Book Description

Tony Cragg embarked on his fine art education in 1969, a time when Minimalism, Land Art, Conceptual Art, and Arte Povera were fresh and present. Those movements marked his artistic beginnings, and thus in his earliest works Cragg started out with found materials, which he stacked, heaped, or spread on to the floor so as to study and analyze their properties. To capture the receptacle forms of vessels and cells--understood as a metaphor for any biological organism--he used traditional materials such as cast iron, bronze, glass, or stone. More recently, his interest has been increasingly directed at converting one idea into numerous variations. For instance, in the Early Forms series, the inner and outer forms become ever more complex; in Rational Beings, the sculptural form becomes ever more volumetric and statuesque. In the end, Cragg's sculptures can never be unambiguously classified; they appear as sensual, poetic creatures, mutable and paradoxical. This present scholarly survey of Cragg's work distinguishes systematic and chronological aspects, reflects on ways of working and material resources, and makes apparent associations, interconnections, and evolutionary strands. Essays by David Batchelor, Lynne Cooke,Germano Celant, Danilo Eccher, Carla Schulz-Hoffmann, Mark Francis, Peter Schjeldahl and Ulrich Wilmes.

Clothbound, 8.66 x 11 in./552 pgs / 465 color and 42 b & w. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It is in German
Wonderful book but nowhere does the discripton indicate that the book is not in English. It is in Geman. If you don't read German and want to just look at the pictures then buy it. ... Read more

Book Description

This magnificent journey through the world of the enigmatic and popular artist provides a masterly analysis of Bosch’s artwork as well as convincing solutions to its apparent paradoxes.

For decades, Hieronymus Bosch’s brilliant, hallucinatory paintings have mystified viewers as well as art historians. Questions about the artist’s use of symbols, his preoccupation with man’s sinfulness and hell, and even details about the Bosch’s own life have been the source of speculation and frustration. Wilhelm Fraenger’s masterwork, the culmination of twenty years of meticulous research and scholarly detective work, reveals his fascinating discoveries about Bosch’s patrons and the secular and religious climate in which he painted. This classic monograph available for the first time from Prestel looks beyond the bizarre nature of Bosch’s images to decipher their true meanings and purpose. Written in an eminently readable and entertaining style, and illustrated with more than more than two hundred reproductions, the book invites readers to enter the painter’s phantasmagoric universe, and deepens their understanding of this often misunderstood artist. ... Read more

Book Description

Artists who pioneered open-air landscape painting between 1780 and 1840 came to Italy from all over Europe to respond directly to the beauty of landscape for the first time. With a rich selection of representative paintings from these outdoor artists, this beautiful book traces the work of the earliest members of the school, Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes and Thomas Jones, to the culminating paintings of Corot. ... Read more

Book Description

The work of Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1573–1610), the notorious "bad boy" of Italian Baroque painting, employed theatrical realism and sacrilegious subject matter that infuriated viewers of the time, forced him into obscurity, and raises eyebrows even today. Full-color reproductions and thorough text provide a quick yet solid introduction to this master. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

CARAVAGGIO
Notorious bad boy of Italian Baroque painting, Caravaggio (1571-1610) is finally getting the recognition he deserves. Though his name may be familiar to all of us, his work has been habitually detested and forced into obscurity. Not only was his theatrical realism unfashionable in his time, but his sacrilegious subject matter and use of lower class models were violently scorned. Caravaggio's great work had the misfortune of enduring centuries of disrepute. It wasn't until the end of the 19th century that he was rediscovered and, quite posthumously, deemed a great master. He is now considered the most important painter of the early Baroque period; without him there would have been no Ribera, Zurburán, Velázquez, Vermeer or Georges de la Tour. Franz Hals, Rembrandt, Delacroix, and Manet would have been different. In this new book you'll find over 50 of Caravaggio's best paintings; we think you'll agree that he was a genius beyond his time. ... Read more

Book Description

American sculptor, painter and printmaker, born in Paris in 1911, Louise Bourgeois is an exceptional figure in the contemporary art world. Her career spans some seventy years and touches upon such key moments as Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and feminism. After a lifetime of little artistic recognition, Bourgeois now enjoys cult status.

An extraordinarily influential sculptor, she has worked, often experimentally, with a huge variety

of materials. She is equally admired for her intimate drawings, often combining fragments of text, and her highly personal writings, which often address her long and complex life story. Themes such as the Other, the feminine and the masculine, and the body - as well as her own specific biography - spin a tangled and intense life-long body of work of unusual profundity. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Pre-Raphaelite Splendor
As I only had about 30 minutes to view this exhibit at the Met (I know - it's absurd), I am delighted to have this beautiful catalog to examine in close detail. The reproductions are indeed stunning, and the text, although very detailed, is quite readable. A treasure for art lovers, especially fans of the Pre-Raphaelite style.

Here's a sumptuous feast of color and fantasy
This is a real eye opener of a book if you are looking for an in depth retrospective of the artist's body of work! Burne-Jones is at last receiving his fair due of recognition as witnessed by the recent Met show in the Summer of 1998. This book showcases his many merits, including a unerring color and design technique applied to fantastical subjects. What makes the book so irresistible is the wealth of color plates accompanied by detailed explanations. It also helps that the authors were thoughtful enough to leave out any stuffy, academic narrative that overburdens this genre.

What a great Book!!
This edition of the catalogue for the Metropolitain Museum of Art's recent(and sadly closed) exhibit belongs on every art library's list of " must buys." What a wealth of information and imagery, all presented in generous counterbalance in splendid color throughout. Buy this!!

A magnificent book for a magnificent exhibition
To visit the Burne-Jones exhibition at New York's Metropolitain Museum of Art is a thrill beyond describing. It is like being surrounded by old friends of the sort usually found in dreams.The stunning, fully illustrated catalogue that accompanies the show is perhaps the best catalogue I have seen, most notably for its impeccable and stimulating essays, and for its phenominal wealth of color reproductions. This book is a stunner, despite two or three flipped pictures( which I guess could happen to anyone in the rush to get such an involved publication ready in time!) I would advise all bookshops, libraries and Burne-Jones lovers to order this book now for its September release. It is sure to be the most valuable book on its subject for many years to come. ... Read more

Book Description

During his peak popularity in the 1820s -1840s, artists flocked to New York's Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley to confront the wilderness and emulate Cole's vision, and America's first indiginous art movement was born--the Hudson River School of landscape painting. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Truly superb
A truly superb, intimate portrait of Thomas Cole by his minister, friend and confidante, Louis Noble. No student of Cole and his work can do without this volume. -- Edward J. Renehan, Jr. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the most enigmatic painters who ever lived, Hieronymus Bosch (c.1453- 1516) is also one of the most enduringly popular. His fantastical scenes of grotesque creatures, devils, and monsters are open to many interpretations, keeping his art endlessly fascinating over the centuries.

This luxurious volume-published to coincide with a major exhibition in Bosch's native Netherlands-examines his art in the context of his times. With every Bosch painting and drawing superbly reproduced in full color, this beautiful book penetrates the mystery that has always surrounded the artist. His worldview, often seen as bizarre, is shown to correspond with that of his contemporaries, among them the scholar and humanist Erasmus. What makes Bosch unique, the authors show, are his unfettered imagination and immense talent.
250 illustrations, 190 in full color, 208 pages, 91/2 x 123/8" ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Get Your Glasses Out
I've been thinking about buying this book and finally came across it in a bookstore so I was able to preview it before buying it on amazon.[com] I'm glad I did because like other reviews, the main disappointment with this book is that the paintings are reproduced small. They're reproduced almost as footnotes to the text but my main reason in buying an art book is for the visuals. And with Bosch, there are so many details but they were just too small to see here. The art should have been given a full page without text surrounding an image. This was a big let down, I was looking forward to buying this book, but now I'll pass on it. With the small reproductions it just isn't worth the price. The 1 star is for Bosch's art which is still great despite the poor book design.

Look elsewhere for Bosch...
This book has three essay chapters. The first chapter deals with Bosch's home town..... anything about Bosch's home town. Details are thrown in because they are known, even when they do not add to our understanding of Bosch. The second chapter discusses a new method for dating the wood panels that Bosch and others painted on, and questions whether some paintings can really be attributed to Bosch. This could be an interesting discussion if there was more explanation of how the paintings had been judged and attributed to Bosch previously. Instead it is new data without much context. The final chapter deals with the imagery of Bosch. This has the potential to be the most enlightening, but falls well short. By the end the reader may know a little more about Bosch, but not enough to warrant wading through this book.
Now all could still be forgiven if the presentation of the artwork was good. Because Bosch is enjoyable without explanations. But the presentation in the book is not. The paintings and drawings appear scattered throughout with no rhyme or reason. The numbering of the pictures is frustrating to follow. You will be searching back and forth through the book looking for the pictures that correspond to the point being made in the text.
When you do find the picture, you probably will be disappointed. Even the quintessential Bosch work " The Garden of Earthly Delights" is presented in quarter page size. In contrast Bosch imitators are given larger representation. I don't understand why.
The poor lay-out even extends to page numbering. There is a reason for numbering the pages on the outer margins, away from the spine. This was brought home very strongly as I searched for the page numbers halfway along the pages near the spine. This may sound a trivial complaint, but this book seemed designed to test the patience of the reader.
I got this book for half price, but that was still paying way too much. There are far better and cheaper books out there on Bosch. Go with them.

Scholarly but poorly presented
As a scholarly discussion of Bosch the book is excellent. However, as a presentation of his art it is absolutely atrocious. All complete pictures are shown in a miniature form nearly impossible to study, and details are disjointedly scattered throughout the book and unduly difficult to track down. This is not a book for those who want to experience and enjoy Bosch's art for its own sake. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Book Description

Ansel Adams' black-and-white photographs of the American wilderness are among the best-known and best-loved images in our history. This handsome address book features a selection of his most famous images of the Sierra Nevada and the American West. With an elegant design by Pentagram, The Ansel Adams Address Book will appeal to the legions of people who have for so many years enjoyed his books, posters, and calendars. With tabbed vellum alphabet dividers, each followed by two different Ansel Adams photographs, The Ansel Adams Address Book offers plentiful address pages with ample space for names and addresses (street and e-mail) as well as telephone and fax numbers, and a concealed spiral binding that allows the book to lie flat when open, creating a durable and useful keepsake.

As always, the production and printing was supervised by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust to ensure a book of the highest quality. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A joy to keep!
This is worth keeping! The beautiful pictures inside make it a joy to enter addresses or just to page through.

There is space for 35 addresses per alphabet with plenty of room to enter name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail. The paper is of very good quality and so is the binding (so far). I look forward to using mine which was a present and I would most likely give this to someone as a birthday or anniversary present as well.

Very professional, high quality address book
After extensive searching I came to find this Address Book and was entirely relieved. Most others that I found were either very feminine or entirely low quality. This book is professionally done and very refined. The pictures are beautiful and abundant - 2 for each letter of the alphabet, and then some. Name and address blanks are large, with areas for nearly any personal data you might need to record. Each letter has ample spaces for entries. The paper is nearly photo quality and the book is well bound. When purchasing an address book, this is the one to buy.

Great Gift
Without hesitation, I would recommend this address book to anyone who is looking for a classy book. The photograghs are some of Adams' best. There is plenty of room to add your numbers, addresses, and other personal information.

great addy book
this is a grat adress book filled with great pic

Can't go wrong!
This is a beautiful addres book. The photographs are nicely presented and it has a beautiful cover. It would make a great gift. Everyone that sees it loves it. I keep it right in my livingroom, and it is a welcome addition to my home. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

great analysis of the master of masters
The book is trully great.... very well written and thoroughly analized...My only problem with it was the lack of colour plates (understanding that the study of his technique is concentrated on the orchestration of planes and volumes). I believe the study of this master requires colours... in order to fully appreciate his methods but also becuse of the pleasure of merely being a spectator and enjoying his art for what it really is...a ballet of fantasy and life!
Appart from that I do believe it is a must for any lover of art.

Top Ten Books on Composition
This book is a must read not only for students of Cezanne and Cubism, but for anyone who would like to understand how a composition is put together. By comparing photographs of subjects painted by Cezanne, to the paintings created, one can see what interested the master in his own work. Cezanne's classic remark about Monet ("He is only an eye. But what an eye!")is clearly relevant here: Cezanne is not only an eye function, but a meditation on the process of visual construction per se. A stimulating and important book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For readers who are looking for an instructive first glance or an introduction to Mary Cassatt, this book is perfect. The medium-sized volume contains a biography of Cassatt by art historian Debra Mancoff and also offers reproductions that are surprisingly large and clear. These plates give readers as accurate a view as is possible in a book of Cassatt's virtuoso brushwork, sure-handed lines, and soft, deep aquatints.

Mancoff includes many of the artist's piquant remarks (as well as quotes from her friends and acquaintances, who found Cassatt often charming, always impressive, and sometimes "slashing" in her outspokenness). Upon seeing Degas's work for the first time, Cassatt flattened her nose against the window of the shop where they were shown, "to absorb all I could."When Degas urged her to exhibit with the impressionists instead of in the stuffy, official French salon, she "accepted with joy," she wrote."I hated conventional art. I began to live." Mancoff has a nice touch with details, and her book should be just right for anyone who wants to learn more about this gifted and ambitious artist. The long, enriched captions for the plates are like the tape-recorded tours that accompany major exhibitions. They give the reader enough historical and critical background to make the works of art as meaningful as possible. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great reproductions, good text, great price
This book supplies excellent reproductions of most of Mary Cassat's most famous paintings. Having seen the original of the cover painting in the Art Institute in Chicago, I can say the often distorted color tones are accurately photographed here.

The text is a very readable discussion of how Mary Cassat's paintings reflect women's lives in the late nineteenth century. Those looking for more painterly criticism--composition, palatte, influences, brush-work, etc. will not find much of that in this book. As Digby Baltzell wrote in his "Puritan Boston, Quaker Philadelphia," by 1900 American painting was dominated by John Singer Sergeant, Cecilia Beaux, and Mary Cassat, all of whom shared a Yankee background (mixed with French for Cassat and Beaux), connections in Philadelphia, extensive European experience, and a firm place in the social elite. Without idealization or false nostalgia, Debra Mancoff shares Mary Cassat's loving regard for the importance of the feminine side of this world of gentility.

Did I say it was a great deal? If good reproductions in a solid hardback binding of a great painter's oeuvre are what you are looking for this is a very good buy. ... Read more

Book Description

For the first time nearly every extant work by Caravaggio is reproduced in color in this lavish new volume, the long-awaited result of more than 20 years of research by a leading authority on the artist.

In an engaging and informed text, John T. Spike explores in detail Caravaggio's scandalous life and provocative work. Placing Caravaggio within the broad panorama of society and ideas at the turn of the 17th century, the author sets a richly detailed stage for an artist who has been called "the first modern painter." Caravaggio (1571-1610) reflected in his canvases his own desires and spiritual crises to an extent no one ever had imagined possible, and he shocked his contemporaries by portraying the saints and virgins of Christianity with the faces and bodies of his companions and lovers in Rome's demimonde.

Accompanying the book is a critical catalog on CD-ROM in which all of Caravaggio's extant paintings, as well as lost and rejected works, are thoroughly described. Each entry specifies the work's medium, dimensions, location, and provenance, and provides an annotated bibliography of sources. Most of the entries conclude with a brief technical analysis. Much of this scientific data, of prime importance for attribution and dating, has not previously been published.

With its fresh insights, as well as judicious readings of the documents and the physical evidence of the paintings themselves, Caravaggio is the most thorough study on the artist to date, and it will no doubt remain a definitive monograph for many years to come.

Other Details:
160 color, 190 b/w illustrations. 11 x 13" trim size. Published in 2001. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

As Beautiful a Book as The Paintings Themselves
This is a truly magnificent art book, very large, very heavy, very complete. The paper on which the book is printed and on which the paintings are reproduced is very thick and very fine. The paintings themselves and most of Caravaggio's paintings are reproduced here -- mostly in bright, vivid color, many with additional close-up details -- are a delight and are awe-inspiring.

Caravaggio is one of the most magnificent of the Seventeenth Centruy Italian artists. His work is exquisite and sensuously beautiful. This is one of the most extensive catalogues of his work in book form I have ever seen. Michelangelo Merisi himself was something of a roguish, mysterious man, and his life proves to be almost as interesting as the paintings themselves. Spike here gives a fairly complete biography of Merisi who was called "Caravaggio" because he came from that small Italian town. After all, there was another Michelangelo already famous during Caravaggio's lifetime so another name was needed for him.

The text written by John spike is scholarly and straight forward, but there remain many unanswered questions about this strange artist. While the events of Caravaggio's life are vividly told, the text also explains and illuminates each painting through interesting alalyses. Spike tends to be factual and does not speculate much on the mysteries surrounding this dark figure. If you want to be as much entertained as educated on this artist, you might enjoy reading a "companion piece" of sorts: Peter Robb's "M, the Man Who Became Caravaggio". Robb's book is highly speculative, but a well-researched (and fun) boigraphy that porbes the dark side of Merisi's life that I found very convincing in its conclusions. (Not everyone does, however.)

One of the reasons I wanted to buy this admittedly expensive book was because it also contains a CD Rom with the "complete catalog" of all of Caravaggio's work. I was disappoined when I opened the CD Rom because I had expected to find all the paintings themselves in digital form, but there are none on the CD Rom except the cover painting from the book. The CD Rom is otherwise all-text which requires Acrobat Reader (provided with the CD ROM.) But I soon got over the disappointment because the book itself does such a good job of showing this magnificent artist's work so vividly, beautifully, and completely.

This is no ordinary art book. You will treasure it and be proud to show it to friends. It is a fine book produced with the most exquisite techniques of bookbinding. Simply Gorgeous!

This is the one.
My library contains many various volumes on the subject of Caravaggio--fiction, biography, fictionalized biography and photo surverys of his works--but if I were allowed only one book on this most extradordinary painter and his life I'd take "Caravaggio" by John T. Spike. In this weighty large-format picture-book Mr. Spike has given us the most complete look at the artist and his works currently available, presented in graceful depth so as to engage any interested reader and art enthusiast regardless of the nature of his commitment. It's unusual to find such an authoritative colaboration of art historical expertise and first quality illustration as we have here, a book to read, study and savor.

Poor pictures detract from this great work
I agree with the comments in the other reviews that this is an excellent book. It is a shame that many of the pictures are so poor in quality. As a Caravaggio fan, I get a lot of enjoyment even from just viewing the pictures.
Now all we need is a new Caravaggio book with the pictures from Catherine Puglisi's book and the text from John Spike's book.

Caravaggio's are here for you !
Nothing to say too much about this "outstanding" book i've been wating for a long time. It's a quite-big-format book. But when you carry it, it's not too heavy as you think. You can feel the graceful qualities of many fine-printed pictures inside only by glancing at its jacket for the first time. Not only the good pictures, but also richly useful texts which will give you many sides and ideas about the works analyzed in this book. However, there are some little problems such as muddle ink spots (for me is in page 142 / I don't know others prints have this same problem ,or not ), some pictures have the powder-like-spot or little white spots (for me, such as Cat. 28 and Cat. 77) and there are some dull or unsharp pictures (Cat.15 and Cat. 22.1 (detail)). Anyway, this book is the great volume you have to buy if you like to know about Caravaggio essentially, so I gave it "5 stars" for the reasons. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Use in combination with Peter Robb's The Man Who Became Car.
Wonderful slick pages. Clear, realistic colors and appropriate collection in black and white. I recommend this book as an intro to Caravaggio's paintings, but in substance I recommend as comparative reading to Peter Robb's The Man Who Became Carravaggio. OUTSTANDING comparisons of this master's life and works can be considered. Together, this was my favorite read of the year.

Bad boys line on
Caravaggio (1571-1610) is the Baroque period's black sheep. The tenebrism that so succsessfully glamorises his canvases is perhaps the metaphoric shadow stirred by his own haunting emotional tumult. The artist's private pain. The homoerotic quality of his early paintings is not mentioned today in the Encyclopedia Britannica. But, like Ganymede and Narcissus, his adolescents charm a print that evokes an age long gone. While at Rome he continued his superb though idiocyncratic profession. The genius of his work at odds with the ignominy in his life. To this book Alfred Moir lends an scholarly and savvy article. Detailing Caravaggio's brilliant if bizarre progress. Mr Moir evokes the vivid milieu of this, Baroque's rascal artist, immensily gifted, though always his own worst enemy. Or, was he? Obscure for some time, now Caravaggio shines. And as we also celebrate the James Deans and Orson Welles, buddies from the same pantheom. Pictorially, the text is full of riches, my favorite the 'St Matthew" series. My other favorite is when..."he threw a plate of artichokes onto the face of a waiter..." I was moved, I'm happy to own this book.

The Years of Painting Mortally
His "Incredulity of St Thomas," with the focus on Thomas's prodding and Christ's reassuring hands, and his "Madonna of Loreto," with the Virgin and Child approachably compassionate to the muddy-footed pilgrims in rumpled clothing, have been much copied. His "Entombment" has been unanimously acclaimed: with only Christ's and Mary Cleophas's faces fully illuminated; with Nicodemus supporting the dead legs while hunching over to look straight into viewer eyes; and with the Virgin blessing all. But it was his "Lute Player" that CARAVAGGIO called his most beautiful picture: with the tenor score to 16th-century madrigalist Jacques Arcadelt's "Voi sapete ch'io v'amo [You know that I love you]" open for the tenor lute; with the unique horizontal balancing of boy and freshly blooming bouquet of vividly colored flowers; and with the window light source reflected on the carafe. The colorplates in Art History Professor Alfred Moir's book are of such photographic quality that readers clearly see the 17th-century artist's studio window light source reflected in the carafe within his "Boy Bitten by a Lizard." The compellingly thorough text and the author's ANTHONY VAN DYCK prepare readers to go on to the other giants of his time, with Jose Alvarez Lopera's EL GRECO, Kristin Lohse Belkin's RUBENS, Jonathan Brown's VELAZQUEZ, Ludwig Munz's REMBRANDT, and Arthur K. Wheelock's JAN VERMEER. ... Read more

Amazon.com

How did Margaret Bourke-White become the top photographer for Fortuneand Life, a globetrotting adventuress who held court in the most glamorous studio on earth--a Chrysler Building penthouse patrolled by alligators, adjacent to the fierce gargoyle she made famous? By first muscling in as a master of the masculine art of corporate photography. For the first time, that early work has gotten its due in Stephen Bennett Phillips’ MargaretBourke-White: The Photography of Design 1927-36. In insightful prose and glossily reproduced black-and-white photos, he opens our eyes to her fast-developing genius. Her 1927 photos of Cleveland’s Terminal Tower expertly aped the fuzzy, romantic pictorialism of early Edward Steichen, but her 1928 shot of the same building through the spiral grillwork shows her rigorous sense of composition. After she discovered magnesium lighting, her pictures of what could’ve been ordinary industrial scenes acquired stunning star power. Rows of tin soup cans, aluminum rods, hogs hanging in a stockyard, Moscow ballet dancers, Wurlitzer organ pipes: she transformed them all into patterns bespeaking brute power. Her camera was a magic device that transformed everything she saw into a shiny Deco masterpiece. This book is as smart and beautiful as its stellar subject.--Tim Appelo ... Read more

Book Description

The Essentials Series.
In 1877, the passionate young American artist Mary Cassatt accepted an invitation in Paris to join a bold, new movement known as French Impressionism and,in her own words, "began to live."This book explores Cassatt's unique position as a woman artist among the Impressionists, her enduring popularity as a celebrated painter of motherhood, and this Victorian suffragist'scontinuing influence as a feminist role model today. ... Read more