LITMIR.BIZ

From the thousand-year-old statues celebrating fertility, to the odalisques of the modern painters, erotic art has always held a prominent place in societies, whatever their morals or cultural references. This work assembles one thousand images of erotic art, from all times and all continents, to illustrate how the representation of these pleasures of the flesh testifies to the evolution of different civilisations and their histories. While eroticism abounds today in advertising and in the media, this book offers an exceptional view into the archives of erotic imagery and emphasises the artistic value of these magnificent illustrations of sin.

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He was the son of a citizen in comfortable circumstances, and had been, in Vasari’s words, “instructed in all such things as children are usually taught before they choose a calling.” However, he refused to give his attention to reading, writing and accounts, continues Vasari, so that his father, despairing of his ever becoming a scholar, apprenticed him to the goldsmith Botticello: whence came the name by which the world remembers him. However, Sandro, a stubborn-featured youth with large, quietly searching eyes and a shock of yellow hair – he has left a portrait of himself on the right-hand side of his picture of the Adoration of the Magi – would also become a painter, and to that end was placed with the Carmelite monk Fra Filippo Lippi. But he was a realist, as the artists of his day had become, satisfied with the joy and skill of painting, and with the study of the beauty and character of the human subject instead of religious themes. Botticelli made rapid progress, loved his master, and later on extended his love to his master’s son, Filippino Lippi, and taught him to paint, but the master’s realism scarcely touched Lippi, for Botticelli was a dreamer and a poet. Botticelli is a painter not of facts, but of ideas, and his pictures are not so much a representation of certain objects as a pattern of forms. Nor is his colouring rich and lifelike; it is subordinated to form, and often rather a tinting than actual colour. In fact, he was interested in the abstract possibilities of his art rather than in the concrete. For example, his compositions, as has just been said, are a pattern of forms; his figures do not actually occupy well-defined places in a well-defined area of space; they do not attract us by their suggestion of bulk, but as shapes of form, suggesting rather a flat pattern of decoration. Accordingly, the lines which enclose the figures are chosen with the primary intention of being decorative. It has been said that Botticelli, “though one of the worst anatomists, was one of the greatest draughtsmen of the Renaissance.” As an example of false anatomy we may notice the impossible way in which the Madonna’s head is attached to the neck, and other instances of faulty articulation and incorrect form of limbs may be found in Botticelli’s pictures. Yet he is recognised as one of the greatest draughtsmen: he gave to ‘line’ not only intrinsic beauty, but also significance. In mathematical language, he resolved the movement of the figure into its factors, its simplest forms of expression, and then combined these various forms into a pattern which, by its rhythmical and harmonious lines, produces an effect upon our imagination, corresponding to the sentiments of grave and tender poetry that filled the artist himself. This power of making every line count in both significance and beauty distinguishes the great master-draughtsmen from the vast majority of artists who used line mainly as a necessary means of representing concrete objects.

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Pieter Brueghel was the first important member of a family of artists who were active for four generations. Firstly a drawer before becoming a painter later, he painted religious themes, such as Babel Tower, with very bright colours. Influenced by Hieronymus Bosch, he painted large, complex scenes of peasant life and scripture or spiritual allegories, often with crowds of subjects performing a variety of acts, yet his scenes are unified with an informal integrity and often with wit. In his work, he brought a new humanising spirit. Befriending the Humanists, Brueghel composed true philosophical landscapes in the heart of which man accepts passively his fate, caught in the track of time.

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Different eras and civilisations have treated erotic images with varying acceptance and different concepts of erotica and these tendencies are reflected within the works themselves. From ancient statues devoted to fertility to Renaissance engravings designed to encourage procreation within marriage, erotic art has always held an important place in society. Here, for the first time, 1,000 authentic images of erotic art have been brought together, spanning the centuries and civilisations to demonstrate the evolution of the genre. In an era such as ours when eroticism is abundant in advertising and the media, this book gives a refreshing insight into the background of erotic imagery, highlighting the artistic value of beautiful works of eroticism executed with skill.

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Spanish architect and designer, Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was an important and influential figure in the history of contemporary Spanish art. His use of colour, application of a range of materials and the introduction of organic forms into his constructions were an innovation in the realm of architecture. In his journal, Gaudí freely expressed his own feelings on art, “the colours used in architecture have to be intense, logical and fertile.” His completed works (the Casa Batlló, 1905-1907 and the Casa Milà, 1905-1910) and his incomplete works (the restoration of the Poblet Monastery and the altarpiece of Alella in Barcelona) illustrate the importance of this philosophy. His furniture designs were conceived with the same philosophy, as shown, for example, in his own office (1878) or the lamps in the Plaza Real in Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia (1882-1926) was a monumental project which eventually took over his life (it was still incomplete at the time of his death).

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“All living beings are Buddhas and have wisdom and virtue within them.” (Buddha) Buddha ranks among the most depicted holy figures of the world – perhaps appearing more than Christ, a subject widely treated by Western artists. Venerated in all the nations of Asia, and even beyond, his image took form along the Silk Road, the birthplace of many schools of Buddhism. Indeed, the Buddhist religion recognises many Buddhas representing various traditions such as Buddhism of 'the Ancient Teaching' (Theravada), of 'the Great Vehicle' (Mahayana) and Tantric Buddhism (Varjrayana). A figure adored by all, Buddha has been depicted in every art form: sculpture, often of monumental size, like the now destroyed Buddhas of Bamyan, painting, and above all in countless cave murals, such as those of Ajanta in India or Dunhuang in China. Perfect for all those passionate about Asian art, from neophytes to Buddhists, this fascinating work invites the reader not only to discover or rediscover Buddha, his history, his codes, but also his innumerable faces through 1,000 representations selected from among the most beautiful works held in the world’s greatest museums.

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From ancient Sumerian pottery to Tiffany stained glass, Decorative Art had been a fundamental part of the human experience for generations. While Fine Art is confined to galleries and museums, Decorative Art is the art of the every day, combining beauty with functionality in objects ranging from the prosaic to the fantastical. In this work, authors Albert Jacquemart and Émile Bayard celebrate the beauty and artistic potential behind even the most quotidian object. Readers will walk away from this text with a newfound appreciation for the subtle artistry of the manufactured world.

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According to the predominant standards, a portrait should be a faithful representation of its model. However, this is not always the case. This gallery of 1,000 portraits illustrates how the genre has been transformed throughout history, and has proven itself to be much more complex than a simple imitation of reality. Beyond exhibiting the artist’s skill, the portrait must surpass the task of imitation, as just and precise as it may be, to translate both the intention of the artist as well as that of its patron, without betraying either’s wishes. Therefore, these silent witnesses, carefully selected in these pages, reveal more than faces of historic figures or anonymous subjects: they reveal a psychology more than an identity, illustrate an allegory, serve as political and religious propaganda, and embody the customs of their epochs. With its impressive number of masterpieces, biographies, and commentaries on works, this book presents and analyses different portraits, giving a reflection of the evolution of society, and above all the upheavals of a genre that has dramatically shaped the history of art.

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Long thought of as the neglected stepchild of painting, the art of Drawing has recently begun to enjoy a place in the sun. With major museums around the world, from the Met to the Uffizi, mounting exhibitions focussed on the art of draughtsmanship, Drawing is receiving more critical and academic attention than ever before. This captivating text gives readers a sweeping analysis of the history of Drawing, from Renaissance greats like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to Modernist masters like M.C. Escher, Pablo Picasso, and everyone in between.

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Featuring 1,000 internationally recognised paintings, this collection spans the history of art from the 13th century to the present, from the early stirrings of the Renaissance movement in Italy to the boundary-pushing experiments of the Abstract Expressionists in post-World War II America. These cultural treasures are presented in historical context, along with extended captions and biographies of one hundred of the most influential artists. Each chapter reviews major events that had an impact on the art world, defines significant techniques, and comments on relevant innovations. An artistic, cultural, and educational resource, this book invites us to consider the interaction between history and art, and the influence artists through the ages have had on each other, as well as the future of the discipline. The traditional and the controversial, the mythic and the understated, the quietly subversive and the deliberately challenging – all are thought-provoking if only for their persistence, and together they document the progress of Western history through the eyes of our most creative visionaries.

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