Prestel

The book includes one hundred colour plates accompanied by in-depth descriptions, as well as numerous black-and-white photographs of the masks as they are used in religious and secular ceremonies. An introductory text by renowned scholars describes how the masks are made, examines their significance in African culture and offers insight into the universal practice of masquerading. A unique contribution to the literature on African art, this book is also a wonderful introduction to countless fascinating, age-old spiritual traditions still practised today.

The now global phenomenon of graffiti was first captured in New York by a professional photographer, Jon Naar, in early 1973. The Faith of Graffiti, the first and most celebrated book about this controversial new art form, reproduced just over forty selections from the hundreds of photographs he took. Now more than one hundred thirty never-before-published pictures from that landmark body of work, together with a selection of key photographs from The Faith of Graffiti, are brought together in a book destined to become a classic in its own right. Presented full-frame, at high resolution, and with meticulous attention to the original color, this book brings to life the gritty, exciting New York of the early 1970s and the raw visual power of early graffiti. These photographs recall a time when subway cars and tenement walls seemed to explode overnight into bursts of color and energy. Today these ephemeral works survive only in Naar's masterful photographs. Sacha Jenkins, an authority on graffiti's history, places these pictures within an emerging youth culture that now reaches into every corner of art, fashion, and entertainment.

This visually stunning collection of all Klimt's landscape paintings and drawings brings to light a little-known aspect of the Viennese painter's oeuvre, proving that his mastery extends beyond portraiture, and revealing themes that appeared throughout his life's work. While Klimt is largely revered for his opulent, symbol-laden portraits of the Viennese bourgeoisie, these works were just one aspect of his artistic expression. Klimt's landscapes represent an important facet of his career, and are a valuable contribution to the school of European nature painting. For many years the artist traveled to the Austrian and Italian countryside during the summer, where he took advantage of the extraordinary light and spectacular hues. Among the most exquisite of Klimt's landscapes are those in which he experimented with composition and style; many of them reveal the influence of his contemporaries. Accompanied by essays from scholars, the images reproduced in this book comprise all extant landscapes from this brilliant artist which, though few in number, are made even more valuable by their scarcity.

Photographer Poul Beckmann's first collection of larger-than-life beetles was hailed across the globe. The Houston Chronicle called it «one of the season's happiest marriages of science and art». The Wall Street Journal declared it an «original and beautiful book», while American Photo praised its «dazzling color and sumptuous production values». Now Beckmann has compiled an entirely new collection of gorgeous beetles that are ready for their close-up. Magnified multiple times their normal size and photographed in rich color, their true magnificence is revealed: page after page of luminescent golds, electrifying greens, fiery reds, and unearthly blues. There are beetles with leopard spots and zebra stripes, beetles shaped like rhinos and dragons, beetles with long horns and shining armor. While Beckmann's images represent the finest examples of nature photography, the presentation of his subjects takes these pictures to another level. Graphic designers, painters, architects, fashionistas, and entomologists will be amazed and inspired by the natural beauty of these tiny jewels.

Photojournalist Alex MacNaughton continues to traverse London's streets looking for the best graffiti. His first collection of photographs was eagerly snatched up by graffiti enthusiasts. Now featuring 150 new images, his latest book is full of color and life. Political, funny, angry, or just plain weird; in stencil or spray paint, the images here present a London simmering with artistic passion. The book opens with a map of MacNaughton's travels in London, detailing his quest for the perfect piece of street art. Following are page after page of riotous color photographs, bearing witness to the skill and talent possessed by the artists who practice it. This great looking, affordable volume provides a lasting record of this most fleeting of art forms.

This wide-ranging volume brings together for the first time «official» and «nonconformist» Russian art from the post-Stalin era. Fans of Russian art will celebrate the publication of this vast catalog, which includes hundreds of art works, biographies of the artists, and scholarly assessments of careers that both defied and adhered to the Soviet Union's strict policies regarding style and content. Drawn from the internationally renowned Ludwig Collection, the pieces are presented without political prejudice so that they can be appreciated for their artistic value. Essays discuss the artists' significant contributions to European art. In addition, cultural critics respond to questions regarding the socio-political climate of the three decades preceding and immediately following Glasnost, rounding out this book, which examines the Russian and Soviet artistic output that appeared from 1962 to 1995.

This beautifully illustrated book is a round-the-world tour of famous films so you, too, can go «on location». Filmmaking anecdotes, location details, and helpful maps take you on a «Lord of the Rings» journey in New Zealand, an «Easy Rider» road trip in the American Southwest, and a tour of the safari landscapes in «Out of Africa». Discover 40 countries and 400 films from the deserts of Morocco to the reefs of the Caribbean.

While the works of Walt Disney rank among the icons of American mass culture, it is easy to forget that Disney's characters and stories were inspired by original works of art. Now the sources that motivated Disney's imagination-and the artists that his studio in turn influenced-are brought to light. From the launching of the Walt Disney Company until the founder's death in 1967, this book includes more than 300 original works selected from the Disney archives and from private collections, together with paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and film stills. Here Disney fans will discover the fairy tales behind Sleeping Beauty and Snow White; they'll learn that Pinocchio's village was modeled on the medieval city of Rothenburg in Bavaria; that Bambi's forest took its inspiration from fifteenth-century Chinese painting; that Dumbo's bird's-eye views drew on the work of Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. Finally, the book looks at the myriad ways in which Disney's products became source materials for modern and contemporary artists, including Prokofiev and Léopold Stokowski as well as Christian Boltanski, Bertrand Lavier, Peter Saul, and Gary Baseman. A wonderful sourcebook for Disney enthusiasts, this colorful volume offers a unique perspective on the often-overlooked links between highbrow and popular culture.

The world's enthusiasm for Art Nouveau reached its apex at The World Fair in Paris in 1900. There René Binet created the main entrance, «la Porte Monumentale.» To coincide with the exposition, Binet published in Esquisses decoratives (1896) the plate designs for the gate, along with other sketches of furniture, jewelry, wallpaper, lighting, stained glass windows, signs, wrought iron, and architectural details. The entire collection of Binet's sketches for Esquisses decoratives are beautifully presented here in color and black and white. Like his renowned gate, they feature the organic structures and intricate embellishments that mirror the great variety of patterns and ornamentation found in the microcosm of nature and epitomize the Art Nouveau aesthetic. Binet credited scientist and artist Ernst Haeckel's work on radiolarians as his inspiration. Two prominent experts on art and architectural history lend their perspectives to this important work in the realm of the decorative arts.

Robert Mapplethorpe's black-and-white Polaroid photographs of the 1970s are brought together in this exquisite Volume for the first time. Critically praised for his classically composed photographs, Mapplethorpe remains intensely controversial and enormously popular. Revealing the themes that would inspire him throughout his career, this book brings together almost three hundred images, many never published, from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation's archive and private collections, to provide a critical view of Mapplethorpe's formative years as an artist. Included is a selection of his color Polaroids and objects incorporating his early «instant» photographs. Some images convey a disarming tenderness and vulnerability, while others have a toughness and immediacy that would give way in later years to more classical form. Sylvia Wolf traces the development of Mapplethorpe's use of instant photography during a period of five years, from 1970 to 1975, when the artist worked mainly in this medium. The images include self-portraits, figure studies, still lifes, portraits of lovers and friends such as Patti Smith, Sam Wagstaff, and Marianne Faithfull, and observations of everyday objects. Marked by a spontaneity and creative curiosity, these fragile images offer an illuminating contrast to the formal perfection of the work for which Mapplethorpe is best known, allowing us a more personal glimpse of his artistry.

Dating from 1917 to the end of the Cold War, the posters in this book feature the work of such major Russian groundbreaking avant-garde designers as El Lissitzky and Alexander Rodchenko as well as extraordinary works by lesser known artists. Presented in full color, the 250 posters gathered here range in themes from warnings about the dangers of alcohol abuse and the creeping Nazi menace to illustrations of utopian harmony and the Soviet industrial machine. A brief illustrated introduction offers a chronological overview of the period that produced such eloquent art, which has long been a major source of inspiration to artists and designers.

Plump ladies at lunch; girls on a night out; shopping in the mall: for over fourty years Beryl Cook brought our everyday world to colorful life, capturing moments of social history to create a perceptive record of life in the second half of the twentieth century. This highly popular book, the last to be published with Beryl’s cooperation, is now available in a revised version featuring her last four paintings, alongside many other rarely seen works not included in the previous edition. It also offers an appreciation of her life and work. News of Cook’s death in May 2008 prompted an outpouring of admiration from the art world and the general public alike. The London Times wrote: “Cook was the mistress of evanescent facial expressions and body language — the furtive glance, the hint of competitiveness, the deep concentration, the studied indifference and the momentary indecision…” Today Beryl Cook’s pictures hang in the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art and in the Plymouth and Bristol City Art Galleries. In London the Portal Gallery has represented Cook’s work exclusively for her entire painting career, staging 18 solo exhibitions.

Following up on the tremendous sucess of its predecessor, this new book offers a unique way to find creative inspiration every day of the year. As functional as it is beautiful, this book that also serves as a perpetual calendar features the world's masterpieces in richly colored double-page spreads that will look great on any desk. The artwork is shown in detail or in its entirety on the righthand page; the opposite page includes informative text, illuminating quotations and ample space to record personal notes, schedules and birthdays. Featuring an entirely new selection of masterpieces from Renaissance to Pop, East Asian to North American art, this lovely resource covers nearly every era and culture. It's the perfect gift for anyone interested in art or in creative food for thought.

No artistic education is complete without a healthy dose of the Impressionists. Here, fifty of the most important works from the early nineteenth to the turn of twentieth centuries are reproduced in gorgeous colour, including the best of Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne, Cassatt, Manet, Seurat, and Pisarro. Each piece is given a brief overview establishing its place in the Impressionist pantheon as well as in its artist's oeuvre. An introductory text explains the Impressionistic style, tracing the movement's development, while an appendix offers biographies of the artists. The result is a veritable seminar on Impressionism, creating a fun and practical art history lesson that everyone can enjoy.

This uniquely exhaustive survey of the leading artist of Viennese Art Nouveau style offers art lovers an irresistible opportunity: page after page of Klimt's paintings and frescoes along with illuminating commentary about his life and career. The author presents Klimt's entire painted oeuvre on an unprecedented scale. His commentary reflects the latest academic findings, such as Klimt's newly discovered church frescoes in Istria, in chapters featuring a wide-range of topics, including Klimt and women, the Viennese Secession, landscapes, portraits, and allegories. This volume's remarkable packaging reflects the magnificence of the work within. The book's large format allows close examination of the exquisite detail and luminescent quality of the work for which Klimt is renowned, making it a perfect gift or collector's item. Best of all, it provides viewers with an all-encompassing perspective on one of history's greatest painters.

These enchanting activity books allow young artists to explore the world's masterpieces on their own terms and with plenty of space to color outside the lines.

This vibrant reference guide profiles 50 major artists alongside their representative works. The entries are presented in an eye-catching format that includes brief biographies, time lines, and critical analyses. Additional information helps readers locate the artist's work online and in museums, a glossary of important terms, and sidebars highlighting relevant movements and techniques. Arranged chronologically, the selection of artists includes every major artistic movement and development since the Gothic period, giving readers a clear understanding of the evolution of the visual arts. Perfect for casual reading or easy reference, this accessible overview is a fun and practical art history lesson that everyone can enjoy.

New York City is where the quintessential contemporary people's art of graffiti was born. The top «writers» go «all city» when their tags can be seen throughout the five boroughs. This exhilarating selection of their work, assembled by Hugo Martinez, a leading authority on the history of street art in NYC, takes the reader on an «all-city» tour of New York, displaying the extraordinary range of its taggers and bombers. More than two hundred photographs showcase the artwork of the most prominent names of the past five years, including CASE 2, KEZ, MÖSCO, SKUF, VFR, and MQ. As graffiti comes to be embraced as a medium in its own right, its most important practitioners in NYC confirm the power and creativity of this vital contemporary language.

This first-ever guide to focus solely on London street art proves that the city's graffiti culture is clearly thriving. Shot in a riot of color by press photographer Alex MacNaughton, London Street Art presents a broad spectrum of writers and graffiti artists from crews all over London, including Hoxton, Shoreditch, Camden, and Hackney. Providing a lasting record of the best writers on the London scene, it captures pieces that last only a matter of hours or days before they are removed. From vast free masterpieces on walls, quirky stencils on doorways and pavements, to subtle stickers, tags and signatures, London Street Art is as hilarious as it is political, and showcases some of the most current, exciting and fresh urban art forms in the world.

Filled with beautiful artworks from every era, Couples in Art is inspired by the myriad images of lovers, spouses, and amorous couples found throughout The Metropolitan Museum of Art's encyclopaedic collection. Five millennia and a dazzling array of artistic cultures are represented, from the ancient Egyptian and tribal to those of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and Asian, Islamic, Hindu, Modern, and contemporary art. Readers will experience love in all its splendored forms: romantic, religious, warmly devoted, and erotic. This book features famous works by renowned masters, from Fra Filippo Lippi and Hans Memling to Aedouard Manet, John Singer Sargent, and Marc Chagall, along with anonymous and rarely seen images and objects. An engrossing and unusual journey through art of all ages, this brilliant volume also makes a heartfelt gift.

Startling colors, soft grays, undulating lines and large canvases are the hallmark of Richter's abstract period. Like all of Richter's painting, these works defy categorization, reflecting the artist's own journey towards understanding the world around him, a journey he invites his viewers to share with him. Three of his seminal works of this period: Red, Yellow, and Blue, are given particular attention and are presented here in luxurious foldout spreads. An illustrated essay by Robert Storr, perhaps the foremost authority on Richter, provides illuminating background to the artist's rich and complex oeuvre. Art critic Helmut Friedel interviews the artist and offers his own perspective on Richter's converging interests in painting and photography.

The birth of the Vienna Secession was brought about by collaboration among numerous painters, sculptors and architects, including Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann. For more than twenty years these pioneering figures mutually influenced each other as they created lasting monuments to the principles of artistic freedom. Published in conjunction with an exhibition commemorating the centennial of one of the pair's greatest accomplishments — the Stoclet Palace in Brussels — this book centres on the collaboration as a means of exploring the modernist movement at the turn of the century. Essays on Hoffmann's designs for the 1900 Paris World's Fair; the creation of the iconic Ver Sacrum building; the 1909 Internationale Kunstschau exhibition; and the history of the Stoclet Palace trace the rise of one of Europe's most fertile artistic eras. Readers will also learn about the role played by other prominent artists such as George Minne, Fernand Khnopff, Jan Toorop, and Frank Brangwyn as they explore the interplay of ideas that marked this important moment in western art.

One of the original celebrity artists, Titian was as famous for his beguiling personality as he was for his masterful paintings. This book introduces readers to the Venetian artist with an innovative format that marries Titian's voice with his works, allowing the artist's own words to deepen the appreciation of his achievements. An illustrated timeline and a pictorial tour of the galleries where his works now reside reveal how this contemporary of Michelangelo and Raphael broke new ground in nearly every genre of painting: portraiture, altar pieces, the rendering of mythological themes, frescoes, and pastoral landscapes. Numerous superb reproductions illuminate not just the breadth of his oeuvre, but also the mastery with which he employed light and colour to lend his paintings the sensuous energy for which he is so admired. Norbert Wolf's engaging text unlocks many of the mysteries surrounding Titian's celebrity, making this journey into the artist's world as intriguing as it is informative.

Few paintings inspire the kind of intense study and speculation as the Garden of Earthly Delights, the luminous triptych by Nertherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. The painting has been interpreted as a heretical masterpiece, an opulent illustration of the Creation and a premonition of the end of the world. In this new flexi-cover edition of the book, renowned art historian Hans Belting offers a radical reinterpretation of the work, which he sees not as apocalyptic, but utopian, portraying how the world would exist had the Fall not happened. Taking readers through each panel, Belting discusses various schools of thought and explores Bosch's life and times. Enhanced by a fold-out reproduction of the original painting, this fascinating study is an important contribution to the literature and theory surrounding one of the world's most enigmatic artists.