From 1338-40, Lorenzetti painted one of the pioneering fresco cycles of the early Renaissance: the three large murals on the walls of the meeting room of the Nine Governors in Siena's town hall. The content of these frescos reflect the city's experiment with republican rule and are one of the consummate political statements in the history of Western art. Like others in this series, this volume features reproductions of the frescoes in conjunction with explanation and discussion. 10.25x7.75" Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Since the radiant years of the Renaissance, the city of Florence has come for many to represent the greatest triumph of the Western cultural tradition. This is the city where humanism was born, where Plato was discussed passionately in the narrow streets, and where men and women first found themselves to be the measure of all things. For more than three centuries Florence nurtured a creative community of astounding, even revolutionary genius. Here, starting in the late 1200s, Giotto painted the grave and powerful frescoes that drew Florence and the world toward a radical new vision of realism, and here, ushering in the dazzling era of the High Renaissance, Michelangelo began his incomparable career as architect, sculptor, and painter. During the intervening years, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Ghiberti, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo, and hundreds of the most splendidly talented artists in history lived and worked in this small city on the Arno and collaborated in the creation of the great urban museum we know as Florence. Matching an elegant and sophisticated text by three leading art historians with hundreds of glorious color photographs, The Art of Florence immerses us in a city and a time of unparalleled cultural ferment. This important and uncommonly beautiful publication analyzes the history of Florentine art in terms of the distinctly Florentine and Tuscan influences that shaped it—an approach never before employed in a study of this breadth and complexity. The fascinating and lucid text by Glenn Andres, John Hunisak, and Richard Turner gracefully links Florentine architecture, sculpture, and painting to the rich social fabric and the dramatic political life of the city. Woven into this compelling history is the most luxurious and comprehensive visual documentation available of Florence's unrivaled treasures. More than 700 color images and another 854 duotones and architectural drawings have been reproduced with a meticulous care worthy of the Renaissance craft tradition. Joining visual beauty with intellectual rigor in a fashion that truly invokes the spirit of this great city, The Art of Florence presents as rich a vision of human creativity as we can find anywhere outside Florence itself.

Hefty Folios. Full bound in blue cloth with gilt titling. Bindings are solid and interiors are clean and bright. Housed in original illustrated slipcase. In fine condition.

This work analyzes the history of Florentine art in terms of the distinctly Florentine and Tuscan influences that shaped it. It links architecture, sculpture and painting to the rich social fabric and dramatic political life of the city.

A beautiful and informative exploration of the illuminated manuscripts of the Bible over a millennium and across the globe, shedding new light on some of the most significant, yet rarely seen, paintings of the Middle Ages

120 of the world's most influential contemporary artists discuss the art that inspires them in this lavishly packaged and designed book. "The Artist Project is the latest step among The Met's recent strides to better integrate contemporary art into its historical pantheon." —Art News Artists have long been stimulated and motivated by the work of those who came before them - sometimes, centuries before them. Interviews with 120 international contemporary artists discussing works from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection that spark their imagination shed new light on art-making, museums, and the creative process. Images of the artworks appear alongside images of the contemporary artists' work, allowing readers to discover a rich web of visual connections that spans cultures and millennia.

Axel Vervoordt began his career as an art and antiques dealer in the late 1960s, when he meticulously renovated a narrow street with sixteen of the oldest houses in Antwerp. In 1986, his company moved to a castle near Antwerp. Axel Vervoordt's company grew rapidly in this castle and he became a major collector and decorator. The foundation of Vervoordt's style is his commitment to making the past a relevant part of today's design. By juxtaposing different works of art, gathered throughout space and time, a spontaneous dialogue between them is revealed, creating a new dimension for the future. Axel Vervoordt transcends the roles of decorator and collector. He understands the power of objects to conjure up an entirely new atmosphere and knows exactly where to place them to transform the space. This gorgeous book will be an inspiration to anyone interested in a home that is elegant and personal without being ostentatious or superfluous.

Elaborate pop-ups feature some wonderfully creepy creatures that just might dominate the ecosystem and be essential to our planet’s survival in an eerily realistic future world. Whether or not we know it, the sixth global extinction is already under way, propelled not by a meteor but by human activity on Earth. Take a long step forward into the year 4847 with the help of stunning pop-ups portraying eight fantastical creatures, along with spreads and flaps presenting details about each one. Paper engineer Shawn Sheehy envisions the aftermath of extinction as a flourishing ecosystem centered around fictional creatures that could evolve from existing organisms. Promising high appeal for science-fiction fans of all ages — and plenty of food for discussion — this evolutionary extravaganza offers a time line of the six extinction events in Earth’s history, a “field guide” to each creature, a diagram of species relationships, a habitat map of the (imagined) ruins of Chicago, and an illuminating author’s note.

Surveys new techniques and recent research and offers basic information on the various types of glaze materials and their application. Bibliogs

No Dust Jacket. Hinge cracked between pages 610-611 in index. Not separated.

A major contribution to the scholarship of South and Southeast Asian art. A major survey of South and Southeast Asian art drawn from the Alsdorf Collection, one of the finest private collections of Asian art in America. Although this extraordinary collection is well known to scholars and collectors, the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue will provide the first opportunity for the general public to view these remarkable works of art. This collection of more than 450 objects includes sculpture, jewelry, paintings, and architectural elements from India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Java, and elsewhere. The objects range in date from a medallion from the second century BC to twentieth-century sculpture. The catalogue has been written by the eminent scholar Pratapaditya Pal. Dr. Pal explains the major themes represented in the collection--Hindu gods, Buddhist and Jain subjects, goddesses, human figures, animals, and ritual, ornamental, and ceremonial objects--and discusses in detail the style, history, and iconography of individual pieces.