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Yale University Press
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This major study offers a new understanding of the aesthetics and politics of postwar European and American art. Questioning the widespread assumption that the most innovative practices were non-representational, it shows how a powerful realist impulse operated alongside a strong commitment to abstraction. Alex Potts makes the case that the ambition to create work that engaged with the everyday and political realities of the world motivated much of the period's vital experimentation with medium and artistic process. Experiments in Modern Realism is a refreshingly unorthodox account of the artistic and political impulses shaping the diverse practices that emerged in mid-20th century art. The wide variety of both canonical and lesser-known work it features ranges from free-form paintings by Dubuffet and De Kooning and assemblages by Rauschenberg and Fahlstrom to actions and happenings by Beuys and Kaprow. Engaging the fields of history, literature, politics, cultural theory, and art history, this book is a remarkably probing analysis of postwar art from one of the most important voices in art history today. |
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This book presents an historical overview of women and gender in Islam. It is written from a feminist perspective, using the analytic tools of contemporary gender studies. The results of its investigations cast new light on the issues covered. |
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In 1878, at age 25, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) arrived in the area of Belgium known as the Borinage to work as a Protestant evangelist in rural coal mining communities. He failed in that vocation, and after months of soul-searching, in August 1880, he decided to become an artist. This fascinating publication is the first to examine Van Gogh's time in the Borinage and his artistic development in the following years, when he created his first original works. Vivid essays tell the story of Van Gogh's life in the mining towns, and the effect this environment had on his way of thinking and seeing the world. Augmenting the text are excerpts from letters Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo from the Borinage, in which he describes his desire to sketch, and prints that he modeled after masterworks by artists such as Jean-Francois Millet. Other essays trace Van Gogh's development as an artist in subsequent years, including his move to Brussels to fully pursue life as an artist. Thought-provoking examinations of works that Van Gogh completed after leaving the Borinage demonstrate how motifs that he developed there-rustic dwellings, laborers, agriculture, nature-became themes that spanned his entire oeuvre. |
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My Dear Mr. Stalin is the first publication that contains the complete correspondence between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph V. Stalin. This collection of more than three hundred hot-war messages, never before fully available in any language, is an invaluable primary source for understanding the relationship that developed between these two great world leaders during a time of supreme world crisis. The correspondence, secret at the time, begins with a letter Roosevelt wrote to Stalin offering aid to the Soviet Union following Hitler's surprise attack in 1941. It ends with a message that was an attempt to minimise the differences between the two leaders, approved by Roosevelt only minutes before his death in 1945. The book traces the evolution of their unique relationship, revealing the statesmanship of the two men and their thinking about the grave events of their time. An informative introduction to the volume and generous annotations set the letters in context. |
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Models & Muses explores fashion's reciprocal relationship to iconic beauties that represent the evolution and changing face of the feminine ideal. Featuring a brief historical overview of the phenomenon of the supermodel, the book begins in the early twentieth century and continues to the present day. Dorian Leigh and Lisa Fonssagrives in the 1940s are joined in the 1950s by Dovima, Sunny Harnett, and Suzy Parker. They are followed by Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy in the early 1960s and Lauren Hutton in the 1970s. The 1980s witnessed such enduring personalities as Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista, while the 1990s brought on Kate Moss, whose edgy, street-inflected style has inspired not only fashion designers, editors, stylists, and photographers, but artists such as Chuck Close and Lucien Freud. With an emphasis on styles from the 1950s onward, the book features designs from the great ready-to-wear and couture houses — Madame Gres, Christian Dior, and Balenciaga in the 1950s; Rudi Gernreich, Yves Saint Laurent, and Cardin in the 1960s; Giorgio di Sant'Angelo and Halston in the 1970s; Christian Lacroix, Versace, Comme des Garcons, and Calvin Klein in the 1980s; and, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, and Alexander McQueen in the 1990s. |
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A colourfully decorated Christmas tree, lit with twinkling lights, provokes awe and delight. We understand the lighted tree as a central symbol of the Christmas season, but what are the roots of the tradition? Who first thought to bedeck a tree, to bring it inside? How and where did the local activity grow into a widespread tradition, and how has the Christmas tree traveled across time and continents? Bernd Brunner's brief history — enriched by a selection of delightful and unusual historical illustrations — spans many centuries and cultures to illuminate the mysteries of the Christmas tree and its enduring hold on the human imagination. Tracing various European traditions from the Middle Ages forward, Brunner finds that only in the nineteenth century did Christmas trees become common in European family homes. In North America, the imported custom soon fascinated, though some found the tree not quite compatible with a Puritan mindset. Brunner explores how the Christmas tree entered mainstream American culture and how in recent times it has become globally popular. He introduces Jacqueline Kennedy's Nutcracker Tree in the White House, trees used to celebrate the New Year in Turkey, and the world's most expensive Christmas tree, erected in Abu Dhabi. The author also considers the place of the artificial tree and the ecological dimensions of the Christmas tree trade. A book rich with anecdote and insight, Inventing the Christmas Tree will enchant a wide audience. |
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Universally recognized as a brilliant and gifted 18th-century artist, Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) was regarded by Horace Walpole as one of the three greatest painters in England, along with his friends Reynolds and Gainsborough. Yet he has remained without a detailed study of his life and works, owing to the fascinating and complex vicissitudes of his career, now established from widely scattered sources. From being a late-baroque painter at a German princely court to working under the royal patronage of George III and Queen Charlotte, from his serious interest in Indian life and landscape, developed while living near Calcutta, to his attacks on the bloody progress of the French Revolution, Zoffany created pictures that document with incomparable liveliness the worlds and people among whom he moved. |
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British artist Michael Landy (b. 1963) is known primarily as an installation artist. His work, along with others associated with the Young British Artists (YBAs), was first catapulted to the world spotlight when it was featured in the notorious Sensation exhibition (1997). His sculptural installations and performances explore political and social themes, such as the nature of consumerism and commodity. In 2009, Landy began a three-year artist residency at the National Gallery, London. He chose to focus his project on representations of saints and their accompanying stories, often gruesome, which were once part of common culture but are now largely unknown. Landy's preoccupation with recycling narratives and repurposing imagery results in Saints Alive, the subject of this book, conceived to include drawings, collages and a series of kinetic, interactive sculptures with moving parts and sounds. |
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Walter Crane (1845-1915) was one of the most important, versatile, and radical artists of the 19th century: a painter, decorator, designer, book illustrator, poet, author, teacher, art theorist, and socialist. Crane's astonishingly diverse body of work challenged the establishment, both artistically and politically. In this original and carefully researched new study, Morna O'Neill presents a fascinating portrait of an artist who used his talent and energy to dismantle the traditional boundaries between fine art and decorative art, between elite art and popular art, and between art and propaganda. O'Neill reconsiders Crane's politics and reintegrates it with his art, allowing Crane to emerge in this book as a unique figure, an artist who translated art for art's sake into art for all. |
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Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a woman of extraordinary talent who carved for herself a career within the art world of nineteenth-century Paris. She was one of only a handful of women who exhibited with both the Paris Salon and the influential and innovative Impressionists. Her work, considered highly representative of the Impressionist movement, depicts the world of the bourgeoise: their clothes, their life-style, their surroundings and their relationships. Through her unusual talent, the everyday life of the nineteenth-century bourgeoisie becomes tangible. In this beautiful book, around one hundred paintings from museums and private collections around the world are reproduced full-page and in colour, accompanied by original commentaries, which follow the artist's career from her training with Corot to her final work. The book examines her subtle, refined artistry, focused on the theme of women and children, and her use of pastel colours that recalls Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard. Her life and personality are discussed in detail, and the originality of her art — through its themes and technique — is highlighted, revealing its influence and its links with that of such illustrious contemporaries as Monet and Renoir. The exhibition that this book accompanies is the first retrospective of Morisot's work to be held in Paris for nearly half a century. |
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The affinities between Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Edvard Munch (1863-1944) have long been noted, yet a formal comparative study of the two artists has never been made. Known for emotionally charged paintings, deeply personal and innovative styles, and dramatic lives of hardship, both Van Gogh and Munch fundamentally shaped the modern art movement in late-19th-century Europe. Munch: Van Gogh is the first publication to compare these two infamous and influential artists side by side, offering a groundbreaking critical examination of the parallels between their oeuvres and artistic ambitions. Gorgeously illustrated, the book offers a close examination of the artists' uses of color, stylization, brushwork, and unconventional compositions in both paintings and drawings. The authors also draw connections between Van Gogh's and Munch's evocative and poignant correspondence with family and friends, allowing readers to understand more profoundly the essence of their art. |
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This engrossing book chronicles one of the most exciting, controversial, and over-the-top periods in the history of fashion: the extravagant reign of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in 18th-century France. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell offers a carefully researched glimpse into the turbulent era's sophisticated and largely female-dominated fashion industry, which produced courtly finery as well as promoting a thriving second hand clothing market outside the royal circle. She discusses in depth the exceptionally imaginative and uninhibited styles of the period immediately before the French Revolution, and also explores fashion's surprising influence on the course of the Revolution itself. The absorbing narrative demonstrates fashion's crucial role as a visible and versatile medium for social commentary, and shows the glittering surface of 18th-century high society as well as its seedy underbelly. Fashion Victims presents a compelling anthology of trends, manners and personalities from the era, accompanied by gorgeous fashion plates, portraits and photographs of rare surviving garments. Drawing upon documentary evidence, never-before-seen archival sources, and new information about aristocrats, politicians and celebrities, this book is an unmatched study of French fashion in the late 18th century, providing astonishing insight, a gripping story, and stylish inspiration. |
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Renowned throughout Renaissance Europe, Pieter Coecke (1502-1550) produced works for the wealthiest and most important patrons of the time, including Emperor Charles V, Francois I of France, Henry VIII of England, the Hapsburgs, and Cosimo de Medici. While he is best known for his magnificent tapestries, he was also a consummate artist in other media, and the output from his workshop ranged from painted altarpieces to designs and cartoons for stained glass. This lavish publication, the first monograph specifically devoted to this Renaissance genius, introduces Pieter Coecke to a contemporary audience and restores his place among the great artists of the 16th century. New photographs, including fine details, reunite some of the finest surviving drawings and panel paintings with twenty of the splendid Renaissance tapestries made to his designs, while texts by thirty prominent scholars explore Coecke's art and world. Both a feast for the eyes and an important art historical reappraisal of a great Renaissance master, this important study will stand as the comprehensive volume on a major artist of the Northern Renaissance. |
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Lingerie is a subject of enduring fascination. As the final barrier to the fully nude body, it is simultaneously modest and erotic. This compelling and eye-catching publication surveys lingerie from the mid-18th century to the present, covering a broad range of foundation garments, intimate apparel, and lounging clothes — from bras and corsets to slips, peignoirs, and tea gowns. All pieces are gorgeously illustrated in color. Stunning historical garments from well-known fashion houses such as Christian Dior are included, as is risque contemporary lingerie by labels such as Agent Provocateur. When viewed as a whole, these pieces illustrate important developments in fashion over time, such as changes in silhouette, shifting ideals of propriety, and advancements in technology. While a number of the pieces featured in the book were worn hundreds of years ago, the majority date from the 20th century. It was at that time that lingerie started to become as beautiful and alluring as it was functional. Authors Colleen Hill and Valerie Steele show that the decorative, highly feminine styles from the early 1900s set a new precedent for the importance of lingerie in women's private lives — a concept that remains important to many women today. |
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From the mid-1650s until his death at age sixty-three, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) generated a remarkable body of work as he searched for a new, painterly, and expressive style. His later works demonstrate his mastery, skilfulness and exceptional ability to render the effects of light, and they have since defined his image as an artist. Rembrandt gleaned inspiration from his direct study of nature, exalting the humble, the mundane, and even the ugly, particularly in his self-portraits and works based on his everyday surroundings. His intimate pictures of figures from history, often portrayed in austere or introspective attitudes, are created with extraordinary sensitivity. This handsome volume includes superb reproductions of some of Rembrandt's most recognizable paintings, alongside etchings and drawings in various media that demonstrate his mastery of the graphic medium. Through a series of thematic essays, the authors draw on new research to examine Rembrandt's iconographic, stylistic and technical innovations and underscore how his work in one medium influenced his work in others. This captivating book is the first to focus exclusively on the paintings, drawings and prints that Rembrandt produced during the final, most creative phase of his career. |
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Working Among Flowers explores the infusion of new spirit and meaning into the traditional genre of floral still-life painting in 19th-century France, even as the advent of modernism was radically transforming the art world. This beautiful book features works by more than 30 artists, including well-known painters such as Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, and Paul Cezanne as well as less familiar figures such as Antoine Berjon and Simon Saint-Jean. Insightful essays reveal the emerging dialogue between the floral still life, botanical illustration, and models of science; the critical context for instruction in and reception of flower painting; the misunderstood relationship between avant-garde flower painting and the market; the cultural meanings of the vases and ceramic vessels depicted by painters; and the literary context for flower painting. |
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This groundbreaking new history of Cubism, based on works from the most significant private collection in the world today, is written by many of the field's premier art historians and scholars. The collection, recently donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, includes 80 works by Picasso, Braque, Gris and Leger and is unsurpassed in the number of masterpieces and iconic pieces deemed critical to the development of Cubism. Twenty-two essays explore various facets of Cubism from its origins and consider small groupings of works in light of specific themes — such as a study by neuropsychiatrist Eric Kandel on Cubism and the science of perception. Also included is a fascinating interview in which Lauder discusses his approach to collecting. This is a work to place beside other great histories of Modernism. It is a comprehensive, copiously illustrated book that offers a greater understanding of Cubism and will stand as a resource on this pioneering style for many years to come. |
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This spectacular five-decade survey of paintings, drawings, and prints by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) features over 100 works drawn primarily from the outstanding collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The comprehensive catalogue traces the artist's development from his formative period in Munich and his co-founding of the Blue Rider group and pivotal turn towards abstraction, to his return to Russia during the war, to his prolific work at the Weimar Bauhaus and final years in Paris. New scholarship illuminates murals Kandinsky designed in 1922, contextualizing this project at the transition from his Russian period to his time at the Bauhaus, where he taught mural painting and plunged fully into abstraction. Close examination of the works of art, Kandinsky's rich body of theoretical texts, and their pedagogical significance provides the foundation for essays on the celebrated artist's promotion of abstraction and on the reception of his work in the 21st century; today his artistic and theoretical output continues to inspire students, scholars, and artists. Short texts on key works of art and timelines generously enhanced by archival photographs augment the catalogue. |
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Highlighting an enduring interest in natural history from the 16th century to the present, this gorgeous book explores depictions of the natural world, from centuries-old manuscripts to contemporary artists' books. It examines the scientific pursuits in the 18th and 19th centuries that resulted in the collecting and cataloguing of the natural world. It also investigates the aesthetically oriented activities of self-taught naturalists in the 19th century, who gathered flowers, ferns, seaweed, feathers, and other naturalia into albums. Examples of 20th and 21st-century artists' books, including those of Eileen Hogan, Mandy Bonnell, and Tracey Bush, broaden the vision of the natural world to incorporate its interaction with consumer culture and with modern technologies. Featuring dazzling illustrations, the book itself is designed to evoke a fieldwork notebook, and features a collection pocket and ribbon markers. |
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This substantial and beautifully illustrated volume documents the National Gallery’s unrivaled collection of Venetian paintings created between 1540 and 1600, including some of the greatest works commissioned by the city from Veronese, Titian, Tintoretto, and the Bassano family. The collection is so rich and varied that the book serves as an introduction to all the major types of painting produced in Venice during this period––the altarpiece, portrait, confraternity chapel decoration, ceiling and furniture painting, and paintings for the portego (long central hall) of a palace. Among the many important works included are Titian's Vendramin Family Venerating a Relic of the True Cross, Veronese's Family of Darius and four Allegories, and Tintoretto's Origin of the Milky Way. Nicholas Penny provides comprehensive and detailed information reflecting the most up-to-date scholarship on the paintings––many of which have passed through some of the greatest collections in Europe––along with a thorough discussion of their provenance. |
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