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This sumptuously illustrated volume analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition and describes how these artistic portrayals evolved over time. As with other books in the "Guide to Imagery" series, the goal of this volume is to help contemporary art enthusiasts decode the symbolic meanings...

An artist's materials - from the broad brushstrokes of a Van Gogh oil painting, the sparkling gold leaf of a Byzantine mosaic, to the fragile translucence of a porcelain vase - are not just the results of their work. They are the physical embodiment of the artist's creative vision and a reflection of the historical context in which they were used. "Artists'...

From antiquity to the Enlightenment, astrology, magic, and alchemy have always been considered important tools in unravelling the mysteries of nature and human destiny. As a result of the West's exposure to the astrological beliefs of Arab philosophers and the mystical writings of late antiquity, these occult traditions became rich sources of inspiration...

"A curator, a paintings conservator, a photographer, and a conservation scientist walk into a bar." What happens next? In lively and accessible prose, color science expert Roy S. Berns helps the reader understand complex color-technology concepts and offers solutions to problems that occur when art is displayed, conserved, imaged, or reproduced. Berns...

This title presents a gloriously illustrated exploration of 3,000 years of the iconography of death and resurrection in world art. As one of the unavoidable realities of human existence, death is also one of the oldest and most common themes in art. From Egyptian tomb paintings and battles scenes on Greek vases by anonymous artists, to depictions of...

This latest volume in the acclaimed "Art through the Centuries Series" explores the most important and influential artists and artistic concepts of the eighteenth century.While the Baroque style had dominated the previous century, a new sensibility - the Rococo - emerged during the early 1700s. The Rococo style, characterized by delicately curving forms,...

Influenced by a revival of interest in Greco-Roman ideals and sponsored by a newly prosperous merchant class, fifteenth-century artists produced works of astonishingly innovative content and technique. The International Gothic style of painting, still popular at the beginning of the century, was giving way to the influence of Early Netherlandish Flemish...

In the fourteenth century, Europe was a place ravaged by the effects of war and famine and then devastated by the Black Death. These multiple crises lead to a widespread mystical religiosity, which emphasised both ecstatic joy and extreme suffering. This in turn inspired the creation of some of the most magnificent religious art of the period, from...

The seventeenth century was an era of absolute monarchs, the Habsburgs of Spain and Louis XIV of France, whose patronage of the arts helped furnish their opulent palaces. But it was also the beginning of a new era of commercialism, in which artists increasingly catered to affluent collectors.The Baroque, with its roots in classicism but with a new emphasis...

In the sixteenth century, the humanist values and admiration for classical antiquity that marked the early Renaissance spread from Italy throughout the rest of the continent, resulting in the development of a number of local artistic styles in other countries. Artists were highly valued and richly compensated during this period, with many receiving...

Deliciously illustrated with masterpieces of western art, this latest volume in the highly acclaimed "Guide to Imagery" series explores the rituals, customs, and symbolism of food and dining in art.It features a dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to targeted art and food media.This sumptuous new guide describes the importance of food and feasts in...

An intriguing and richly illustrated analysis of the symbolic imagery found in gardens throughout history, this work features dedicated mailing to targeted art and gardening related media and organisations. This superbly illustrated volume presents readers with an intelligent and engaging analysis of the constituent elements of gardens - both real and...

As archetypes of human virtue and vice, the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece and Rome have figured prominently in Western culture. In art, they have been portrayed time and time again, especially during the Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical periods. This volume aims to help museum patrons and art lovers recognize the legendary characters of classical...

In viewing the great works of sacred Western art, many people find difficulty in understanding the stories and identifying the figures portrayed in them. This informative guide decodes these often-mysterious scenes and reveals a vibrant world of images from the Christian tradition for museum visitors, students and art enthusiasts alike. "Gospel Figures...

An icon (from the Greek word eikon, "image") is a wooden panel painting of a holy person or scene from Orthodox Christianity, the religion of the Byzantine Empire that is practiced today mainly in Greece and Russia. It was believed that these works acted as intermediaries between worshipers and the holy personages they depicted. Their pictorial language...

This is a magnificently illustrated and enlightening journey through the visual portrayal of love and sexuality in Western art. Even in the modern world where explicit imagery is manifest, an erotic painting from half a millennia ago can still manage to create a sensation. This new addition to the highly-acclaimed "Guide to Imagery Series" takes readers...

The proliferation of new metals-such as stainless steels, aluminium alloys and metallic coatings-in modern and contemporary art and architecture has made the need for professionals who can address their conservation more critical than ever. This volume seeks to bridge the gap between the vast technical literature on metals and the pressing needs of...

Nature and Its Symbols is the fifth volume in the series A Guide to Imagery, reference guides whose goal is to explain the symbols used in art. This volume includes chapters on plants, flowers, fruits, and animals of the earth, air, and water, as well as fantastical creatures such as centaurs, griffons, and dragons. The vivid illustrations, which include...

Due to the technological advances of the nineteenth century, an abundance of black drawing media exploded onto the market. Charcoal, conte crayon, and fabricated black chalks and crayons; fixatives; various papers; and many lifting devices gave rise to an unprecedented amount of experimentation. Indeed, innovation became the rule, as artists developed...

The first book-length material study of the works of Belgian Surrealist René Magritte. René Magritte (1898–1967) is the most famous Belgian artist of the twentieth century and a celebrated representative of the Surrealist movement. Much has been written about his practices, artistic community, and significance within the history of modernism, but...

Christian saints have been the objects of reverence and fascination throughout the past two millennia. Their likenesses, heroic acts, prayerful lives, and stories of martyrdom have been portrayed frequently in art of diverse media. Without familiarity with the saints and their images and symbols, viewers of art may find it challenging to identify, for...

From antiquity, when the gods and goddesses were commonly featured in works of art, through to the twentieth century, when Surrealists drew on archetypes from the unconscious, artists have embedded symbols in their works. As with previous volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this book is to provide contemporary readers and museum visitors...