced the polished academic style taught in art schools of the time. Instead they practiced a more urgent manner working with bold, highly saturated color, seeking to catch the ebb and flow of life in urban America. Some of them, particularly Bellows, also produced vivid landscapes and portraits. This book introduces the artists of the Ashcan School and the key characteristics and themes of their work. Detailed commentaries are provided for twelve significant paintings by George Bellows, William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, and John Sloan, ranging from depictions of the metropolitan throng to Bellows's vivid seascapes. In their visual contemplation of early-20th-century America, these artists offer deep insights into the nature of ordinary life not only in their time but also in our own.Published by National Gallery Company / Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London(03/03/11-05/30/11)
£11.24
National Gallery Company Ltd Turner on Tour
An exploration of Turner as an artist-traveler, in relation to two important European harbor scenes This publication marks the return to the United Kingdom, for the first time in over a century, of two groundbreaking oil paintings by J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), on loan from The Frick Collection in New York: Harbour of Dieppe: Changement de Domicile and Cologne, the Arrival of a Packet-Boat: Evening. They were acquired by wealthy American industrialist Henry Clay Frick in 1914 and have remained in the USA ever since. Painted in the mid-1820s, Dieppe and Cologne exemplify Turner’s lifelong fascination with the subject of ports and harbors—past and present—as dynamic, transitional places. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1825 and 1826 respectively, they represent in powerfully visual terms the outcomes of Turner’s regular sketching tours within Europe that were central to his fame as an artist-traveler, as well as his radical approach to color, light, and brushwork. This sumptuously illustrated publication examines Turner’s creative process, and his use of sketchbooks and watercolors to capture his ideas as he traveled. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
£16.50
Metropolitan Museum of Art Cecily Brown: Death and the Maid
An intimate survey of Cecily Brown’s paintings, drawings, and prints, providing a meditation on the intertwined themes of still life, memento mori, and vanitas in her work Cecily Brown (b. 1969) transfixes viewers with sumptuous color, bravura brushwork, and complex narratives that relate to some of European painting’s grandest and most time-honored themes, including still life motifs and meditations on mortality through vanitas This intimate survey of the acclaimed British painter reexamines the work of an artist whose influential output references both modern heavyweights, such as Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, and Joan Mitchell, and Old Masters like Goya, Hogarth, Manet, and Rubens. The book features 21 paintings and 26 works on paper—drawings, watercolors, sketchbooks, and monotypes—that span the three decades of Brown’s career to date, including recently completed and never-before published works. A conversation with the artist provides insight into her process and sources, while an insightful essay situates Brown in the lineage of the great artists of the last five hundred years. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (April 4–December 3, 2023)
£35.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art How to Read European Armor
An accessibly written and superbly illustrated introduction to armor used for battle, tournament, and ceremony This engaging book offers an introduction to and overview of armor in Europe from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, focusing in particular on the 16th century when plate armor reached its peak of stylistic beauty and functional perfection. Created by highly skilled armorers, often in cooperation with noted artists and commissioned by wealthy patrons, armor was worn for centuries on the battlefield, in festive tournaments, and for ceremonial events. Through informative discussions of representative works from the Metropolitan Museum’s world-renowned collection, this new addition to the popular How to Read series shows what to look for when examining armor, the pieces that make up a typical suit of armor, how the parts work, the various methods used to decorate armor, and how armor became an important part of so many museum collections today. The book features a wealth of new photography of historically important armor and other works of art from the Metropolitan Museum and select pieces from other institutions.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
£19.95
Metropolitan Museum of Art Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection
A fresh exploration of Native American art that positions the work within the broader context of North American art history This landmark publication presents Native American art within the broader context of American art history, through an examination of notable works from a major private collection. The insightful texts provide a new evaluation of the art, culture, and daily life of numerous North American tribes, including Acoma, Apache, Cheyenne, Creek, Crow, Hopi-Twea, Kiowa, Lakota, Pomo, Seneca, Seminole, Tlingit, and Zuni, among others. The works featured in this lavish volume span centuries, from the period prior to contact with European settlers through the early 20th century, and represent the extensive artistic achievements of culturally distinct indigenous peoples. Both known and unrecorded makers’ innovative visions are manifest in a wide variety of aesthetic forms and media—from painting, sculpture, and drawing to costume, ceramics, and baskets. Challenging traditional presentations of American Indian art, this publication situates and analyzes them alongside other North American artistic practices. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (10/01/18–10/06/19)
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Discover Manet & Eva Gonzales
The extraordinary story behind Manet’s portrait of his only pupil Eva Gonzalès, placed within the broader context of women painters of the period Edouard Manet (1832–1883) only ever had one formal pupil, Eva Gonzalès (1849–1883). The daughter of a prominent writer, she entered Manet’s studio aged 19. He portrayed her the year they met and exhibited the ambitious full-length portrait at the Paris Salon of 1870, at which Gonzalès also displayed her own work, for the first time, to positive reviews. The first in a new series of Discover titles, in which a single work of art in the National Gallery’s collection is reconsidered from a fresh perspective, this book reveals the extraordinary story behind Manet’s portrait by examining it in the context of women’s artistic practice in nineteenth-century Paris, Gonzalès’s development as a professional painter, and Manet’s career in 1870. Combining new art historical research with engaging essays on women artists and their representation in visual culture, Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès provides a richly illustrated, in-depth study of Manet’s portrait and offers a groundbreaking viewpoint on both artists. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
£18.79
National Gallery Company Ltd 2020 National Gallery Artist in Residence: Rosalind Nashashibi
Exploring the dialogue between the National Gallery, London and contemporary artist Rosalind Nashashibi through her work as artist in residence Rosalind Nashashibi (b. 1973) is a London-based artist known for her 16mm films, as well as her paintings and prints. Her films convey inner experiences of moments and events, often considering the politics of relations in the community and extended family, while merging everyday observations with fictional or mythological elements. Like her films, her paintings move between impressions and the more concrete depiction of forms or figures. In 2019 Nashashibi was appointed as artist in residence for 2020 by the National Gallery, London; over the course of a year she worked in close proximity to the gallery’s collection, research, and teams. As the gallery’s inaugural artist in residence, she has explored the ongoing dialogue between the art of the past and that of today, as well as the collection’s influence on her own practice as a painter. The book includes enlightening conversations between Nashashibi and two artist colleagues, Elena Narbutaitė and Lucy Skaer.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£25.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude
The English Romantic artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) was hailed as the "painter of light" for his brilliantly colored landscapes and seascapes. He drew much influence from the French painter Claude Lorrain (c. 1604/5?–1682), who was a vital force in Turner's artistic practice from his formative years until the end of his working life. So great was Claude's influence that Turner stipulated in his will that his works hang alongside Claude's in the National Gallery, London.This book examines the ways in which Turner consistently strove to confront Claude's achievement and legacy. He had encountered Claude's works in salerooms and in the collections of his aristocratic patrons, and applied what he had learned to the British countryside, producing views of the Thames valley that transform it into an idyllic pastoral scene reminiscent of the Roman Campagna. For the balance of his career, Turner continued to pit himself against Claude, paying homage even as he continually sought to go beyond the accomplishments of his master.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London(03/14/12-06/05/12)
£30.00
National Gallery Company Ltd After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art
Through the 1880s the very essence of representation, meaning and process in Western art were profoundly interrogated. Plausible representations of the external world were cast aside in favour of non-naturalism expressed in varying degrees, from modest distortions of reality to pure abstraction. The decades that followed, up to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, were a complex, vibrant period of artistic questioning, searching, risk-taking and innovation. Concentrating on this period of great upheaval, this book will explore the constructive dialogue between painting and sculpture, and the influential roles played by three giants of the era, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, across European art as a whole. While acknowledging the centrality of Paris as a cultural capital, it will also uniquely highlight other centres of artistic ferment in Europe, from Brussels and Barcelona to Berlin and Vienna, and track the variety of routes into modernism in the early twentieth century. This fully illustrated catalogue will contain four essays, introductions to each city of ferment and biographies of the artists. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The National Gallery, London 25 March–13 August 2023
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd 2021 National Gallery Artist in Residence: Ali Cherri
The National Gallery’s second Artist in Residence is Ali Cherri (b. 1976), a Lebanon-born artist based in Beirut and Paris. Known for his sculptures, films and installations, Cherri is interested in the aesthetics, practices and politics associated with the museum classification and collecting of objects, animals, images, and their narratives. Cherri was recently awarded the Silver Lion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The first survey of Cherri’s work in English, this book will give an overview of the artist’s archaeological approach to the heritage of objects by investigating their relationships to history, society and nature. It will introduce Cherri to a broad audience and document his journey from the beginning of his residency to the production and display of the final work at the National Gallery in the autumn of 2021, followed by the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in spring 2022.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£25.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Boilly: Scenes of Parisian Life
In a long career that spanned the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, and the Bourbon Restoration, Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845) created innovative and daring paintings in the midst of the most turbulent times. Bringing together two dozen of Boilly’s works—the majority of which have never before been published—this handsome volume includes portraiture, scenes of seduction, and groundbreaking representations of raucous Parisian street life. A master technician with acute powers of observation and a wry sense of humor, Boilly invented the term trompe l’oeil and popularized the genre through his stunningly realistic compositions. In this first English-language publication on Boilly in more than 20 years, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper vividly brings the artist and the period he lived in to life, shedding new light on Boilly’s work and expanding our understanding of how art functioned within France’s rapidly changing political environment.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:National Gallery, London (02/27/19–05/19/19)
£16.95
Metropolitan Museum of Art Goya's Graphic Imagination
This exploration of Francisco Goya’s graphic output reveals his technical virtuosity and boundless imagination This book presents the first focused investigation of Francisco Goya’s (1746–1828) graphic output. Spanning six decades, Goya’s works on paper reflect the transformation and turmoil of the Enlightenment, the Inquisition, and Spain’s years of constitutional government. Two essays, a detailed chronology, and more than 100 featured artworks illuminate the remarkable breadth and power of Goya’s drawings and prints, situating the artist within his historical moment. The selected pieces document the various phases and qualities of Goya’s graphic work—from his early etchings after Velázquez through print series such as the Caprichos and The Disasters of War to his late lithographs, The Bulls of Bordeaux, and including albums of drawings that reveal the artist’s nightmares, dreams, and visions.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (February 8–May 2, 2021)
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece
An innovative look at the creation of Leonardo’s The Virgin of the Rocks This concise but innovative book, published to accompany an immersive digital exhibition at the National Gallery, London, focuses on a single Leonardo painting, and one of the artist’s most celebrated: The Virgin of the Rocks. The quarter-century process of its creation is described, while a technical study shows how the latest scanning technology has been used by the National Gallery to explore beneath the surface of the picture, resulting in new insights into Leonardo’s approach, optical theories, and painting technique. Illustrated with details of the painting, technical images, drawings, and comparative works, this volume combines the expertise of curators, conservators, and scientists in order to introduce readers to a fresh perspective on one of history’s most extraordinary minds.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:National Gallery, London (November 9, 2019–January 12, 2020)
£11.25
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
Featuring beautiful color reproductions and enlightening descriptions, this is the definitive guide to one of the largest, and most beloved, collections of art in the world More than a simple souvenir book, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide provides a comprehensive view of art history spanning five millennia and the entire globe, beginning with the ancient world and ending in contemporary times. It includes media as varied as painting, photography, costume, sculpture, decorative arts, musical instruments, arms and armor, works on paper, and many more. Presenting works ranging from the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur to Canova’s Perseus with the Head of Medusa to Sargent’s Madame X, this revised edition is an indispensable volume for lovers of art and art history, and for anyone who has ever dreamed of lingering over the most iconic works in the Metropolitan’s unparalleled collection.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
£18.99
Metropolitan Museum of Art How to Read Medieval Art
An enlightening, accessible guide to understanding and appreciating European art from the Middle AgesHow to Read Medieval Art introduces the art of the European Middle Ages through 50 notable examples from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, which is one of the most comprehensive in the world. This handsomely illustrated volume includes multi-panel altarpieces, stained glass windows, wooden sculpture, as well as manuscript illuminations, and features iconic masterworks such as the Merode Altarpiece, Unicorn Tapestries, and The Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry. Formal explorations of individual works, chosen to exemplify key ideas crucial to understanding medieval art, are accompanied by relevant information about the context in which they were created, conveying the works’ visual nuances but also their broader symbolic meaning. Superb color illustrations further reveal the visual and conceptual richness of medieval art, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of the history and iconography of this pivotal era.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Distributed by Yale University Press
£19.95
Boydell & Brewer Ltd On the Principles and Practice of Conducting
A practical manual for building musical understanding and physical skills, intended for conductors at all stages of development. This book is a practical manual for anyone who stands on a podium helping an ensemble make music. The four main chapters address the major obligations of the conductor: (1) bringing the musical tones to life in the most beautiful,most moving way possible; (2) freeing the mind to fully absorb all the tones; (3) freeing the body of unnecessary tension; and (4) effectively using the freed mind and body to influence the sounds. Each chapter begins with a summary of the underlying principles, presents real-life applications, and offers exercises for developing skills. Video demonstrations of the exercises as well as downloadable scores and parts are available on a companion website. The parts, in multiple transpositions, allow for hands-on experience where standard instrumental complements are unavailable. Markand Thakar, music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, is an internationally renowned pedagogue of conducting. A protégé of the legendary Sergiu Celibidache and former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Thakar is author of Looking for the "Harp" Quartet: An Investigation into Musical Beauty (University of Rochester Press, 2011) and Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Music Making (Yale University Press, 1990).
£24.99
Metropolitan Museum of Art Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art
Placing artists at the center of nineteenth-century Demark’s dramatic cultural, political, and philosophical transformation, this publication explores their persistent national pride in a time of turmoil Though known as the Danish Golden Age, nineteenth-century Denmark was one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation’s history—from the disastrous siege of Copenhagen and the collapse of Denmark’s monarchy to the swelling tide of nationalism that eventually engulfed all of Europe. This volume places artists at the center of Denmark’s dramatic cultural, political, and philosophical transformation by bringing together 90 drawings, paintings, and oil sketches by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, Christen Købke, Constantin Hansen, Martinus Rørbye, Johan Thomas Lundbye, Vilhelm Hammershøi, and others. Five thematic essays by leading scholars in Denmark and the United States explore the way Danish artists manifested the pride, traditions, and anxieties of their nation; the sea’s ever-changing role as a marker of Danish identity; the evolving nature of portraiture; nostalgia for the Danish landscape and folk traditions; and the influence on Danish artists of their travels throughout Europe. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (January 26–April 16, 2023)The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (May 23–August 20, 2023)
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Discover Liotard and The Lavergne Family Breakfast
The second book in the “Discover” series, this illuminating study explores Liotard’s little-known The Lavergne Family Breakfast (1754), widely regarded as a pastel masterpiece Jean-Etienne Liotard’s The Lavergne Family Breakfast, acquired by the National Gallery in 2019, is one of the Gallery’s most important eighteenth-century pictures and one of the artist’s largest and most ambitious pastel. Last exhibited in 1755, when Liotard brought the pastel from Lyon to London (an incredible feat in itself given the fragility of pastel), it has hardly been seen in public since. Exploring the pastel medium, Liotard’s itinerant career and the stories behind the objects he depicts, this catalogue puts Liotard and The Lavergne Family Breakfast in the spotlight. Liotard was a flamboyant artist and unusually well travelled for his time, spending four formative years in Constantinople and working at the courts of Vienna, Paris and London, as well as in commercial centres such as Lyon and Amsterdam, becoming a celebrity wherever he went. This beautifully illustrated publication offers readers a fresh perspective on the eighteenth century and an accessible introduction to a particularly idiosyncratic and gifted artist Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The National Gallery, London (November 16, 2023–March 3, 2024)
£16.99
National Gallery Company Ltd Paula Rego: Crivelli’s Garden
The first book to focus on Dame Paula Rego’s little-known monumental triptych, Crivelli’s Garden, featuring an original short story by novelist Chloe Aridjis, new photography, and an art historical essay Dame Paula Rego RA (1935–2022) was a British-Portuguese artist whose large-scale figurative paintings explored human relationships and the experience of women through compelling, often subversive compositions. Inspired by the predella panel of Carlo Crivelli’s altarpiece La Madonna della Rondine (after 1490), Rego produced Crivelli’s Garden in 1990−91 while she was artist in residence at the National Gallery. This monumental triptych reimagined the site of Crivelli’s panel as a radical space populated by female figures from myth, folklore, and the Bible, alongside animals drawn from Aesop’s fables and other classical texts. Literature was a major influence on Rego’s practice throughout her career: this publication in turn celebrates the far-reaching influence of Rego’s paintings with an original short story by Mexican novelist Chloe Aridjis, inspired by Rego’s triptych. Illustrated with previously unpublished preparatory drawings and newly photographed details of the painting, the book also features an art historical essay on the work. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule: The National Gallery, London; (July 20–October 29, 2023)
£16.99
National Gallery Company Ltd Lucian Freud: New Perspectives
A significant publication of original writing on Lucian Freud, including interviews with leading contemporary artists, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth Lucian Freud (1922–2011) was one of the greatest figurative painters of the twentieth century. With an unflinching eye and an uncompromising commitment to his work, he created masterpieces that continue to inspire contemporary artists to the present day. Spanning nearly 70 years, Freud’s career has often been overshadowed by his biography and celebrity. This book re-examines his paintings through a broad series of original approaches. Texts by a variety of rising and established international writers explore topics ranging from the compositional echoes of old master paintings in Freud’s works, to the contextualization of his practice within the class struggles of 1980s Britain. Throughout the book, leading contemporary painters such as Tracey Emin and Chantal Joffe give insightful testimony to the relevance of Freud today. Marking the 100th anniversary of Freud’s birth, this publication accompanies the first major exhibition of his work in 10 years. Presenting fresh perspectives on his paintings, it introduces Freud to a new generation of scholars and enthusiasts – demonstrating his lasting international importance. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
£25.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure
A fascinating exploration of the role of music in the art of Vermeer and many of his contemporaries Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is one of the world’s most captivating artists. Renowned for his sublimely beautiful depictions of everyday Dutch life, Vermeer created exquisite paintings that are sought out by any art lover. Music was a key facet of 17th-century Dutch life, in both public and private. Of Vermeer’s thirty-six surviving paintings, twelve depict musical themes or a musical instrument. These include the magnificent Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, The Music Lesson, and The Guitar Player, all featured in this book.The book also includes paintings by Vermeer’s contemporaries, such as Gerard ter Borch (1617–1681), Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667), and Jan Steen (c. 1626–1679). Vermeer and Music provides new insight into the cultural significance of these images. A historical overview of musical instruments and entertainment in the Dutch Republic, including the abundant publication of songbooks filled with love songs and poems, some richly illustrated, contextualizes the fascinating relationship between music and the visual arts.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London(06/26/13–09/08/13)
£11.24
Metropolitan Museum of Art Africa and Byzantium
The first exploration of the artistic and cultural intersections of the African continent and the Byzantine world Medieval art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire, but less known are the profound artistic contributions of Nubia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had an indelible impact on the medieval Mediterranean world. Bringing together more than 170 masterworks in a range of media and techniques—from mosaic, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork to luxury objects, panel paintings, and religious manuscripts—Africa and Byzantium recounts Africa’s centrality in transcontinental networks of trade and cultural exchange. With incisive scholarship and new photography of works rarely or never before seen in public, this long-overdue publication sheds new light on the staggering artistic achievements of late antique Africa. It reconsiders the continent’s contributions to the development of the premodern world and offers a more complete history of Africa as a vibrant, multiethnic society of diverse languages and faiths that played a crucial role in the artistic, economic, and cultural life of Byzantium and beyond. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (November 19, 2023–March 3, 2024)The Cleveland Museum of Art (April 14–July 21, 2024)
£50.00
National Gallery Company Ltd The National Gallery in Wartime
On August 23, 1939, with World War II looming, the National Gallery, London, was forced temporarily to close its doors to the public to evacuate the bulk of its collection to secret locations in Wales for safe-keeping. By May 1940, the collection had been transferred to Manod Quarry, a slate mine in the mountains, beneath 200 feet of solid rock. The Gallery, meanwhile, remained “open for business” despite being bombed several times during the Blitz. This enthralling and richly documented book recounts for the first time the story of how the National Gallery functioned during this eventful period. With extensive archival photographs, many of which are published here for the first time, alongside press accounts and Gallery correspondence, it discusses the preparations to move the pictures; the Gallery’s decision to keep the building open for temporary exhibitions and lunchtime concerts fronted by internationally renowned pianist Myra Hess; director Kenneth Clark’s role as chairman of the War Artists Advisory Committee, whose aim was to commission and exhibit pictures recording the war; and the institution of the Picture of the Month, which exhibited in succession 43 of the Gallery’s best-known pictures during the war, and which continues today. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£13.60
National Gallery Company Ltd Bellotto: The Koenigstein Views Reunited
Catalogue exploring the five spectacular views of the Fortress of Königstein in Dresden by Venetian painter Bernardo Bellotto, nephew and pupil of Canaletto Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780) ranks amongst the very greatest view painters of eighteenth-century Europe. Today, he is best known for his views of northern European cities: large-scale works characterised by panoramic compositions, a strongly contrasted use of light and shadow, and meticulous attention to architectural detail. This book provides an overview of Bellotto’s life and career, as well as a record of the historic reuniting of his five spectacular views of the fortress of Königstein, displayed together for the first time in over 250 years, following the National Gallery’s recent acquisition of The Fortress of Königstein from the North in 2017. Commissioned by August III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, these works depicting the fortress from different viewpoints are undoubtedly Bellotto’s finest non‑urban paintings. These remarkable pictures are imbued with a monumentality rarely seen at this time and the series dramatically illustrates the very different direction in which Bellotto took the tradition of European view painting.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London (July 22–October 31, 2021) Manchester Art Gallery (November 20, 2021–February 27, 2022)
£15.15
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Renaissance of Etching
The first comprehensive look at the origins and diffusion across Europe of the etched print during the late 15th and early 16th centuries The etching of images on metal, originally used as a method for decorating armor, was first employed as a printmaking technique at the end of the 15th century. This in-depth study explores the origins of the etched print, its evolution from decorative technique to fine art, and its spread across Europe in the early Renaissance, leading to the professionalization of the field in the Netherlands in the 1550s. Beautifully illustrated, this book features the work of familiar Renaissance artists, including Albrecht Dürer, Jan Gossart, Pieter Breughel the Elder, and Parmigianino, as well as lesser known practitioners, such as Daniel Hopfer and Lucas van Leyden, whose pioneering work paved the way for later printmakers like Rembrandt and Goya. The book also includes a clear and fascinating description of the etching process, as well as an investigation of how the medium allowed artists to create highly detailed prints that were more durable than engravings and more delicate than woodblocks.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (October 23, 2019–January 19, 2020)
£50.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Pesellino: A Renaissance Master Revealed
This catalogue introduces the little-known Renaissance artist Pesellino, exploring his exquisite miniatures, his narrative cassone panels, and grand altarpieces During his brief but varied career, Francesco Pesellino (c. 1422–1457) rose to notable heights, receiving prestigious commissions from the pope and becoming a favourite of Florence’s ruling Medici family. His death at the age of only 35 cut short a rising star of the early Renaissance. Praised as a painter of “cose picole” (small things), Pesellino was a remarkable draughtsman and miniaturist, excelling in fine details and the characterful depiction of animals. His works were not limited to those on a small scale, however: he was also an accomplished painter of grand altarpieces. This catalogue introduces Pesellino’s work to a wider audience and celebrates his extraordinary abilities. Beautifully illustrated essays explore his life and work, and the recent conservation of the Gallery’s painted cassone panels depicting the story of David and Goliath, where the artist’s skill as a storyteller is matched by his technical mastery. The first publication in English dedicated to Pesellino, it provides a comprehensive overview of the artist, as well as new insights into his work. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The National Gallery, London (December 7, 2023–March 10, 2024)
£16.99
Metropolitan Museum of Art Lauren Halsey: The Roof Garden Commission
A primer on contemporary artist Lauren Halsey’s latest site-specific installation, outlining her process, past work, and influences drawn from Afrofuturism, ancient Egyptian iconography, and Los Angeles Lauren Halsey is known for her sculptures, mixed media works, and site-specific installations that remix (or, as Halsey says, “funkify”) history by combining signs, symbols, and architecture from the past, present, and future. In her new installation for The Met’s Roof Garden Commission series, she brings together ancient Egyptian–inspired iconography and sculpture with signage and texts drawn from the artist’s local community in South Central Los Angeles. Accompanied by new photography and unpublished sketches from Halsey’s studio, this compact volume contains an insightful essay by curator Abraham Thomas that examines Halsey’s artistic process and considers this installation in the context of her past work. In a revealing interview with poet Douglas Kearney, the artist discusses her diverse influences—which include ancient Egyptian relief carving, funk music, Afrofuturism, and the architecture of L.A.— and elaborates on the importance of community building and engagement in the spaces she creates. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (April 18–October 22, 2023)
£11.08
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512-1570
Portraits, an inherently personal subject, provide an engaging entry point to an exploration of the politics, patronage, and power in Renaissance Florence The Medici family ruled Florence without interruption between 1434 and 1494, but following their return to power in 1512, Cosimo I de’ Medici demonstrated an unprecedented ability to wield culture as a political tool. His rule transformed Florence into a dynastic duchy and give Florentine art the central position it has held ever since. As Florence underwent these dramatic political transformations in the sixteenth century, portraits became an essential means of recording a likeness and conveying a sitter’s character, social position, and cultural ambitions. This fascinating book explores the ways that painters (including Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, and Francesco Salviati), sculptors (such as Benvenuto Cellini), and artists in other media endowed their works with an erudite and self-consciously stylish character that distinguished Florentine portraiture. Featuring more than ninety remarkable paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and medals, this volume is written by a team of leading international authors and presents a sweeping, penetrating exploration of a crucial and vibrant period in Italian art. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (June 26–October 11, 2021)
£50.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara
A comprehensive exploration, spanning 1,300 years, of the art and culture of the Sahel region of Africa This groundbreaking volume examines the extraordinary artistic and cultural traditions of the African region known as the Sahel (“shore” in Arabic), a vast area on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert that includes present-day Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad. This is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of the diverse cultural achievements and traditions of the region, spanning more than 1,300 years from the pre-Islamic period through the 19th century. It features some of the earliest extant art from Africa as well as such iconic works as sculptures by the Dogon and Bamana peoples of Mali. Essays by leading international scholars discuss the art, architecture, archaeology, literature, philosophy, religion, and history of the Sahel, exploring the unique cultural landscape in which these ancient communities flourished. Richly illustrated and brilliantly argued, Sahel brings to life the enduring creativity of the different peoples who lived, traded, and traveled through this crossroads of the world.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (January 29–May 10, 2020)
£50.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art How to Read Buddhist Art
An indispensable introduction to the evolution of Buddhist imagery from its origins in India through its spread to China, Japan, and South Asia For more than 2,000 years, sublime works of art have been created to embody essential aspects of Buddhist thought, which developed and evolved as its practice spread from India to East Asia and beyond. How to Read Buddhist Art introduces this complex visual tradition to a general audience by examining sixty seminal works. Beginning with the origins of representations of the Buddha in India, and moving on to address the development of Buddhist art as the religion spread across Asia, this book conveys how Buddhist philosophy affected artistic works and practice across cultural boundaries. Reliquaries, sculptures, and paintings produced in China, the Himalayas, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia provide insight into the rich iconography of Buddhism, the technical virtuosity of their makers, and the social and political climate in which they were created. Beautiful photographs of the artworks, maps, and a glossary of the major Buddhist deities offer an engaging and informative setting in which readers—regardless of their familiarity with Buddhism—can better understand the art related to the religion’s practices and representations.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
£19.95
National Gallery Company Ltd Poussin and the Dance
Poussin’s scenes of bacchanalian revelry, tripping maenads and skipping nymphs are often described as ‘dancelike’ and ‘choreographed’. The artist’s dancing pictures helped him develop a new approach to painting that would become the model for the French classical tradition. Shedding the sensuous, painterly manner of his early career, Poussin carved out the crisp, relief-like approach that characterized his mature work and set the precedent for three centuries of French art, from Le Brun and David to Cézanne and Picasso. He carried lessons learned from dance into every corner of his production. This book brings together a key group of paintings and drawings by Poussin, exploring the theme of dance and dancers in his production for the first time. Focusing on the dancing pictures created in Rome in the 1620s and 1630s, essays connect Poussin’s interest in dance, his study of antiquities, and his formulation of a new classical style. Richly illustrated and engagingly written, this publication uses the prism of dance to cast Poussin in a new, fresh light.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:J. Paul Getty Museum June 8 – August 29, 2021National Gallery, London October 9, 2021 – January 2, 2022
£25.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art Irving Penn: Centennial
The definitive book on the work of a virtuosic and revered American photographer “Irving Penn: Centennial . . . presents page after page of startlingly fresh images.”—Luc Sante, New York Times Irving Penn (1917–2009) was among the most esteemed and influential photographers of the twentieth century. Over the course of a nearly seventy-year career, he mastered a pared-down aesthetic of studio photography that is distinguished for its meticulous attention to composition, nuance, and detail. This indispensable book features one of the largest selections of Penn’s photographs ever compiled, including famous and beloved images as well as works that have never been published, spanning the entirety of his groundbreaking career. An enlightening introduction situates his work in the context of the various artistic, social, and political environments and events that affected the content of his photographs. Lively essays acquaint readers with Penn’s primary subjects and campaigns, including early documentary scenes and imagery; portraits; fashion; female nudes; peoples of Peru, Dahomey (Benin), New Guinea, and Morocco; still lifes; and much more. Irving Penn: Centennial is essential for any fan of this artist’s work or the history of twentieth-century photography. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: de Young, Fine Art Museums, San Francisco (March 16–July 21, 2024)
£55.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art Jewelry: The Body Transformed
A cross-cultural examination of jewelry spanning 5,000 years that investigates not only the objects themselves but also the bodies they decorated As an art form, jewelry is defined primarily through its connection to and interaction with the body—extending it, amplifying it, accentuating it, distorting it, concealing it, or transforming it. But how is the meaning of jewelry bound to the body that wears it? Establishing six different modes of ornamenting the body—Deconstructed, Divine, Regal, Idealized, Alluring, and Resplendent—this artfully designed book illustrates how these various definitions of the body give meaning to the jewelry that adorns it. More than 200 examples of exceptional jewelry and ornaments, created across the globe from antiquity to the present, are shown alongside paintings and sculptures of bejeweled bodies to demonstrate the social, political, and aesthetic role of jewelry. From earflares of warrior heroes in Pre-Columbian Peru to designs by Yves Saint-Laurent, these precious and most intimate works of art provide insight not only about the wearer but also into the designers, artisans, and cultures that produced them.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (11/12/18–02/24/19)
£40.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art Juan de Pareja: Afro-Hispanic Painter in the Age of Velazquez
A provocative study of a freedman painter that recognizes the labor of enslaved artists and artisans in seventeenth-century Spain Diego Velázquez’s portrait of Juan de Pareja (ca. 1608–1670) has long been a landmark of European art, but this provocative study focuses on its subject: an enslaved man who went on to build his own successful career as an artist. This catalogue—the first scholarly monograph on Pareja— discusses the painter’s ties to the Madrid School of the 1660s and revises our understanding of artistic production during Spain’s Golden Age, with a focus on enslaved artists and artisans. The authors illuminate the highly skilled labor within Seville’s multiracial society; the role of Black saints and confraternities in the promotion of Catholicism among enslaved populations; and early twentieth-century scholar Arturo Schomburg’s project to recover Pareja’s legacy. The book also includes the first illustrated and annotated list of known works attributed to Pareja. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (April 3–July 16, 2023)
£40.00
Metropolitan Museum of Art Fragonard: Drawing Triumphant
An exquisitely illustrated volume that emphasizes the importance of drawing in Fragonard's creative process One of the most forward-looking artists in 18th-century France, Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) is considered the preeminent draftsman of his time. This fresh assessment of the artist focuses on the role of drawing in his creative process and showcases Fragonard’s mastery and experimentation with drawing in a range of media, from vivid red chalk to luminous brown wash, as well as etching, watercolor, and gouache. Unlike many old master painters, Fragonard explored the potential of drawings as works of art in their own right, ones that permitted him to work with great freedom and allowed his genius to shine. The drawings featured here come from public and private collections in New York, balancing a mix of well-loved masterpieces, new discoveries, and works that have long been out of the public eye.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art (10/06/16–01/08/17)
£45.00
National Gallery Company Ltd National Gallery Technical Bulletin: Volume 41
The latest in this annual bulletin based on research carried out at the National Gallery, London, draws on the combined expertise of scientists, conservators, and curators, bringing together a wealth of information about artists’ materials, practices, and techniques. The cleaning and restoration of The Adoration of the Kings by Botticelli and Filippino Lippi reveals its unusually complex physical and attributional history. The relining of Van Dyck’s equestrian portrait of Charles I is described, an operation that posed certain challenges due to its large size; at the same time the records of conservation of this painting offer a potted history of lining at the National Gallery. The recent cleaning of Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of a Man (“Léal Souvenir”) has shown that it retains an original surface coating that may explain its excellent condition. And finally, Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks offers new discoveries from macro XRF scanning and hyperspectral imaging, which extend our knowledge of the evolution of the painting during its production.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
£40.00
National Gallery Company Ltd Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900
An engaging look at how the middle classes of fin-de-siècleVienna used innovative portraiture to define their identity During the great flourishing of modern art in fin-de-siècleVienna, artists of that city focused on images of individuals. Their portraits depict artists, patrons, families, friends, intellectual allies, and society celebrities from the upwardly mobile middle classes. Viewed as a whole, the images allow us to reconstruct the subjects’ shifting identities as the Austro-Hungarian Empire underwent dramatic political changes, from the 1867 Ausgleich (Compromise) to the end of World War I. This is viewed as a time when the avant-garde overthrew the academy, yet Facing the Modern tells a more complex story of the time through thought-provoking texts by numerous leading art historians. Their writings examine paintings by innovative artists such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele alongside earlier works, blurring the conventionally-held distinctions between 19th-century and early-20th-century art, and revealing surprising continuities in the production and consumption of portraits. This compelling book features works not only by famous names but also by lesser-known female and Jewish artists, giving a more complete picture of the time.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The National Gallery, London(10/09/13–01/12/14)
£35.00