Book Description

This book includes some 100 of the artist's paintings - the first step in the unique Rizzi 3D print - making process.A large percentage of these paintings have been produced especially for this volume, as has the jacket design, and some of these images may become the three dimensional limited edition Rizzi prints of the future.All Rizzi's intricate, light - hearted, and comical works reflect the artist's overwhelming enthusiasm and zest for life, and make it impossible to suppress a smile. ... Read more

Book Description

"Male Desire entertains, stimulates, seduces, enlightens: it is the perfect art history course, slide after delicious slide, with piquant, smart commentary." -Wayne Koestenbaum

Examining the history of homoeroticism in American art, Male Desire surveys how the male body has been portrayed for the last century and a half. From the academic-style paintings of Thomas Eakins in the 19th century to Félix González-Torres's conceptual works in the "age of AIDS," this fascinating book by the well-known art historian Jonathan Weinberg highlights specific artists while illuminating the artistic and cultural contexts in which they worked.

Accompanying Weinberg's engaging text are 170 compelling images of the male physique by such artists as George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Paul Cadmus, Andy Warhol, and Robert Mapplethorpe, works that address the theme of the homoerotic in vivid and often contentious ways. While they range widely in style and content, these artworks all share a quality of excess in the way they represent the male figure. Sexy, beautiful, edgy, and thought provoking, this important book is a must-have for every art-book collection, as well as the library of every gay man.

AUTHOR BIO: Jonathan Weinberg, Ph.D., is a painter and art historian. He is a recipient of a 2002 Guggenheim Fellowship and is currently a fellow of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His paintings are in many important collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Weinberg lives in Connecticut. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sexy, modern, and unabashedly consumer-oriented, Art Deco was a new kind of style, flourishing at a time of rapid technological change and social upheaval. Lacking the philosophical basis of other European design movements, Deco borrowed motifs from numerous sources--Japan, Africa, ancient Egyptian and Mayan cultures, avant-garde European art--simply to create novel visual effects. Art Deco 1910-1939 surveys the sources and development of the popular style with more than 400 color illustrations and 40 chapters by numerous design specialists. The authors track Deco around the globe, from Paris to the United States—-where it got its biggest boost from mass production—-to Northern and Central Europe, Latin America, Japan, India, and New Zealand. The book's broad focus encompasses industrial artifacts (the Hindenburg blimp, the Burlington Zephyr locomotive), as well as architecture, furniture, accessories, fashion, jewelry, typography and poster design. Despite the existence of other prominent artistic movements during the 1920s and '30s, the authors tend to hang the Deco label on virtually any object that portrays the effects of technology or employs color, luxury materials or artificial light in striking ways. It does seem a stretch to include Man Ray's photographs, Sonia Delaunay's textiles and the movie King Kong in the Deco pantheon. But the great strength of Art Deco 1910-1939 is that it reveals the social context of Deco, not just its pretty face. The book accompanies an exhibition (organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto through January 4, 2004; subsequent venues are San Francisco and Boston. —Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The greatest book on Art Deco!
This book is an absolute triumph. First, it is positively gorgeous - the images just leap off the pages. Second, the essays are more in-depth, engaging, and informative than any other book I've found on the subject. This book discusses every facet of Art Deco as well: it explores the origins at the Paris Exhibition in 1925, goes through the influence in East Asia, Latin America, and South Africa, not to mention Europe. A great chapter on Deco in Hollywood; also explores all of the sources, iconography - and all of this on top of covering every aspect of the movement - ceramics, jewelry, fashion, architecture, glass, photography, graphic design, bookbindings, travel and transport, and so so much more - with stunning visuals. A fantastic read, a great resource, a beautiful work, and an absolute MUST for anyone interested in the subject! Well worth the money, and a fantastic addition to any library. Highly recommended!

The first and last word on Deco.
A sumptuous coffee-table book of this exuberant art style and I think it could well become the standard book on the subject. The forty essays are divided into four sections, Sources and Iconography, 1925 Paris Exhibition, Spread of Deco and finally Deco World, and I liked the way, especially in Sources and Iconography, that the authors explain how various art styles were moulded into deco art which culminated in the very influential 1925 Paris show.

I thought the last two sections were a fascinating coverage of how Art Deco spread around the world, mainly as architecture and fashion, though in Europe also as a fine art style. In North America, it influenced a huge range of commercial products. Perhaps this was the only art form that was truly democratic in that it was available (as streamlining) to be seen or bought on any Main Street across the Nation.

The design and printing are excellent. Many of the photos, especially color, are presented whole page, the rest are all well sized, and they all have captions. The back of the book has a very comprehensive bibliography, fortunately listed as relating to each chapter rather than just an alphabetical list, the index is divided into two, Names and Subject. I was very impressed with this attention to detail and with the excellent text, images and production surely 'Art Deco 1910-1939' will be read for many years to come. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

The Sociological Aspects of Commercial Imagery...
Murakami's latest curatorial effort has gained nearly universal acclaim amongst the art world.His "Little Boy" exhibition attempts to understand the origins of contemporary Japanese art's affinity for both the horrifically violent and the frightfully cute (kawaii).Ultimately, Murakami argues that these images are spawned from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined with postwar US domination.Violent imagery becomes a sign for a fascination with the kind of power that postwar Japan lacked.Kawaii imagery is then seen as stemming from Japan's status as a protectorate of the US.This relationship was not unlike that of a parent and child (the child/adolecent becomes a prevalent theme in Japanese art from postwar era forward.)
This effort is faithfully documented in this beautiful catalogue which includes works by contemporary Japanese artists, artists of Murakami's Kaikai Kiki, and popular anime and manga such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Doraemon.A must for anyone interested in the origin of Japan's unique hyper-contemporary aesthetic.

Murakami comes out for the fraud he is!!
hello kittyis better and more interesting. waste of space it all comes off as mark kostabi again his sweatshopand its members. Aya Tanaka is no EXPERT just a fan. another misleading catalogue ... Read more

Amazon.com

Tim Hawkinson’s art is the sort of intense, highly personal and often self-referential work that manages through humor and sheer obsessive force to be both accessible and awe-inspiring. It’s often at least a little bit grotesque, but his sculptures and works on paper and canvas flirt with the sublime often enough that it really is worthy of multiple viewings, even though at first it often appears to be a cheap joke. In all of these senses, Hawkinson’s stuff is comparable to the works of Charles Ray, Tom Friedman and Mike Kelley. The companion catalogue to the Whitney Museum-mounted large-scale retrospective finally gives Hawkinson his due. Lawrence Rinder’s essay gives plenty of clearly-written art historical context to Hawkinson’s strange contraptions, while Howard N. Fox speaks of Hawkinson’s near monk-like "sacramental energy." The design is crisp and unobtrusive; the only quibble at all is the use of the Courier font and the fact that the book’s covers are made of a porous material, so be careful to wash your hands before you hold the thing. Inside you’ll find a functioning organ made out of plastic the size of a football field, a bird skeleton made out of nail clippings, a ball made of spoons, a functioning extension cord worn into a knot, a human skeleton fashioned from dog bones, and much more. Hawkinson really turns the world inside out.--Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (2)

With the artist's own commentary
Painter, sculpture, photographer, printmaker, and multi-media artist Tim Hawkinson is primarily known for his large-scale kinetic and sound-producing works. He has also created such eccentric art as a bird skeleton utilizing his own fingernail parings, a latex cast of his body inflated with air, and clocks fashioned from a Coke can, a manila envelope, and a toothpaste tube. Now for the first time, modern art enthusiasts can explore the art of this exceptional and versatile American artist in Tim Hawkinson by Lawrence Rinder (Adjunct Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art). Assisted by Howard N. Fox (Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Doug Harvey (art critic and writer for LA Weekly), Rinder has compiled this accompaniment to the display of Hawkinson's art and artistry showcased in an exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The 250 color illustrations are enhanced with three informed and informative essays, along with the artist's own commentary on more than 150 of his diverse, often ground-breaking work. Tim Hawkinson is an impressive contribution to both academic and community library Contemporary American Art History collections.

tim hawkinson is f'n awesome
I saw the show at the Whitney.It was one of the best I have seen in my whole life.This artist is working at an extremely high level.He's gonna be a giant for our generation.He uses some found materials and reworks things cleverly and beautifully.Conceptual, material, fresh. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

In celebration of Street Fighter's 15th Anniversary, Udon Entertainment is proud to announce the arrival of the long awaited English translation of Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge!Direct from Capcom Japan, Eternal Challenge is the official, definitive resource for art, information, and all things Street Fighter! With unprecedented detail and rare images, Eternal Challenge gives English-reading fans, for the first time, an in-depth retrospective on the legendary Street Fighter franchise from Street Fighter I to Street Fighter III: Third Strike. Eternal Challenge is filled to the brim with development and promo artwork (by legendary Capcom designers including Akiman, Shoei, CRMK, Edayan, and Shinkiro), character histories and bios, screen shots, game endings, merchandizing galleries and behind the scenes interviews with the creators of the games! Included in the English-language release will also be a brand-new, exclusive chapter detailing the Street Fighter franchise in North America! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Directed at the expert, fine for the fan, too!
I would like to add to the reviews below that this book is a pleasure to hold and to view because it is so well made. If there is any 'art' book that should be made for posterity it is the catalog raisonne of an artist. In this instance, the publisher has done the artist's audience a real service for, the book is beautifully printed and bound in Italy by Amilcare Pizzi; Italy seeming to have usurped Switzerland's place as the world's premier art book printer. The pages are thick and glossy and the reproduction is top notch.
For those of you who are unaware of what a catalog raisonne is, it is meant to be a compilation and historical record of an artist's work that documents execution date, medium, size of image or plate, size of edition if a print, whether signed or unsigned, etc. This information is used by artists, historians, collectors and dealers to attribute a piece of art and place it in the artist's oevre, and of course to aid in placing relative value on it. Here too, the archivists, publisher, and editor have done a fine job of documenting the relevant facts. This is especially important in the case of Warhol who was a serial printer, sometimes to the point of intentional promiscuity. So, the fact that wherever possible relevant information is provided speaks volumes about the prodigious effort that must have gone into this undertaking. I rate this book four stars because I fear that since this is the third edition, there will be yet another edition published that renders this one obsolete. I understand this is precisely because Warhol was an inprecise documentarian, when he chose to do so at all, but I don't relish having to purchase another high dollar, though valuable book that is only slightly different from the one I already own. For people who don't give a darn, the book rates a five.

Andy Warhol Prints
This 3rd edition of Andy Warhol Prints gives much information to someone who is interested in the various published and unpublished works which Warhol created. In addition to providing color photographs of the prints, the book gives details about the edition size and characteristics of each individual portfolio. This book will be quite useful for the Warhol fan, art students, as well as collectors of Warhol's work. It is the most definitive book of his prints available.

Definitive Guide to Warhol
Prints, proofs, paintings -- everything is here, plus essays that explicate and set context.

The best catalog of Andy's Prints
This gem of a book gets into all the details of Warhol's print making. See source images as well as artist's and printer's proofs. A must for any collector wanting to explore Warhol's work as well as a real eye opener as to how busy this man really kept himself. ... Read more

Book Description

Frank Frazetta's paintings and illustrations have set the standard for fantasy artists for the past 50 years. This collection focuses on his influence in a variety of media and genres and on his place in 20th century art history. Coedited by Hugo Award-winning editor Arnie Fenner, it includes many of Frazetta's most memorable paintings as well as revised and previously unpublished works. The art is accompanied by the artist's own observations and commentary by a number of his contemporaries. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A fine collection of fantastic images
"Legacy: Selected Drawings & Paintings by Frank Frazetta" brings together many examples from the career of this distinctive artist. The book has been edited by Arnie Fenner and Cathy Fenner, and includes a foreword by Danton Burroughs.

"Legacy" gives examples of Frazetta's covers for books, magazines, and comic books, as well as movie posters and even comedy album covers. Many memorable characters from pop culture are depicted: King Kong, Dracula, Tarzan, etc. I especially liked the illustrations from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars books, with their six-limbed Martian apes and tusked, green-skinned warriors.

Some of Frazetta's illustrations are haunting, even melancholy, and others are exciting and action-packed. A sorcerer summoning a demon, a scuba diver facing a sea monster, and of course, voluptuous maidens will be found in this book. In some cases, alternate versions of the same commission are given (making this book especially useful for art students and cultural historians). I recommend this book to those interested in the visual art of the sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure genres.

Comics emphasis, plus more famous paintings. Whoa!
This is book 2 of a trilogy. This one seems to have more emphasis on his comic book and comic strip work, than what appears in the other two books of the trilogy, "Icon" and "Testament." This one includes an 8-page romance comic book story by Frank, from 1952.

There are also plenty more Tarzan/Burroughs/John Carter of Mars works, and terrific paintings of Savage Pellucidar.

Frank's work for Warren magazines, like Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella get shown and discussed in this book (and also in the other two books of this series).

All of the different eras and decades of Frank's life and career are discussed and shown, in all three books, but always with different paintings, drawings, personal photos, and different commentary by different friends and business associates.

I would recommend starting with "Icon" if you're new to Frazetta's work, but "Legacy" is a close second, containing the works that he is best known for. "Testament" has a focus on unpublished, never before seen work.

One thing that is surprising in all three of these books is seeing how Frazetta would often paint over his paintings, to improve them and change major elements, after they were originally published. So, many of his paintings look different than the way they were printed on paperback covers in the 1960's and '70's.

I am very pleased with all three of these books, but "Legacy" is my favorite of the three, if I really had to choose.

The end of an era
Frank Frazetta is a once in an era painter. He was as much an inspiration to my own large scale figure art as was Michaelangelo. This book is brimming with lush and lavish color reproductions. Frazetta, a true natural and the father of powerful and darkly and richly, colorful, anatomically creative, fantasy art. He has been imitated by dozenz, surpassed by none of them. One would have to go back to the Renaissance to find anyone more free, comfortable and creative in use of anatomy and composition. He would hold his own with the great painters of the past 700 years. This is a great book for artists and art lovers. I bought several for my grandchildren, it will be a valuable collectible in 5-10 years.

Frank Frazetta is leaving a Legacy
I bought the book ICON at the same time I bought this book. LEGACY has a slightly different tone than the ICON book. It is a wonderful tone and in complete harmony with the other book. It's kind of like two tubes on a wind chime. I use this analogy in hopes that more chimes, I mean books will come along to complete the symphony.

The ink sketches are great too. I'm partial to the full color oil paintings. What colors, what force, what passion jumps from the pages of this book. These Frazetta books are not only a legacy to the artist but to art in our culture. Imagine Frank painting in the same studio as say... N.C. Wyeth; or even Hal Foster of Prince Valiant fame. I wonder how each artist would influence the other. I bet Mr. Frazetta would set the tone.

Once again, you can't go wrong buying this book. To read more remarks about the Frazetta books, please see my review of the book ICON.

A thing of beauty...
I'm a Frazetta fan, and knew before hand that I would love this book. However, I was surprised and amused to discover so much about the artist's personality, how he describes his love & respect for women, etc...

There's also a great painting of his wife, without (obviously) any of the violence & eroticism that Frazetta is mostly known for. It's just a sweet, beautiful painting of a nice looking, every day person... Very interesting... ... Read more

Book Description

The Museum of Modern Art houses the most important collection of 20th century art in the world, and the Painting & Sculpture department forms the core of its holdings. The masterworks from this department have fundamentally shaped the way we think about modern art. Over the years, these paintingsand sculptures in the Museum's galleries have served as a walk-through textbook for countless art history classes and for other visitors. Now, on the occasion of its 75th anniversary and the opening of its newly expanded building, the Museum is publishing this 500 page catalogue devoted solely to the masterworks of its core department. The volume opens with an introduction by John Elderfield, Chief Curator of the Department of Painting and Sculpture, which traces the history of the Museum, focusing on its acquisitions. In 8 subsequent sections, anthologies of texts drawn from the Museum's archives and publications offer varying perspectives on specific artworks and on modern art in general. Painting and Sculpture at MoMA offers the reader a new perspective for anyone interested in modern art. Masterworks by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch, Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Umberto Boccioni, Constantin Brancusi, Aleksander Rodchenko, Piet Mondrian, Georgia O'Keeffe, Marcel Duchamp, Giorgio de Chirico, Paul Klee, René Magritte, Max Ernst, Salvado Dalí, Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Louise Bourgeois, Auguste Rodin, Amedeo Modigliani, George Grosz, Pierre Bonnard, Balthus, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Frank Kline, Hans Hofmann, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Agnes Martin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Richard Serra, Eva Hesse, Gerhard Richter, and many, many more. Edited by John Elderfield. Clothbound, 9 x 12 in. / 504 pgs / 300 color. ... Read more

Book Description

This magnificent book accompanies a spectacular exhibition devoted to the artistic and cultural riches of the Turkic-speaking peoples. Essays by leading scholars trace Turkic history and cultural development, while works of art ranging from painting and sculpture to textiles, metalwork, and ceramics reflect the artistic influences that the Turks assimilated, from their early nomadic wanderings to the glories produced during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent. The book takes the reader on a breathtaking journey from the eastern border of modern China to the Balkans in the west.

Illustrated with more than 500 works, Turks is a landmark publication. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the turbulent but vivid history of the Turkic-speaking peoples. AUTHOR BIO: Filiz Çagman is director of the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul. Nazan Ölçer is director of the Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul. David Roxburgh is a professor of Islamic art at Harvard University. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the 1960s, the American artist Lee Bontecou was heralded as one of the most important young artists of her time. Painstakingly crafted from castoffs--Army surplus and canvas conveyor belts from a neighboring laundry--her wall reliefs evoked a fearsome sci-fi world of black holes and bared teeth, a mysterious doom-filled terrain no one had ever seen before. In the mid-'70s, however, Bontecou disappeared from the art scene, declining to take part in exhibitions. Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective revisits five decades of this extraordinary artist's work. The texts include Elizabeth A.T. Smith's overview of Bontecou's career, Robert Storr's nuanced analysis of the cultural context of the work, Donna De Salvo's remarks about the otherworldly drawings, and a pivotal essay from 1965 by the sculptor Donald Judd. Especially intriguing is Mona Hadler's brief discussion of Bontecou's personal interests (insect life, model airplanes) and political beliefs. No one has much to say about the critically disparaged vacuum-formed plastic sculptures of fish and flowers from the 1970s. But Bontecou's intricate drawings and recent series of suspended sculptures, which Smith describes as "something between a helicopter and an insect," continue to explore a natural realm that combines delicacy and menace. Lee Bontecou, which contains 175 full-color illustrations, accompanies an exhibition of the same title at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles through Jan. 11, 2004, which travels to Chicago and New York. --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (2)

re: the photographic record
I just studied both the book and the exhibition in Chicago. The works are wonderful first hand. The book is a nice supplement in some ways, the quality of the prints is good on the surface, and there are some contextual pictures of studio environment etc. But the book is enormously disappointing in one very important way: Most of the photographs of works in the first section are taken from only one angle, head on, and lit evenly so they give *no* idea of the geometry and depth of the works. The actual works have very dramatic physical depth, but the photographs make them look as flat as paintings. It's great that there is at least an inventory presented here, unfortunately, this book missed the rare opportunity to definitively fill the need for a photographic record of Bontecou's major works. It would have been greatly improved with multiple angles or more informative lighting for the works that demand it. You still have to see an exhibition to really have any idea what her works are like.

Regrettably, Amazon guidelines do not allow me to provide the URLs to Bontecou's own press release response to Storr's statements (search for "bontecou" on ereleases.com headlines).

Catalog is a Wonderful Companion to the Exhibition
It is difficult to review the exhibition catalog without first taking in the Lee Bontecou survey at one of the museum exhibitions currently traveling the US. Unfortunately the exhibition will travel to only three museums in the three largest cities in the US, yet most of the works come from public and private collections throughout the country. Luckily, readers get to see all of the pieces in a carefully written, scholarly book full of full-color reproductions, several essays about the artist and her process, essays about the artist and surrounding influences from (and in) art history, and a detailed exhibition checklist with thumbnail photos of each work in the full exhibition. There are over 150 works in the traveling exhibition presented in a catalog of 240 pages. The photographs are standard for a catalog presentation but photographs of the sculptural works may not give accurate renderings of scale or detail; once again, this is a catalog and not a coffee table book of a few of the artist's better-known works. For just a few dollars more than the softcover, get the hardbound edition; you will want to keep this book for a lifetime. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The arts community of Paris in the late 19th century has been gutted, stuffed, studied, and fetishized for so many years now that one could easily think there are no mysteries left to wring from this era, as exceptional as it was. This handsome title focuses on the relationship between the ribald, booming, bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's work(1864-1901). It places his art so squarely in context that it rushes back to life and relevance. This is no mean feat, and the picture depicted in these four scholarly and engrossing essays is much clearer, stranger, and more sordid than Hollywood’s botched tribute. As discussed in Phillip Dennis Cate's essay, all manner of artists commingled in Lautrec’s dens of exploitation (circuses, dancing halls and whorehouses): Nabis, Symbolist, and post-Impressionist painters, absurdist humorists, caricaturists, anarchists, musicians, scene painters, and even proto-conceptual artists. As Mary Weaver Chapin explains, Lautrec was a pop artist before pop, with his appropriations of handbill imagery, his affinity for famous performers, his elevation of the "low" poster medium to "high" art, and his interest in perpetuating his own fame. It's easy to understand the attraction of this era; after all, so many of the cultural seeds of the 20th century were sewn in such a brief time in Paris' 18th arrondissement by (let's face it) a bunch of horny drunk dudes messed up on absinthe. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

Good book despite inaccuracies and racial bias
The book convers a vast history from the beginning of the Khartoum Mesolithic and Neolithic to the unfolding of the Arab invasion of the Sudan. Through each chapter readers will find out more information about Sudanese history. All the leading experts in the field of historical and archeological reserch from Charles Bonnet to Timothy Kendal.
Not only does this book cover Sudanese history,but also accomplishments of the Nubians. In the past various books have tried to overshawdow Nubia with using the ''Eurocentric'' implications of strictly Egyptian influce. In this book,however,it shows indigenous relgious existed well before the absorption of Egyptian relgious deities like Amun. In fact,there is proper evidence that the deity Amun,itself,might have been based off a Nubian deity called Amani.

Despite the shinning qualities of the book,many bias of long dead scholarship seems to rear it's ugly head. Jean Lecant tries his hardest to argue based off tomb scenes of Huy that the figures depicted are not streotypical ''true negroes'' Lecant fails to observe the diversity of Africans and that phenotypical traits like noses are influced by adaptation of climes not intermixture with caucasoids. Lecant unfortunatley still clings on to old outdated anthropology that clearly demonstrates his ignorance.

A wonderful gift for anyone interested in Sudan or the Nile
This beautiful 'coffeetable' book is something every Sudan scholar should take a look at, perhaps once a month? The book illustrates and catalogs an exhibit at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and goes from Neolithic gravesites to the Christian era of Meroe. Anyone who doubted the complexity of prehistoric Nubian society will be convinced that here was an extremely interesting and complex society. The artisanship evident in the jewelry, construction of temples, and pottery, is stunningly skilled. If you can't justify buying it for yourself, give it as a gift to a friend. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This lavish but manageable book is the catalog for one of the most successful van Gogh exhibitions ever (at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., through January 3, 1999, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 17, 1999, to April 4, 1999). Judging from the haunting, beautifully reproduced paintings and drawings in the book--which range from the iconic to the rarely seen--it is easy to see why hordes of people keep pressing through overcrowded galleries to get a glimpse of the originals. The ones here are all from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, where most of Vincent's work resides.

Author Richard Kendall does a heroic job of writing van Gogh's tortured story one more time. Few artists have analyzed their own work with the clarity and insight Vincent brought to his. And Kendall relies heavily on Vincent's letters to his brother Theo, giving the reader broad access to the ultimate expert, the painter himself. The wealth of color plates is intoxicating--70 paintings, including The Potato Eaters and other early, gloomy works, a dozen self-portraits, Almond Blossom, Wheatfield with Crows, Butterflies and Poppies, The Bedroom, The Zouave, and The Courtesan (van Gogh's take on a Japanese geisha in full regalia).

It seems trivial to further praise the book's designers for holding it to only 150 pages, but the length makes an important difference. This is a volume that fits comfortably on the lap, to be perused and enjoyed at close range, for hours if you want, and not just displayed in unwieldy glory on a coffee table. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (6)

the most original artist of his time
Vincent van Gogh is the artist who I feel I relate to most on a personal level. His demons are my demons. His yearning to some day find "the right girl" is my yearning. His spiritual faith in God is my spiritual faith. His weaknesses are my weaknesses. His strengths are my strengths. I'm very fond of van Gogh. He made many mistakes, including getting involved in a doomed love affair with a prostitute, or how he cut off his earlobe in a fit of anguish. Well, okay, I identify with him but that's something I've never been tempted to do haha. Vincent was a troubled and tormented and deeply under-appreciated artist in his day, only managing to sell one or two paintings in his life. Now he is among the very most popular. His works sell for many millions, even minor works.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

A GREAT JOURNEY WITH VAN GOGH
One of the best pieces that I ever read explaining paintings along the different periods which were passed by Van Gogh. Also, it gives a complete ride through his life and personality.

A Quality Work!!
I have this book and I am so glad ,I discovered it. I am, a painter,and have always been influenced by Van Goghs work. However most of the books I own do not have very good quality , printing .This book however is excellent! It is very close to , standing in front of the original painting. I would recomend this book to anyone that loves Van Gogh. I am so proud to make this book a part of my art library. Get it while you can!!

Didn't see the exhibit? Read the book!
The next best thing if you weren't able to make it to this record-breaking exhibition in Washington and Los Angeles. This book, an overview of the exhibition, is an extremely thorough and interesting overview of the 70 works on display. But it's more than that. I was very impressed with Richard Kendall's commentary in the book. Not only is this a comprehensive and thoughtful look at the "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" exhibition, it's also an excellent look at Van Gogh's life and career--period. I might have expected this--this major exhibition was superb and this catalogue is a worthy companion. Exhibition or not, this book is first-rate.

brillant
Interest in Van Gogh heightened with Hollywood movie with Kirk Douglas an Hollywood actor. My mother has a wood painting of sunflowers (l6) and she asked that we research this for her, it has numerous local newspaper clippings taped to the back, which raises even more questions. It is signed Vincent? I saw a one man narrative of Van Gogh's life depicted by his brother Theo, Actor: Jim Jarrett called Vincent. It was much informative of the letters Vincent wrote to Theo. . This enlightened one as to Vincent's odd behavior. Vincent the man. Mr.Kendall, if possible please cooresponde back. My sister is also in contact with you. Thank you for reading this message and any redirect would be appreciated. ... Read more

Book Description

Over six decades, Lucian Freud has built up a reputation as one of the most distinctive contemporary figurative artists. Freud's startling and disconcerting portraits and nudes have a haunting quality that makes them impossible to forget. This stunning book brings together key works from Freud's entire career, including over 140 paintings, drawings, and etchings, some new, and many never before exhibited. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An In-Depth Survey of This Important Painter
LUCIEN FREUD is certainly one of the most talked about contemporary figurative artists around the world. Most people are familiar with his greater than life-sized portraits of corpulent male and female nudes and of his much talked about protraits of friends such as Francis Bacon and David Hockney. But few of us have been exposed to the gamut of this artist's output to the extent that this very fine book by William Feaver investigates the entire career of the grandson of Sigmund Freud.

The book is a catologue for the exhibition currently in Los Angeles, having opened in London and travelled to Barcelona. But to classify the scholarly and intensively detailed tome as an 'exhibition catalogue' simply does not do justice to the scope of this volume. The writing by Feaver is wise, witty, and thoroughly readable - the essay portion that opens the book is more a biography and an analysis of Freud's position in art history than a resume. The color reproductions are superb, spreading as they do across two pages for the very large paintings. As a catalogue the editors can be forgiven for not including sufficient 'detail views' that enhance understanding, but this is a minor point. The supporting data in the back of the book is as fine a catalogue raisonne as has been published to date.

Those of us fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles allowing multiple visits to this impressive exhibition can use Feaver's book as a Master Class on Lucien Freud. But the book stands alone in its mastery of the life and work of this exciting painter. Highly recommended.

At last ...
The definitive book on one of the greatest figurative painters of our time. The format is large enough (double paged, at times), the repros rich enough, and the scope comprehensive enough to properly capture a life/work as important as Lucian's. A must have.

Look into the work of Phil Hale ("Goad" from grantbooks.com), Odd Nerdrum (nerdrum.com) and Jenny Saville (geocities.com/craigsjursen/index.html) if you enjoy this artist. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Art nouveau embraced massive works of architecture and delicate pieces of jewelry, images of eerie seductresses and sinuous plant forms as well as flowing abstract shapes. The style transformed the decorative arts of many countries at a moment when Western culture believed itself to be on the brink of enormous change. Being ultramodern in the 1890s meant moving away from classical standards of beauty to create a sophisticated blend of nature and artifice. It also meant finding fresh inspiration in art history (Gothic architectural ornament, the airy curlicues of rococo art), non-European cultures (flat patterning in Japanese woodcuts, whiplash curves in Islamic art), or native folk art traditions.

Authoritative and elegantly written essays by 22 specialists, illustrated with 507 sumptuous photographs, make Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 one of the finest art books in recent memory. Produced to accompany a major exhibition that opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and runs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 2000, through January 28, 2001, this volume is the first to illuminate the full range of art nouveau media and the complex connections--scientific, literary, mystical, mythological, psychological, industrial, nationalistic--that allowed it to take root in Europe and the U.S.

The famous art nouveau figures are all represented, of course: architects and designers Charles Rennie Macintosh, Victor Horta, Hector Guimard, Josef Hoffmann, Antonio Gaudí; art glass wizards Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé; illustrators Aubrey Beardsley and Alphonse Mucha. But part of the pleasure of this book consists in discovering exquisite or bizarre pieces by lesser-known designers empowered by the dark sensuality of a style that perversely borrowed from nature to celebrate the nervous energy of urban culture. --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (6)

This is THE BOOK on Art Nouveau.
This is the book to get on Art Nouveau. The authoritative essays are well annotated, and an excellent bibliography is included. The illustrations are very fine. Of course this is a nice "coffee table book," but really this is a wonderful reference book for scholars of the Fin de Siècle-Belle Époque. Highly recommended!

ALL ART NOUVEAU FANS MUST SEE THIS!
First off, thank you Paul! I have loved Art Nouveau from childhood, before I ever knew what the style was called. It is somewhere in my blood. ART NOUVEAU, 1890-1914 (pronounced Art Newvo) is like something from a dream. The photographs alone are worth buying this book for!

Here are the chapters along with two or more of my favorite works from each:

1 THE STYLE AND THE AGE
Emile Galle' "Hand." Hot-worked glass with patination. French, 1904. Victor Horta, Hotel Tassel (Tassel House) First-floor landing with view towards staircase. Brussels, 1893.
2 ALTERNATE HISTORIES
Gustav Klimt, Pallas Athene. Oil on Canvas, Austrian, 1898. Museen der Stadt Wien, Vienna. / Doorway with two jambs and a pillar from the 11th-century church at Urnes, Norway. Late 19th-century plaster cast.
3 THE CULT OF NATURE
Louis Majorelle and Daum Freres, pair of magnolia lamps. Gilt bronze and carved glass. French, c.1903. / Louis Majorelle and Daum Freres, Le Figuier de Barbarie. Lamp of patinated bronze and carved glass. French, 1903.
4 SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED AND PROFANE
"Spiritualism: In philosophy the state or condition of mind opposed to materialism or a material conception of things." Madame Blavatsky, Theosophic Glossary, 1892.
Rene Lilique, Dragonfly Woman*** corsage ornament. Gold, enamel, chrysoprase, moonstones and diamonds. French, c.1897-98. Calouste Gullbenkian Museum, Lisbon. / Gustav Klimt, Judith II (Salome). Oil on canvas. Austrian, 1909.
5 THE LITERARY HERITAGE
6 ORIENT AND OCCIDENT
Tsuba (sword guard). Iron with gold and silver inlay. Japanese, c.1700-1800. / Inro (small container). Wood with black, gold and brown lacquer and glazed pottery., Japanese, c. 1775-1800. Signed Mochizuki Hanzan.
7 ARABESQUES: NORTH AFRICA, ARABIA AND EUROPE
(left and right) Glass flasks from Persia (Iran). c, 1885. / (centre) Glass flask by L.C. Tiffany & Co. ***American, 1896.
8 LE STYLE ANGLAIS: ENGLISH ROOTS OF THE NEW ART

James McNeill Whistler, Peacock Room for the Frederic Leyland Hourse, 1876. Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. / Alexander Fisher, peacock sconce.** Steel, bronze, silver, brass and enamel. English, c.1889.
9 THE AGE OF PAPER
Camille Martin, Portfolio, L'Estampe orignale.* Tooled mosaic leather. French, 1893. / Henri Bellery-Desfontaines, L'Enigme. Colour lithograph. French, 1898.
10 MOULDING WOOD: CRAFTSMANSHIP IN FURNITURE
Rupert Carabin, table, Wood. French, 1896. [I wish you could see this photo.** Two nude women on either side of the rectangular table have arms outstretched to hold the x top left of it, and their heads are the top right side of the x and their knees are bent to go down the bottom right of the x respectively.] / Eugene Gaillard, dining room** [black and white but oh I can see it in full color!] L'Art Nouveau Bing, Expositioin Universelle, Paris, 1900.
11 THE NEW TEXTILES
Henry van de Velde, dress** Belgian, 1900. / Otto Eckmann, Five Swans. Woven tapestry. German, 1896-97.
12 THE NEW CERAMICS: ENGAGING WITH THE SPIRIT
Agathon Leonard, part of a table setting: Jeu de l'echarpe. Porcelain.* French, 1898. / Weduwe N.S.A. Brantjes, dish.** Earthenware, Dutch, c.1900.
13 THE NEW GLASS: A SYNTHESIS OF TECHNOLOGY AND DREAMS
Louise Comfort Tiffany, vase.** Glass with applied and marvered colours, combed. American, 1895.
14 MODERN METAL
Horta House, view from the music room towards the dining room. *** 1898-1900. /Fernand Dubois, candelabra.** Electro-plated bronze. Belgian, c.1889.
15 JEWELLERY AND THE ART OF THE GOLDSMITH [one of my favorite chapters]
Phillipe Wolfers, orchid hair ornament, gold, enamel, diamonds and rubies.*** Belgian, 1902. / Ren' Lilique, iris bracelet.*** Gold, enamel and opals. French, 1897. / Rene Lalique, damselflies necklace.*** Gold, enamel, aquamarines and diamonds. French, c.1900-02. / Rene Lalique, winged female figure.*** Bronze. French, c.1899-1900. / Alphonse Mucha, bodice ornament.*** Gold, ivory, enamel, opals, pearls, and coloured gemstones. Czech, c.1900.

Ok, time for just the chapter titles and most essential loves listed from each chapter. This gives you an idea of how comprehensive this book is!

16 THE CONCENTRATED ESSENCE OF A WRIGGLE: ART NOUVEAU SCULPTURE
Jean Dampt, The Fairy Melusine and the Knight Raymondin. French, 1894.
17 THE PARISIAN SITUATION: HECTOR GUIMARD AND THE EMERGENCE OF ART NOUVEAU
Hector Guimard, principal entrance to Le Castel Beranger.** Paris, 1898.
18 VICTOR HORTA AND BRUSSELS
All the photos from the Victor Horta House!
19 MUNICH: SECESSION AND JUGENDSTIL
Franz von Stuck, The Sin. Oil on canvas. German, c.1906.
20 SECESSION IN VIENNA
Josef Hoffmann, Palais Stoclet, detail of tower.** Brussels, 1905-11.
21 GLASGOW: THE DARK DAUGHTER OF THE NORTH
22 LOUIS SULLIVAN AND THE SPIRIT OF NATURE
Adler and Sullivan, Transportation Building, Columbian Worlds Fair. Chicago, 1893.
23 BARCELONA: SPIRITUALITY AND MODERNITY
Lluis Domenech i Montaner, auditorium of Palau de Musica Catalana.*** Barcelona, 1905-08. / Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batllo, detail of fascade.*** Barcelona, 1904-06. / And all photos of Antoni Gaudi, Sagrada Familia!***
24 BUDAPEST: INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS AND NATIONAL CAPITAL
Odon Lechner, interior of The Museum of Applied Arts.*** Budapest, 1896./ Zsolnay factory, vase. Prcelain-faience covered in Eozin glaze.** Hungarian, 1899.
25 THE NEW ART IN PRAGUE (where my violin was made)
Oswald Polivka, entrance to the Novak Building.** Nove Mesto, prague, 1901-04./ Interior and exterior photos of Osvald Polivka and Antonin Balsanek, the Municipal House
26 HELINSINKI: SAARINEN AND FINNISH JUGEND
27 MOSCOW MODERN
Elena Polenova, plate from Mir Isskustva. St. Petersburg, 1900.
/ Fyodor Shekhtel, both photos from the Riabushinsky mansion.*** Moscow 1900-02.
28 LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND NEW YORK [another one of my favorite chapters--I adore L.C.T!]
Everything! Four Seasons window. Leaded favrile glass. American, 1897.
29 TURIN: STILE FLOREALE, A LIBERTY FOR ITALY?
The coolest chair I've seen in a long time: Carlo Bugatti, chair.*** Parchment over wood, copper, paint. Italian, 1902.
30 A STRANGE DEATH...
"Decorative Art can no longer exist any more than the 'style' themselves...Culture has taken a step forward and the hierarchical system of decoration has collapsed." Le Corbusier, L'Art decoratif d'aujourd'hui, 1925.
ILLUSTRATED OBJECT LIST: ART NOUVEAU 1890-1914 EXHIBITION, NATIONAL GALERY OF ART, WASHINGTON. Perhaps the best for last, has thumbnails of 375 additional pieces! I love it!

Listening to King Crimson The Power to Believe...awesome too.
Soar!

Incredible!
A book of incredible detail and beauty. I first saw this book in my local library and decided I simply must have it. There are print art, furniture and jewellry, arcitecture examples and more. Worth the purchase price to the last penny!

An encyclopedic presentation of beauty and history
this book is one of the most valuable in my personal library -- not only are the pictures gorgeous, but the text provides historical context and thus enriches the entire presentation. i enthusiastically looked at every page, and was flabbergasted by some of the objets d'art. the things people can dream of! the things they can make from raw materials... it's simply amazing, especially lalique's jewelry. one of the aspects of this book that i most admire is it's equal treatment of different forms: architecture, graphic design, jewelry, furniture, visual media, sculpture, and urban planning are all addressed. i wish it had spoken more about the music, poetry, and dance of the time, but that's not a complaint. the book is huge, but well organized into regional sections (france, spain, usa, etc) and gives biographical info about the artists as well. i am going to go back to europe again when i can, specifically to see the homes photographed in this amazing anthology. given the size and the amount of info, as well as the quality of the photographs, the price for this book is unbeatable. buy this collection -- you won't regret it at all! note: this book would be particularly useful to those interested in art history, nature in art, photography, and movement in art (note that loie fuller is a heavy influence on the form in france, and thus students of choreography/dance history should be familiar with this period in art)

comprehensive
This book is comprehensive and wonderful. You travel through the time and places where the style was taking shape. I was fortunate to see the fabulous exhibit (to which the book is the companion) at the National Museum in Washington, D.C. I was so pleased to find that the book was so exquistly done. It captures a vast array of pieces from the exhibit and dipicts them beautifully (I noticed one Lalique piece that is stunningly captured in this book yet is fuzzy in a Lalique book). There was no question I was going to purchase this tome despite having to lug it around while I explored the rest of the D.C. sites. ... Read more