The monumental complex of St Agnes is located on the Via Nomentana in the north-east of Rome. The site consists of an underground cemetery (catacombs), the remains of the ancient circiform sepulchral basilica, commissioned by the imperial family of emperor Constantine, the mausoleum dedicated to St Constance and the basilica of St Agnes Outside the Walls, built by Pope Honorius I (625-638) on the small room with an altar, venerated as the burial place of the martyr Agnes.
The mausoleum dedicated to St Constance, which houses the remains of the imperial princess Constantine, is a splendid example of late antique architecture. The deambulatory is covered by a sumptuous mosaic decoration with Hellenised geometric motifs and cosmic-seasonal phytomorphic and zoomorphic elements, symbolic scenes such as the harvest and portraits of historical figures.
The basilica of St Agnes, until the beginning of the 17th century, was below ground and to reach the ground floor a staircase was used. The basilica still retains many elements unchanged from the time of Pope Honorius: the splendid reused roman columns, the famous mosaic showing Agnes between Honorius I and Pope Symmachus, and the Proconnesian marble and porphyry facing of the apse… Above the high altar is the statue of St. Agnes, made by Nicolas Cordier from gilded metal, using an ancient oriental alabaster for the bust.
1000 piece puzzle featuring the artwork of Sarah Cain.
Sarah Cain brings rooms to life with experiments in color, composition, and non-conformity. Cain modifies canvases by cutting, sewing, and attaching found objects. She also paints floors, walls, and furniture on-site, grounding each space she occupies in the present tense. Her process of creation and destruction is steeped in the history of painting and feminist art practices. and this feeling (2023), incorporates sand and prisms to add a touch of found-object energy to planes of pure color and are typical of Cain’s boundless approach to art.
A 1,000-piece puzzle featuring the artwork of Simone Johnson.
Bodega cats are as essential to New York City as the subway! The skyscrapers! The yellow cabs! Bodega cats are cute, sure, but really, they’re around to keep mice out of bodegas, which are mainstays of NYC culture. Simone Johnson is their eager and gifted portraitist, capturing them at work—which is to say, napping on crates of fruits, stacks of canned beans, and amidst twelve packs of beer, one eye always open for intruders.
Joan Mitchell, an extraordinary figure in 20th-century art, remains one of the most celebrated painters of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Born in 1925, in Chicago, Illinois, she grew to redefine abstraction, blending emotional intensity with lyrical beauty. Her work, characterized by dynamic brushstrokes, vivid colors, and profound emotional depth, established her as a towering presence in a predominantly male art world.
Joan Mitchell had at least nine dogs during her lifetime, and Georges du Soleil, a brown poodle, was her first beloved canine companion. Known for her deep affection for animals, Mitchell treasured Georges as a constant presence during her New York years. Like the other dogs that would follow, Georges was more than just a companion; he was also part of the vibrant, dynamic environment that nourished her creativity and her ability to channel emotion into her art.
“Dogs are objects of love (I suppose people could be? Sometimes)” wrote Joan Mitchell.
From her first dog, the adored Georges du Soleil, to Skye Terriers Idée, Isabelle, and Ibertelle (“Bertie”), Brittany Spaniel Patou, German Shepherds Iva, Marion, and Madeleine, and not forgetting Prunelle and Belle-Bête; all of them cherished companions in her life and work, all of them celebrated here. Joan Mitchell and her dogs: a love story.
The male body plays a glorious leading role in the work of Michelangelo. Known for his strong and muscular nudes, his precise anatomical drawings and beautiful androgynous figures, it is well known that Michelangelo also expressed interest in the male body on a more personal level.
This book is the first to carefully explore the male body in the work and life of Michelangelo. Renowned art historians address the topic from different angles: from the influence of anatomical studies and Classical Antiquity on his work, his adoration of the body of Christ, his adherence to Neoplatonic ideas of perfection and beauty, to his personal preference for the young male body and the exceptional artworks this resulted in.
Mixing Roman and medieval roots, Chichester sits at the heart of a storied landscape where South Down hills dotted with idyllic hamlets ripple back from a shoreline mixing wild dune-backed beaches with old-school seaside resorts. Reminders of smuggling and war add spice.
But a thrilling thread of modernity runs through this slice of West Sussex too. Chichester’s modernist Festival Theatre provided the foundation for London’s National Theatre, while masterpieces of contemporary architecture that draw admirers from around the world include Sea Lane House in East Preston and The White Tower in Bognor Regis.
Evocative ancient memorials abound. Chichester is blessed with the only English cathedral visible from the sea, while England’s largest castle rises above the ravishing – and cosmopolitan – riverside town of Arundel. Ancient yew trees mark the burial spots of Viking warriors in an idyllic Downland spot. And it’s a land vibrant with creative imprints: poets, painters, composers, from Blake and Keats to Joyce and Chagall.
This guidebook takes you exploring through Chichester and its surroundings to find incomparable natural beauty, hidden secrets, astonishing history, art of all kinds, and much more.
1000 piece puzzle featuring the artwork of acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist Pedro Pedro.
Pedro Pedro paints vividly colored still lifes that look as if each object could suddenly spring from the canvas. His subjects -often bountiful clusters of fruit -are exaggerated in their tone, scale, and perspective, recalling the exuberant fantasies of Peter Saul and the bulbous forms of Fernando Botero. Pedro began working in this bright style after moving from New York City to Los Angeles in 2015, influenced by the more relaxed environment. Pedro has exhibited widely, including solo shows at The Hole, where his 2023 exhibition Table, Fruits, Flowers and Cakes explored themes of consumption and restraint. His work has also been featured in group shows including with Anat Ebgi and Nicodim galleries.
Another Chance Encounter celebrates Lubaina Himid’s first UK museum exhibition since 2018. Beautifully designed in collaboration with the artist, this fully illustrated book documents three new bodies of paintings and installations created for the exhibition at Kettle’s Yard, one made in collaboration with artist and master printmaker Magda Stawarska. Inspired by the unique Kettle’s Yard house and collection, Himid’s new work illuminates figures and histories often considered marginal. Himid will populate the Kettle’s Yard house with paintings in cupboards and drawers, and display a new collection of found and made objects and in the galleries. The publication follows Himid as she brilliantly crafts alternative histories with her distinctive bold colors and characters. The book will include new texts by Amy Tobin, Amelia Groom and Aneta Krzemien in conversation with Magda Stawarska, as well as Himid’s own writing.
Explosive technological development and several global crises have left their mark on society in recent decades. What impact do such upheavals have on architects and the way they work?
With contributions from Sam Jakob, Helen Runting, Max Creasy, Joakim Skajaa and Kellenberger White.
Text in English and Norwegian.
Joan Mitchell, an extraordinary figure in 20th-century art, remains one of the most celebrated painters of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Born in 1925, in Chicago, Illinois, she grew to redefine abstraction, blending emotional intensity with lyrical beauty. Her work, characterized by dynamic brushstrokes, vivid colors, and profound emotional depth, established her as a towering presence in a predominantly male art world.
Joan Mitchell had at least nine dogs during her lifetime, and Georges du Soleil, a brown poodle, was her first beloved canine companion. Known for her deep affection for animals, Mitchell treasured Georges as a constant presence during her New York years. Like the other dogs that would follow, Georges was more than just a companion; he was also part of the vibrant, dynamic environment that nourished her creativity and her ability to channel emotion into her art.
“Dogs are objects of love (I suppose people could be? Sometimes)” wrote Joan Mitchell.
From her first dog, the adored Georges du Soleil, to Skye Terriers Idée, Isabelle, and Ibertelle (“Bertie”), Brittany Spaniel Patou, German Shepherds Iva, Marion, and Madeleine, and not forgetting Prunelle and Belle-Bête; all of them cherished companions in her life and work, all of them celebrated here. Joan Mitchell and her dogs: a love story.
Text in French.
“I very much enjoyed reading the many philosophical reflections acquired during a lifetime. In fact, these reflections gave me much to think about.” – Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries | professor INSEAD
“In times of change and great uncertainty, this book by Luc offers a valuable source of ideas and insights; an inspiring and thoughtful work that is certainly worth reading.” – Duco Sickinghe | Executive Chairman Fortino Capital
“I read this book with great care and interest, and from time to time was genuinely moved by the intense experience of entrepreneurship as a deeply human activity.” – Manu Keirse | emeritus professor of medicine KU Leuven
In Life and Entrepreneurship Luc Geuten examines some of life’s fundamental questions that fascinate many of us: What makes a life meaningful? Does free will truly exist, or are we merely puppets of fate? Are humans inherently good, or does darkness reside within each of us? Is life really a vale of tears, or is happiness hidden somewhere in the folds of our journey?
To explore and reflect on these profound questions, Luc Geuten has outlined a simple concept he calls GLEE ME FEE WE. Using these four core ideas, he invites his readers to join him in contemplating the complexity of human existence.
By embracing the life attitude he calls healthy cynicism, he emphasizes that it is a true blessing to be alive, even amid doubts and unanswered question, thus revealing the precious value of our existence.
The first biography of Ralph Dutton, collector, connoisseur, writer, philanthropist, who created one of the National Trust’s most popular houses and gardens, Hinton Ampner.
“Ralph Dutton grows on you as John Holden engagingly unpeels the layers of this complicated traveller, connoisseur, philanthropist and friend.” – Dame Rosalind Savill, former Director of the Wallace Collection
“Ralph Dutton is someone most of us have never heard of, yet he created a place of exceptional grace and beauty in Hinton Ampner. John Holden unravels the mystery of the man for us, and gives us a compelling account of why and how it all happened. It’s an enchanting read.” – Lord Smith of Finsbury, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge and Chairman of The Art Fund
“This is a real discovery. The story of a modest gentleman who nonetheless played an important role in 20th-century English culture. He put his life into his house, and his house into his life. Both are an engaging case study in heritage history.” – Professor Robert Hewison, Cultural Historian
The Ashmolean Museum catalog Italian Maiolica and Europe (2017) included a range of works from Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, and Mexico, as well as Italy, to illustrate the rich history of European tin-glazed pottery. Since then, the Ashmolean has expanded its holdings of tin-glazed and related earthenwares to consolidate its position as one of the world’s most important and wide-ranging collections. Among the acquisitions described here is the only known piece of Italian maiolica made for a Tudor Englishman, a plate made for Humphrey Dethick, who caused a nationwide stir in 1602 by an apparent attempt to assassinate King James VI of Scotland. The bequest from Sidney Knafel of New York has transformed the Museum’s holdings of French faience; while important 16th-century maiolica comes from the collection of the late Airlie Holden-Hindley. Among the lustrewares included are fin-de-siècle pieces by Clément Massier and work by some of the world’s supreme contemporary masters of the technique.
Discover Hastings and Rye, the heart of 1066 Country, where history, charm, and the sea collide. Hastings, an ancient fishing mecca still home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fleet, has long carved its own path along the Channel coast – from the castle-capped Old Town to the vibrant, artistic streets of St Leonards. Walk where William the Conqueror landed, and explore the nearby town of Battle, where England’s most famous clash reshaped a nation.
Beyond Hastings, this region brims with contrasting delights: the medieval jewel of Rye, one of England’s loveliest towns, quirky Dungeness with its shingle expanse, Bexhill’s understated charm, and timeless back-country villages.
From sunken forests older than the Pyramids to Roman relics, forgotten castles, wartime memories, eccentric locals, and modern creatives, the stories here span millennia. Rich, evocative, and endlessly surprising, this guide invites you to explore the landscapes, history, and culture that make Hastings and Rye utterly unforgettable. Dive in and experience it all.
City Bridge Foundation is the oldest charity in London still operating under its original purpose. Established over 700 years ago to maintain London Bridge, it now cares for five of the Thames’s great crossings while distributing surplus income to charities across the capital. Worth £1.5 billion, it remains managed by the City of London Corporation. This lively and original book traces the development of the Foundation from its religious origins as the ‘Bridge House,’ through political intrigue, civic evolution and remarkable acts of giving. Written by legal historian Ian Doolittle, it introduces a little-known but extraordinary organization whose assets were built from the donations of ordinary Londoners. The Foundation’s story spans medieval craftsmanship, royal interference, and the complexities of modern governance, all while helping shape the physical and civic landscape of London. It is a story of bridges, certainly, but also of money, power, and purpose.
Vuillard’s greatest achievement as a printmaker, and some of the most characteristic images of his career are illustrated within this portfolio, with their intimate focus and rich but exquisitely judged use of color. Vuillard’s fascination with pattern and texture, and his almost tactile, painterly style are given free rein in the 13 etchings of this collection. They range from genteel, claustrophobic interiors to rapturous country views and colorful street scenes. This is one of the three hugely original portfolios of etchings brought out in 1899 by the great dealer Ambroise Vollard, and printed by the master craftsman Auguste Clot. The other two are by Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis, and all three are being published simultaneously by Pallas Athene.
In a follow-up to Design for Kids (Images Publishing, 2007), in Architecture Is Fun Sharon Exley and Peter Exley demonstrate their ethos that architecture is one of the gateways to a more empathetic and equitable future. They believe making accessible places of learning, living, working, and playing are indispensable for human growth and development. This beautifully presented second monograph illustrates a nexus of architecture, education, community, and experience from the practice of Architecture Is Fun.
Media architecture has evolved from illuminating iconic building façades at night to characterizing all life in cities. This compendium draws on academic research and global studies to present an evolutionary account of concepts that have defined the field and inspired practice, alongside methods for bringing media architecture thinking into projects. Thirty media architecture installations that were nominated for the Media Architecture Awards in 2018 and 2020 illustrate the breadth and trends in the field, including a shift towards more-than-human futures. Through its three parts, capturing concepts, methods and practice, the compendium offers an accessible guide to media architecture for designers, architects, artists, scholars, educators and learners. Several of the authors are board members of the Media Architecture Institute, a non-profit organization with offices in Vienna, Sydney, Beijing and Toronto.
László Hudec (László Edvard Hudec, or Ladislaus Edward Hudec) can only be described as a legend. As one of the foreign architects who fled his native country of Austria-Hungary during troubled times, he ended up making his mark on more than 50 projects, including over 100 buildings during his 29-year (1918 to 1947) stay in a city far away from home.
Among them, 25 projects have been listed as Shanghai’s Most Historical Buildings. His signature work, the Park Hotel, is counted as national heritage. How did Hudec come to enjoy his legendary status in a foreign land, especially as he arrived with almost nothing in his pocket? Why does he continue to attract new followers even in the 21st century?
For the last 14 years, Dr. Hua Xiahong has devoted herself to the study of Hudec and his architecture. The Shanghai Hudec Architecture has shown the essence of Hudec’s projects, which is also one part of the essence of Shanghai’s architecture. To know Hudec, is to know the history of Shanghai and the city’s future.
Like an encyclopaedia of architecture, his style has gone through Neo-classicism, Expressionism, Art Deco and Modernism, which not only reflects European and American influences, but also the architect’s personal creativity. Hudec has left behind a lot of work that is remarkable in Shanghai’s architectural history.
Text in English and Chinese.
Architecture China is a journal focusing on the leading architectural design projects with regional characteristics in contemporary China. This issue focuses on how the architectural tradition is maintained as well as redefined in the contemporary context. Two essays by Li Xiangning, Song Wei & Tian Weijia provide different viewpoints on the topic, and expose critical thinking on how to make a new tradition.
Architecture China is a journal focusing on the leading architectural design projects with regional characteristic in contemporary China. This 2023 Winter issue of Architecture China, focusing on how a new culture could be constructed through the action of building, showcases 12 newly completed museums or galleries, all of which express certain characters in contemporary Chinese culture. Four essays by Li Xiangning, Stanislaus Fung, Aric Chen, and Jiang Jiawei respectively provide different viewpoints on the topic, and expose critical thinking on cultural events that relate to contemporary China.
“The difference between inspirational stories to the ones lacking inspiration often depends on the order the storyteller chooses to place his creation. In this sense, not only does this book represent a series of architect Eli Armon’s architectural achievements, but also provides a statement on his work in retrospect by attempting a story narrative that looks at the tale of creation. Thus, a new creation is formed, designed by choosing the picture angle, by editing the order of the pictures, and by writing words that interlace into a melody of structure and creation. Armon’s lyrical and philosophical points of view add another dimension to his architectural works that have created a texture of inspiration spots and have already turned into Places throughout our country.” – Abridged text, from the Introduction.
This unique monograph delves into intriguing and beguiling architectural works by Eliezer Armon. Inspired by images from Israel and its landscape, worldwide cultures, and the martial arts, Armon’s multidisciplinary and unconventional professional approach to architecture sees in the architectural planning the materialization of views, existential concepts, circles of life and faith, as one united and multifaceted work. His work is that of a curious researcher. It sprouts from biblical sources, the Hebrew letters, Jewish tradition and Kabbalah.
List of projects: Holon Wolfson Railway Station, Tel Aviv; Lehavim-Rahat Railway Station; Beer-Sheva Central Railway Station; Department of Public Works, Beer-Sheva; Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development; Abraham’s Well Visitors’ Center, Beer-Sheva; Yad Sara, Beer-Sheva; Officers School Synagogue, Mitzpe Ramon; Yod Alef Community Center, Beer-Sheva; Ramot Sportive Community Center, Beer-Sheva; Kindergarten and Center for the Care of the Elderly, Meitar; El-Zahara School, Lod; Omer Comprehensive School; The Sports Hall, Omer; Culture Hall, Omer.
This publication is the second edition of this contemporary guide to the architecture of Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city and one of its most fascinating destinations.
The guide’s introduction featuring three critical treatises outlines the historic and urbanistic profile of the city. The selection of 74 projects, organised in 5 itineraries, provides a full-immersion in architecture, allowing the reader to dwell on the functional, typological and compositive aspects of the buildings, which are rendered even more legible by images and technical drawings that supplement the descriptions. This volume also contains useful information and advice, making it easier and quicker for readers to get around the city and truly capture the essence of the place even in a short visit.
This is more than simply an architecture guide: it is also and above all an invitation to travel.