LITMIR.BIZ

Those who have had the chance to hold a medieval manuscript in their hands cannot fail to have been impressed by the feeling of being in touch with a long-passed epoch. Back when a book was a true handicraft and every copy the result of a laborious process, the object was more a work of art than a volatile commercial product. The Mega Square Illuminated Manuscripts puts the reader in touch with amazing medieval illustrations and unique adornments, which document the imaginative power of their creators.

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This book analyses the evolution of iconic art from its beginning in Byzantium to the time of the Russian Empire. Icons are a fundamental element in the history of art, and it is therefore crucial to understand how this form of expression began and how it developed over centuries. Icons are discussed by one of the world-renowned experts on early Christian iconography, offering a valuable point of reference for specialists, as well as students.

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In the Middle Ages, navigation relied upon a delicate balance between art and science. Whilst respecting the customs and the precautions of their forbearers, sailors had to count on their knowledge of the stars, the winds, the currents, and even of migratory flights. They also used hand-painted maps, which, although certainly summary, were marvellously well-drawn. In following the saga of old sailors, from Eric Le Rouge to Robert Peary, Donald Wigal leads us in discovering the New World. This magnificent overview of maps dating from the 10th to the 18th centuries, often ‘primitive’ and sometimes difficult to understand, retraces the progress of cartography and shows the incredible courage of men who endeavoured to conquer the seas with tools whose geographical accuracy often left much to be desired.

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The influence of works by French artists extends itself across all artistic styles, and many French works have gained world fame as classics. This book gives an overview of the French milestones in still lifes, portraits, and landscapes, and includes artists like Poussin, Clouet, Moreau, Millet, Courbet, Signac, and Rouault. The convenient format makes the Mega Square edition an ideal gift for any art lover.

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Besides its practical uses in regions across the globe, the fan has a long history as a fashion item, with new shapes, materials, and colours constantly being created. This book portrays the most artistic examples from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The imaginative shapes and expensive materials of fans are usually decorated with peculiar images of social events, icons, and music notes. Through its practical format, this book is an ideal gift for any lover of fashion and cultural objects.

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Erotic photo art has lost much of its exquisite soul since Playboy and other girlie monthlies repackaged the human body for mass-market consumption. Like much painting, sculpture and engraving, since its beginning photography has also been at the service of eroticism. This collection presents erotic photographs from the beginning of photography until the years just before World War II. It explores the evolution of the genre and its origins in France, and its journey from public distrust to the large audience it enjoys today.

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Ornans, Courbet’s birthplace, is near the beautiful valley of the Doubs River, and it was here as a boy, and later as a man, that he absorbed the love of landscape. He was by nature a revolutionary, a man born to oppose existing order and to assert his independence; he had that quality of bluster and brutality which makes the revolutionary count in art as well as in politics. In both directions his spirit of revolt manifested itself. He went to Paris to study art, yet he did not attach himself to the studio of any of the prominent masters. Already in his country home he had had a little instruction in painting, and preferred to study the masterpieces of the Louvre. At first his pictures were not sufficiently distinctive to arouse any opposition, and were admitted to the Salon. Then followed the Funeral at Ornans, which the critics violently assailed: “A masquerade funeral, six metres long, in which there is more to laugh at than to weep over.” Indeed, the real offence of Courbet’s pictures was that they represented live flesh and blood. They depicted men and women as they really are and realistically doing the business in which they are engaged. His figures were not men and women deprived of personality and idealised into a type, posed in positions that will decorate the canvas. He advocated painting things as they are, and proclaimed that la vérité vraie must be the aim of the artist. So at the Universal Exposition of 1855 he withdrew his pictures from the exhibition grounds and set them in a wooden booth, just outside the entrance. Over the booth he posted a sign with large lettering. It read, simply: “Courbet – Realist.” Like every revolutionary, he was an extremist. He ignored the fact that to every artist the truth of nature appears under a different guise according to his way of seeing and experiencing. Instead, he adhered to the notion that art is only a copying of nature and not a matter also of selection and arrangement. In his contempt for prettiness Courbet often chose subjects which may fairly be called ugly. But that he also had a sense of beauty may be seen in his landscapes. That sense, mingled with his capacity for deep emotion, appears in his marines – these last being his most impressive work. Moreover, in all his works, whether attractive or not to the observer, he proved himself a powerful painter, painting in a broad, free manner, with a fine feeling for colour, and with a firmness of pigment that made all his representations very real and stirring.

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The art of porcelain manufacturing is linked closely to China and its history, appearing in the 7th century when it became an important symbol of royalty or high status. The masterpieces of the genre featured in this book range from simple tea bowls and fantastic vases to hair ornaments, figurines and snuff boxes with intricate, multi-coloured designs. The presentations of these fragile objects are accompanied by an informative outline of the history of Chinese porcelain. This delicate material attracted and continues to attract the attention of art lovers throughout the world.

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Léon Bakst (1866-1924) was a painter, illustrator, stage and costume designer. He is universally acknowledged for representing a synthesis of creative energy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bakst travelled widely throughout Europe and in 1890 joined the World of Art journal circle which numbered many artists among its members, the most famous being Benois and Diaghilev. This book illustrates the wealth of Bakst's contribution to the world of theatre and dance. His best known work includes sets for Stravinsky's Firebird, and Weber's Spectre de la Rose.

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Ever since its triumph at the Paris Universal Exposition, Art Nouveau has continued to inspire artists. The movement offered an artistic response to the industrial revolution and the creative vacuum left in its wake, exerting a huge impact on the decorative arts. Art Nouveau spans all forms of expression – including design, painting and architecture – and covers artists such as Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Antoni Gaudí, Jan Toorop, and William Morris.

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