The Strofades: two small, flat, windswept islands rising out of the Ionian Sea, known to the ancient Greeks as the home of the terrible Harpies, and to most modern Greeks simply unknown. On the larger of the two islets, Stamfani, stands a massive fortified monastery, founded as early as the 13th century, for centuries a refuge for honest seafarers and a target for pirates and Turkish raiders. In its heyday, this imposing compound was home to some 40 farmer-monks, who kept the entire island under cultivation; by 1976, it was home to just one, Father Gregory Kladis (1937–2017), who alone tended the monastery until 2014. Today the monastery—badly damaged by an earthquake in 1997—lies empty and in danger of ruin. This book is intended to tell the world about the Holy Monastery at Strofades, and encourage its preservation. At its core are the words of the last monk himself, Father Gregory, who guides the reader through his historic monastery—its chapels, refectory, mills, bakehouse, and living quarters—and the natural beauties of its island setting, as depicted in Robert McCabe’s superb photographs. The testimonies of the boatman who brought Father Gregory his supplies, as well as the lighthouse keeper who was once his only companion on the island, lend texture and context—as do essays on the history, geology, and architecture of the Strofades, and architectural drawings that reconstruct the monastery’s phases of construction. Nobody who peruses this volume—the result of a yearslong collaboration between more than a dozen researchers and friends of the Strofades—will be able to forget the islands’ last monk, or be unmoved by the plight of his monastery.
“…a significant contribution to the study of Chinese photography.” – The Art Newspaper
From political leaders to celebrities, photographic portraits exert considerable influence over our reaction to public figures. As the first academic publication focused on the Taikang photography collection, this book explores both the mechanics of portraiture and its psychological effects.
Taikang Space is one of the most important non-profit art institutions in China. Based in Beijing, they focus on contemporary art and photography. The Chinese Portrait: 1860 to the Present is based on the framework of the eponymous exhibition, which ran at Taikang Space from March 2017. This book introduces the curator and researchers involved with the exhibition, as well as researchers such as Shi Zhimin, Jin Yongquan, Liu Jianping, Liu Zhangbolong, who deliver their own unique angles on the topic of portrait photography. The Chinese Portrait: 1860 to the Present also features the curator’s interviews with Qia Sijie, Chen Shilin and Zhang Zuo – respectively the personal photographer, standard portrait re-toucher and darkroom technician of Chairman Mao.
This catalogue describes what is probably the most encyclopaedic collection of early coloured Worcester porcelain in existence. Henry Marshall assembled the collection between the two World Wars. In the years that followed, he sought to represent as comprehensive a range of patterns as possible, with minimal duplication, so that his collection would become a true reference work in itself. Every piece was acquired for specific purpose, many of them either to further his knowledge or because they were so rare. He was one of a small group of ceramic collectors who sought to document sources and influences, creating comprehensive hypotheses for the objects’ histories.
In this case specifically, Marshall’s records reveal the Far Eastern influence on Worcester porcelain, alongside the many other prototypes used by decorators of these fine ceramics. This catalogue, like the collection itself, seeks to present early Worcester porcelain to collectors and a wider public in a systematic way. It describes, classifies, and reproduces every item in the Marshall Collection. It does not seek to present detailed new research, but to record the state of knowledge about the subject at the time of writing.
In The Power of the Avant-Garde, contemporary artists from different art disciplines enter into dialogue with their colleagues from the historical avant-garde movement. Luc Tuymans talks about ‘Le Grand Cheval’ of Raymond Duchamp-Villon; Marlène Dumas describes her passion for Edvard Munch; John Baldessari discusses the genius Marcel Broodthaers,… This book makes surprising links, shedding new light on the power and influence of art before, during and after World War I. Text in English, French, and Dutch.
The idea of this book is to shed light on the various stages in the construction of the buildings along with their use in the Cinquantenaire in Brussels from 1880 until today.
Besides statues and monuments, the history of the major institutions that are housed here are brought to life in text and image. The story of the World Fairs is linked to the history of Belgium as well as daily life in the park today with the help of the many unpublished documents.
This lavishly illustrated book presents one hundred significant drawings from the 15th- to the 21st-century, including new discoveries and works by both celebrated masters and others who deserve to be better known. Among the artists represented are Annibale and Ludovico Carracci, Guido Reni, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, Antoine Watteau, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Pierre-Paul Prud hon, Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Lovis Corinth, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Mueller, Emil Nolde, Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Grant Wood, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Edward Ruscha. Catalogue entries for each drawing includes complete documentation, provenance, and bibliography. The text provides important new scholarship and attributions; examining a variety of themes, such as connoisseurship, patronage, materials and techniques, watermarks, and collectors’ stamps; and discusses how a work fits into the artist’s oeuvre or represents larger developments in artistic movements or trends in artistic production. Published to accompany an exhibition in Minneapolis, MN July 13, 2014 – September 21, 2014. Contents: A History of Drawings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Tom Rassieur; Topography of a Drawing; Contributors to the Catalogue; To the Reader; Catalogue.
This book of photographs by Swedish photographer Christer Löfgren explores the diverse and multifaceted world in which we live, from north to south. In comparing photographs of various cultures, diversity is more noticeable: the colours, clothes, and food point to the identity of each place. The further north or south of the equator you travel, colours are paler, and the food is milder and less spicy. The more extreme nature is, the more difficult the lifestyle. These vibrant photographs ask us to broaden our vision and grasp the complexity and beauty of the world as a global whole. This deluxe edition consists of three hardcover books in a slipcase.
The best-loved children’s stories become the background for some of the most famous board games. Pull out and fold the markers, find a friend to spend some time with and play ‘The Goose Game’, ‘Chinese checkers’, ‘Ludo’, ‘Snakes and Ladders’, and many other traditional and well-loved board games that will involve children of all ages in the fun. What is even more interesting is that, while playing, the young players will discover the masterpieces of children’s literature, thanks to the large format illustrations inspired by well-known books such as The Wizard of Oz, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and The Little Prince. Ages 5 and up
Jean De La Fontaine’s most beloved classic fables and tales about animals (and humans), enhanced by iconic illustrations, will delight and entertain young readers while teaching valuable lessons. Each board book will cover the most important topics for character development. A precious collection presented in honour of the anniversary of Jean de la Fontaine’s birth, which was 400 years in 2021. Ages: 3 plus
A young, enthusiastic student of marine life takes the readers on a quest to discover the fantasy creatures that live in the sea. The children will read her diary, filled with information, legends and details. Tips are also intended for all sea life lovers to do their part and keep the ocean clean and defend the kingdom of its creatures that today, more than ever, is threatened by dangerous, irresponsible behaviour. Two sections dedicated to the underwater creatures: those who live on the surface and those who live in the abysses. Short, fun, approachable stories that describe each creature and explain how to catch sight of it, how to tame it and what makes it angry. At the end of the story, the readers will find a short test, similar to the one the book’s narrator must take, so that they’ll get their Certificate of Fantastic Creatures Keeper, that children can detach from the book and fill in. Ages: 7 plus
They are often unknown animals, but our Seas and Oceans are full of amazing living beings: discover the biggest and the smallest underwater creatures with these two volumes in one book. Follow the little clownfish along the pages as a reference to understand how big (or small) the sea animals can be! The little book of the tiny sea animals fits perfectly in the padded cover of the big book. The newest title of an incredible best-selling series, with 150,000 copies sold in over 20 countries in less than 2 years. Ages: 7 plus
Big Book: 288 x 380 mm., Small Book: 110 x 110 mm
Established by an act of Congress in 1989, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and the arts of Native Americans. The museum’s collections span more than 10,000 years and – as this lavishly illustrated miniature volume demonstrates – include a multitude of fascinating objects, from ancient clay figurines to contemporary Indian paintings, from all over the Americas.
‘This is me, Hee-haw. I’m going to tell you a story. Not just any old story – a Christmas story. You’re going to see the most beautiful paintings and drawings in the world too. You’ll probably be surprised to see how many pictures I’m in. Hundreds – no, thousands! And that’s because I, Hee-haw, play a very important part in this story. As you will see.’ Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis museum, tells the Christmas story through the eyes of Hee-haw the donkey, drawn by Thé Tjong-Khing. ‘How come? Because I was always there!’
Have you ever seen a wolf in glasses before? Poor old Bernard the Wolf, he really can’t see a thing! Would you engage onto wonderful adventures and help him? These series of search and find games will entertain children for hours of fun, while stimulating their visual and logic skills. Young readers will accompany Bernard the Wolf in these two new, very entertaining adventures to find the hidden animals as well as to resolve their riddles and find the answers to their quizzes. Readers will find the solutions to the games at the end of the book so they can check if they’ve succeeded in sharpening their eyesight and, more importantly, their brains! Ages: 6 plus
Dismissed by contemporaries as the ravings of a deluded enemy of modernity, The Storm Cloud of the Nineteenth Century is an eerily prescient denunciation of capitalism’s assault on the atmosphere – and the profound danger for the earth but also the spiritual well-being of humanity. It is one of Ruskin’s final writings, conducted with both rigorous scientific observation and a sense of Biblical prophecy.
Ruskin’s call to action is even more urgently needed today. His rallying cry, There is no Wealth but Life, is implicit throughout the Storm Cloud. How his thought developed through a conflicted relationship with the professional science of his day, and what we can take from his writings, are examined by Peter Brimblecombe, Professor of Atmospheric Pollution at the University of Essex, in his Introduction. A foreword by the Master of the Guild of St George, Ruskin’s association for social and spiritual reform, sets out what Ruskinians today can do and are doing.
The Vatican Museums is one of the most important museum complexes in the world, housing incredible masterpieces from the Egyptian Age to the late Renaissance.
The Vatican Museums hold a treasure trove of art and history, as well as an inestimable patrimony of our culture and our civilisation. This volume focuses on the paintings to be found in the collection – including The Sistine Chapel.
Text in English and Italian.
In this beautifully illustrated story with a timeless message, a feared and cruel king learns of a wise magician in his kingdom who is rumored to be even more powerful than himself. The magician can predict the future, and even worse, he is more popular than the fearsome king. Jealous and insecure, the enraged king plots to destroy this enemy. But, being a magician, he has a trick up his sleeve that saves his own life and the king’s. With help from an unexpected friend, the king transforms from a feared and brutal monarch to a beloved leader. Enduring messages about the power of wisdom and compassion are conveyed in a classic storytelling style and outstanding, original artwork.
The 1960s and 1970s marked a sharp turning point in the history of decoration and furniture. Until that point, the world was confined to national and elitist forms of expression. At the beginning of the 1960s, the sector took its inspiration from Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Italian and French decoration. Genres were combined in a frenzied desire to live in symbiosis with one’s time. The progress of technology strengthened the conviction that the individual had unlimited freedom and aroused the desire to inhabit in a new manner. Forms became rounder, furniture was in sync with a warm, playful, and anticonformist universe. Colours and decorative motifs took on the brilliance and fantasies of Pop Art and psychedelia. The living environment was transformed into a waking dream in which luxurious furniture in original materials and surprising objects were mixed, associated, for the first time, with early furniture. The end of the 1970s marked the advent of a period in which beauty and classic elegance gave way to a host of expressions that were unclassifiable and rejected any hierarchy. The postmodern period had arrived. Composed of a long introduction that provides a synoptic view and 32 monographs that describe its many faces, this book invites the reader to discover an exceptionally creative period and revels in an abundant iconography.
The Designers: Alessandro Albrizzi, François Arnal and the Atelier A, Gae Aulenti, Billy Baldwin, Michel Boyer, Pierre Cardin, François Catroux, Max Clendinning, Joe Colombo, Gabriella Crespi, Alain Demachy, John Dickinson, Tony Duquette, Paul Evans, Galerie Germain, Galerie Lacloche, Galerie Maison et Jardin, Jacques Grange, Marc Held, David Hicks, Jansen, Yonel Lebovici, Serge Manzon, Renzo Mongiardino, Verner Panton, Pierre Paulin, Maria Pergay, Alberto Pinto, Henri Samuel, Charles Sévigny, John Stefanidis, Michael Taylor, Carla Venosta.
The research in the field of vision conducted from 1919 by the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, founded by Vittorio Benussi at the University of Padua, had a remarkable and innovative impact. This research went beyond the academic and disciplinary sphere and, starting in the 1960s, helped to stimulate a ground-breaking cultural and artistic scene, launching the city of Padua and its artists internationally.
This volume explores the relationship between the works, milieux and exhibitions of the Gruppo N – Alberto Biasi, Ennio L. Chiggio, Toni Costa, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi – active in Padua from 1960 to 1964, and the studies of Vittorio Benussi and the first scholars of his School: Cesare Musatti, Fabio Metelli and Gaetano Kanizsa, who was born in Trieste but graduated in Padua. Marina Apollonio’s art and research occupy a special place in this dialogue between science and art.
Texts by: Rossana Actis-Grosso, Elisa Baldini, Guido Bartorelli, Paolo Bernardis, Marco Bertamini, Giovanni Bianchi, Ivana Bianchi, Andrea Bobbio, Nicola Bruno, Elisa Caldarola, Marnie Campagnaro, Barbara Luciana Cenere, Alberto Cibin, Elena Clara, Osvaldo da Pos, Andrea Dissegna, Carlo Fantoni, Giovanni Galfano, Walter Gerbino, Enrico Giora , Massimo Grassi, Laura Messina-Argenton, Giulia Parovel Tamara Prest, Marta Previti, Lucia Regolin, Sergio Roncato e Baingio Pinna, Federica Stevanin, Giorgio Vallortigara, Ian Verstegen, Giuseppe Virelli, Daniele Zavagno.
Text in Italian with English translations in the appendix.
John Ruskin wrote this fable for a teenage family friend, Effie, and later he married her. The marriage was famously disastrous, but before it fell apart the Ruskins allowed The King of the Golden River to be published. It became one of the most popular works for children of its time. Richard Doyle contributed over 25 full-page illustrations and vignettes.
The King of the Golden River is the first literary fairy tale in English (as opposed to collected folk tales). Ruskin himself said it was ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own’. Later he spoke of the capacity of the traditional tales ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science’.
It remains a powerful fable about humanity’s dual capacity for destructiveness and redeeming love, with as strange fairy-tale creatures as one could hope to meet.
An essay by Simon Cooke explains the book’s importance.
“The subtle forms and modelled curves and planes in a skeleton were to George Stubbs what a symphony is to a musician.” — Oxford Companion to Art
“The most unique thing of its kind ever compiled. This heroic effort, an epic of the eighteenth century, is as great and unselfish a work as anything could be.” — Sir Alfred Munnings
George Stubbs was one of the most original artists Britain has produced, and it is easy to forget how much his success was based on rigorous scientific observation. In 1756 he rented a farmhouse where he erected scaffolding to hold the cadavers of horses as he dissected and drew. After 18 months, Stubbs produced the drawings for The Anatomy of the Horse, which he later etched. The result was sensational. Scientists from all over Europe sent their congratulations, amazed at the perfection of the work. The Anatomy remained a textbook for artists and scientists for over a century, and its strange, spare beauty continues to fascinate.
This edition is taken from the 1853 printing, the last to use Stubbs’ original plates. The full Stubbs’ commentary is included for the veterinarially minded. Extensive texts by Constance Anne Parker and Oliver Kase place Stubbs’ work in the context of his life and times, and of 18th-century medical science.
Chablis has a distinct identity amongst the wines of Burgundy. The gently sloping vineyards of this small, scenic region produce a remarkably diverse range of wines, even though all are made from just one variety – Chardonnay.
As in other parts of France, it was the Romans who introduced vines and the medieval Church which expanded the vineyard. By the twelfth century the wines of Chablis, were already being celebrated in poetry. However, over the centuries a considerable amount of everyday wine also found its way via the river Yonne to the cafés of Paris. In its heyday of production towards the end of the nineteenth century the region encompassed 40,000 hectares of vines. But that was before phylloxera and oidium ravaged the vineyards and the railways brought competition from further south to the capital’s wine drinkers.
From a low point of 500 hectares just after the Second World War, the vineyard has now expanded more than tenfold, and quality has increased too. Wines in the appellation’s four categories – grand cru, premier cru, Chablis and Petit Chablis – are created by vignerons keen to work with the terroir to produce the elegant, mineral, long-lived wines for which the region earned its reputation. To this end, ever greater care is being taken in the vineyards and the routine use of chemicals is becoming increasingly uncommon.
The region’s history, unique soil, geography and climate are all covered in detail, but it is Rosemary George’s lively and insightful profiles of those who make the region’s wines that form the body of The wines of Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois. Through the lives of these vignerons – from the lows of disastrous weather to their love of the land – she paints a unique picture of a much-admired region.
Jean De La Fontaine’s most beloved classic fables and tales about animals (and humans), enhanced by iconic illustrations, will delight and entertain young readers while teaching valuable lessons. Each board book will cover the most important topics for character development. A precious collection presented in honour of the anniversary of Jean de la Fontaine’s birth, which was 400 years in 2021. Ages: 3 plus
Jean De La Fontaine’s most beloved classic fables and tales about animals (and humans), enhanced by iconic illustrations, will delight and entertain young readers while teaching valuable lessons. Each board book will cover the most important topics for character development. A precious collection presented in honour of the anniversary of Jean de la Fontaine’s birth, which was 400 years in 2021. Ages: 3 plus