Part of the Library on Display series devoted to exhibitions held at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, this book is divided into two sections: the Papyrus Collection and the Manuscript collection. Between two intentionally striking extremes – a potsherd on which a pupil from the 2nd century BC wrote the ancient verses of one of Sappho’s odes and a 19th century Japanese erotic-grotesque scroll – the entries illustrate the relationship between book form and function, describing manuscripts of different formats and periods, from wax tablets and literary and documentary papyrus rolls to medieval and Renaissance parchment (and subsequently paper) codices from production centres ranging from the imperial scriptorium in Constantinople to high-quality workshops in Italy (particularly 15th century Florence), Europe and Asia, including examples of pocket and giant Bibles. The introductory essay by Guglielmo Cavallo offers a brief overview of the history of the book, a field in which his expertise is virtually unparalleled.
To rid the world of the evil, ten-headed Ravana, the Hindu god Vishnu appears on earth as a heroic prince, Rama. The devotion of his brother Lakshman, his marriage to the beautiful Sita, and encounters with demons, giants, sages, and holy men form favorite episodes familiar to any Hindu child. Taken from the holy text, the Ramayana, these stories conclude with Rama’s efforts to rescue the kidnapped Sita, aided by Hanuman, leader of an army of monkeys. These incidents have been retold and lavishly illustrated using original paintings from a 16th-century Mughal manuscript.
Benjamin West’s The Death of a Stag, a tour de force of pictorial theater and his own unique Scottish masterpiece, has been the focus of high drama for over two centuries. Painted for the Clan Mackenzie in 1786, the gigantic canvas, measuring twelve by seventeen feet, is still the largest in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. The painting almost moved to America, but after a successful campaign, it was purchased in 1987. In 2004, the work was conserved in situ in the National Gallery of Scotland and this book tells the story of the picture, both in terms of its history and the conservation process.
This book highlights 55 outstanding masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, which were founded in 1850. The works range in date from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and include many of the most famous names in the history of Western art. Artists represented include Botticelli, El Greco, Velàzquez, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Watteau, Monet, Degas, Sargent, Picasso and Braque. In addition, the major figures of the national school, Ramsay, Raeburn and Wilkie, lend a distinctly Scottish flavor to this exceptional selection. All of the paintings are fully illustrated and described in this catalogue authored by the curatorial staff of the Galleries. Michael Clarke, director of the Scottish National Gallery, gives a unique insight into the history of the National Galleries of Scotland as he discusses the development of the Scottish national collection over the last 150 years.
With vivid memories of his first visit to the Scottish National Gallery in the 1970s and his initial encounter with Hugo van der Goes’ The Trinity Altarpiece, Rembrandt’s A Woman in Bed, Velázquez’s An Old Woman Cooking Eggs and Degas’ Diego Martelli, Robert Storr discusses the shifting balance of museum collections from historically ‘certified’ classics to art whose status and significance remains in active contention and from singular ‘treasures’ to ensembles that speak to the larger scope of an artist’s endeavor. Also available: Unfinished Paintings: Narratives of the Non-Finito Watson Gordon Lecture 2014 ISBN 9781906270919 ‘The Hardest Kind of Archetype’: Reflections on Roy Lichtenstein The Watson Gordon Lecture 2010 ISBN 9781906270384 Picasso’s ‘Toys for Adults’ Cubism as Surrealism: The Watson Gordon Lecture 2008 ISBN 9781906270261 Sound, Silence, and Modernity in Dutch Pictures of Manners The Watson Gordon Lecture 2007 ISBN 9781906270254 Roger Fry’s Journey From the Primitives to the Post-Impressionists: Watson Gordon Lecture 2006 ISBN 9781906270117
Caravaggio’s astonishingly naturalistic and provocative Cupid Victorious hung in the palace of a famous family at the heart of seventeenth-century Rome. Helen Langdon explores how the artist, famed for his originality, created a balance between a suggestion of his own world – a world of lively and rowdy street life – and a complex and ambiguous response to both ancient and Renaissance art and literature. Langdon also looks at the challenge the painting threw out to contemporary painters, whose world was characterized by extreme and bitter rivalries; often they reject his irony, sometimes embellish the painting’s sexuality, and at other times convey an opposing sense of the harmony of the arts.
The Selous was my very first Africa experience, and it remains my favorite. Robert J. Ross’s extraordinary photographs take us into a natural world unlike any other on earth. A world of elephants. Of wild dogs. Of nature as it should be, can be, might be – if we keep these breathtaking images firmly in mind. A triumph! Bryan Christy, Director, Special Investigations Unit, National Geographic
The Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania is Africa’s oldest and largest protected area. Proclaimed in 1896, and bigger than Switzerland, the Selous is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Selous remains one of Africa’s largest and greatest undisturbed ecosystems, teeming with life including one of the two largest elephant populations remaining on the African continent, probably half of all of the wild dogs in Africa, vast herds of buffalo as well as more lions than any other protected area on the continent as reported by National Geographic in August 2013. The game reserve is becoming more important by the day as the pressure on elephants and other species grows – problems that are addressed here in this book. New-York born photographer Rob Ross has spent much of the past four years photographing in this vast and difficult to access reserve. He has compiled more than 100,000 images showing all aspects of the reserves varied landscapes, seasons, flora and large and small fauna. The spectacular large-format photography book features a selection of the very best images including landscapes, wildlife portraits and behavior, night photography, impressionist style work and breath-taking aerials.
From medieval manuscript to Japanese prints, from Steinlen’s splendid drawings to 17th century prints, the author introduces the reader to the hundreds of books and manuscripts (belonging to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris) in which the lovely feline is represented. The cat has been the main character of many tales, but also the inhabitant of the most diverse books: from natural histories to household manuals, from medieval prayer books to famous writers’ manuscripts. A wonderful selection for all who love cats and books!
Contents: Preface by Pierre Rosenberg Chapter I, A History of the Cat Chapter II, Tales of Cats Chapter III, What a Lovely Cat! Chapter IV, Cats and the Feminine Chapter V, The Cat as a Muse
Rabbit Cloud and the Rainmakers is an endearing folktale brought to life in the 21st century. An engaging quest on one level, it introduces themes of social responsibility and environmental issues.
Life in the royal courts of India revolved around entertaining. The palace kitchens were allotted massive budgets to ensure the highest quality of cuisine. Each state had its unique style of entertaining and food traditions – carrying forward these culinary practices are the modern day Indian royals. While the scale of the banquets may have shrunk the passion for food and the age-old family recipes remain. Dining with the Maharajas: Thousand Years of Culinary Tradition brings the invaluable legacy of Indian royals as ten families open up their palaces and homes to allow you a glimpse into their charmed lives that straddle tradition and modernity.
Carleton Varney turns his decorating vision towards the water in his most recent tome, Decorating on the Waterfront.
Here, he gathers stunning images of new design projects in this collection of inspirational stories that use motifs and colors from years by the shore. Growing up on the Massachusetts coast influenced his penchant for bright cheerful color schemes and warm polished interiors that exude luxury living today. Varney continues to live near the ocean and decorates for clients on the waterfront from Palm Beach, Florida to the shores of Lake Huron, Michigan. This book brings into focus Varney’s career long journey to bring elements and inspirations from the world around us to life at home.
Has there ever been an American decorator as famous as Dorothy Draper? Like Martha Stewart, Draper was a preacher and teacher whose how-to books and Good Housekeeping columns provided middle-class housewives with affordable ideas for making their homes more functional and comfortable. Thanks to her originality as a stylist and her daring as a businesswoman, she became one of the most respected career women in the United States. She shocked the design world in 1937 when she decorated the thirty-seven-story Hampshire House apartment hotel on Central Park South in New York City, delivering a project that became indicative of her signature touch – ‘baroque fantasy’. In the Pink: Dorothy Draper, America’s Most Fabulous Decorator, by Carleton Varney, lavishly illustrates Draper’s most important projects.
Despite some field research our knowledge of the sacred among the Mumuye is still embryonic. In all these acephalic groups of a binary and antinomic nature, the complex va constitutes an extremely varied semantic field in which certain aspects are accentuated depending on the circumstances. Religious power is linked to the strength contained in sacred objects, of which only the elders are the guardians. Moreover, this gerontocracy relies on a system of initiatory stages which one must pass to have access to the status of ‘religious leader’. Geographically isolated, the Mumuye were able to resist the attacks of the Muslim invaders, the British colonial authority and the activities of the different Christian missions for a long time. As a result the Mumuye practised woodcarving until the beginning of our century. In 1970 Philip Fry published his essay on the statuary of the Mumuye of which the analysis of the endogenous network has so far lost nothing of its value. Basing himself on in situ observations, Jan Strybol attempted to analyze the exogenous network of this woodcarving. Thus he was able to document about forty figures and some masks and additionally to identify more than twenty-five Mumuye artists as well as a specific type of sculpture as being confined to the Mumuye Kpugbong group. During and after the Biafran war, hundreds of Mumuye sculptures were collected. Based on information gathered between 1970 and 1993 the author has demonstrated that a certain number of these works are not Mumuye but must be attributed to relic groups scattered in Mumuye territory.
All-round artist Kamagurka started his career as a cartoonist for the Belgian magazine HUMO. Soon after, his multi-talented, discernable style, razor-sharp pen and absurdist humour attracted the attention of other media, resulting in worldwide exposure in newspapers and magazines including NRC Handelsblad, Playboy, Esquire| (the Netherlands); Charlie Hebdo, Hara Kiri (France); Squibb, The Spectator, Deadpan (UK); Titanic, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Zitty, Eulenspiegel (Germany); Die Presse (Austria); The New Yorker, National Lampoon, RAW (USA) and many more. Kamagurka wrote and acted in several radio, television and theatre shows, often performing alongside Herr Seele, his lifelong partner in crime. Next to that Kamagurka released more than 25 comic books, from Bert and Bobje to Cowboy Henk. The Holy Kama is a best of, compiling over 1000 cartoons from this master of absurdity. The Holy Kama is an unholy bible, an indispensable on every Kama devotee’s bedside table.
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp is a highly respected institute with a large collection of paintings, statues and drawings. The mainly Flemish and Belgian collection of the museum is internationally renowned. Visitors can admire the works of Jean Fouquet, Antonello da Messina, Jan Van Eyck, Quinten Massijs, the altarpieces of Rubens and his contemporaries. The museum possesses not only the largest collection of paintings and drawings of Ensor, but also has a rich collection of modern works. This book, which is illustrated with many unpublished documents and photographs, tells the fascinating story of the Antwerp museum. Several authors describe the search for the ideal building, the expansion of the collection and the important role of engaged art lovers, the restorers’ devotion in the nineteenth century, the work of the researchers and the library, the discovery of the general public and the concept of ‘community-mindedness’.
Designed by some the world’s leading architects, the homes featured in this visually spectacular title are works of art, as beautiful as they are innovative and practical. Built in some of the most inspiring and challenging locations in the world, these houses boast an astonishing variety of styles reflecting architecture of the past, present and future. A companion title to the best selling 100 of the World’s Best Houses, this book is sure to impress the general public and design devotees alike. Both the book and the houses featured therein stand as testimony to the ingenuity and passion of architects and owners, and the desire within us all – to have a place that we can call ‘home’. Praise for 100 of the World’s Best Houses: ‘A title to send architects and interior designers into a state of high excitement.’ The Telegraph
‘You’ll feel simultaneously compelled to linger on each image, soaking up the splendour’ Su Casa
Also Available:
100 of the World’s Best Houses ISBN 9781876907426 100 of the World’s Best Houses (Compact Edition) ISBN 9781864704358
The year was 1978, and Quinnipiac College was forming a new campus in Hamden, Connecticut. Chance would bring the author and the place together, and for the next forty years Jefferson B. Riley, FAIA, one of the founding partners of Centerbrook Architects and Planners, would be Quinnipiac’s architect designing over a hundred renovations, additions, and new buildings on three separate campuses that now comprise Quinnipiac University. The University thus became Riley’s devotion, vigorously so after the arrival of Dr. John L. Lahey in 1987 who, as its eighth president, personally put Quinnipiac University on its path to national prominence. Riley’s work has not only helped to give Quinnipiac roots but also wings. Here, then, is a comprehensive architectural account of Quinnipiac from 1978 to 2018.
In the twelve years since Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders was formed, the firm has created a significant body of wooden buildings that are rooted in the seaside vernacular of the fabled region of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. As a design/build firm led by architects, Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders is able to reach a level of aesthetic control not normally associated with light construction today. Each project is approached as an individual work of art and craft specifically associated with its site and client. The eclectic, evolutionary use of architectural history infuses the firm’s designs with fresh interpretations of architectural tradition, subtle playfulness, and wit. The compositional and planning strategies ground the work in the vernacular tradition that evolved into the shingle style, the ‘architecture of the American summer’ to use the words of historian Vincent Scully. The experience of the firm’s principal designers, John and Sharon DaSilva, includes several years at Venturi Rauch and Scott Brown and Cesar Pelli and Associates. The book features over twenty houses and a handful of small institutional buildings in photographs by some of the world’s best architectural photographers and drawings by the firm. Includes essay by noted architecture writer Michael J. Crosbie. Also Available: Ken Tate Architect, Vol. 1: New Classicists, 1864701013, $95.00 Ken Tate Architect, Vol. 2: New Classicists, 1920744436, $90.00 William T. Baker: New Classicists, 1920744576, $90.00 Appleton & Associates: New Classicists, 1920744606, $90.00 Wadia & Associates: New Classicists, 1864702338, $90.00
Bars are more than drinking spaces – they also provide a place to socialize. Interior design can make or break a bar; it has great influence over the establishment’s future prospects. Bars should be both functional and aesthetically striking, to leave a strong first impression on customers and guarantee their continued patronage.
This book is a trailblazer in the niche field of bar design. Over 40 award-winning international bar design projects are included. Each case study is presented alongside a concept brief, photos, plans, and concise analysis, so the reader can understand how the bar’s design suits its function.
“The well-judged employment of classical detail in a new home has an additional significance that cannot be underestimated. It is an expression of an informed personal choice and an evocation of the delight in the human senses. This is true of all the houses featured in this book.” Jeremy Musson
“The architects and craftsmen that Phillip has featured in this wonderful book all have a love for classical detail. The art is alive and well, as can be attested to in these pages.” David Easton
In The Art of Classical Details, Phillip James Dodd takes a close-up look at some of the finest examples of contemporary classical architecture. The book consists of two chapters: The Essays and The Projects. Starting with a foreword by renowned decorator David Easton, The Essays are written by some of today’s most sought after architects, scholars and craftsmen. Accompanied by sumptuous full page photographs and renderings that illustrate a use of fine materials, intricate detailing, and superb artisanship, these insightful texts are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the theory, practice and craft of classical design. The Projects presents an illustrated look at 25 of today’s finest classically-designed homes. Employing the theories prescribed in the writings of the first chapter, this portfolio of contemporary buildings exhibits the work of some of the most recognizable and celebrated architects in Great Britain and the United States. The work featured in within this book demonstrates the timeless beauty of classicism, and delights in the role that superbly crafted details play in creating art.
The history of the Bugatti really begins with the development of the successful 16-valve Type 13 model dubbed ‘Brescia’ after its triumph in the 1921 Voiturette race in Brescia, Italy, leading to Bugatti’s incredible racing success throughout that decade and the next. The Brescia Bugatti, written by renowned Bugatti enthusiast Bob King, provides an in-depth account of the origins, evolution and success of what is arguably the most revered car in early motor racing history. Including previously unpublished Bugatti factory data, this definitive, superbly illustrated book documents all surviving vehicles with current details and photographs. This deluxe cloth-bound limited edition is printed on high-quality art paper and comes with an imitation 1966 racing competitor’s bookmark listing individual edition number.
Every aspect of a strong food store design and overall branding strategy should be about how to best enhance the shopping experience and build on the customer’s notions of visual and sensory delights. Optimal interior layouts and sharp, clever branding are some of the most effective ways to stimulate a positive customer experience, and which evidence has shown will tend to improve sales. Richly illustrated throughout, this book covers a wide range of food and drink retail design solutions and branding strategies of more than fifty projects from around the globe, including purveyors of fine foods, and a variety of evocative patisseries, an artisanal Hungarian chocolate bar / café, a Mexican ice cream shop, an international selection of bakeries, a Japanese tea shop, a luxurious but eclectic American food store concept, plus so much more.
There are several interviews with renowned designers who provide vital detail on how to best connect a store’s branding identity and graphics with the interior design and layout fittings, including brand promotions and store operations. This is a must-have book for those looking to stand out in a ever-increasing and competitive business field.
In Discover the Modern Benno Tempel, director of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, tells us a story about modern art. Through the different themes the reader gets an atmospheric picture of the dynamic development of fine art, from the 19th-century until modern day. Steeped in political and social events, the book presents correlations between photography and painting, between space travel and utopian projects. This leads to fascinating comparisons, for example, between Claude Monet and Wassily Kandinsky, Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter or Anton Heyboer and Vincent van Gogh. This incredible publication is more than a book about modern art… it reads like an exciting exploration of modern times. Text in English and Dutch.
More than four centuries ago, the small Republic of the United Netherlands embarked on an economic boom. Contacts were established with the four corners of the world. Many of these centuries-old relationships have left traces in museums and archives, in the open fields or in the city, in stories and in pictures. Footsteps and Fingerprints, the Legacy of a Shared History presents an image of the legacy the contacts between Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, Sri Lanka, Surinam and South Africa have produced over the last 400 years. Various ‘top pieces’ and other remarkable items designated Mutual Cultural Heritage are described: from Vingboons’ View of Table Bay, Henkes Schnapps in Ghana to the Dutch Church in St Pertersburg.