Edward Hopper's paintings are icons of American culture. His representations of gas stations, storefronts, cafeterias and hotel rooms embody the solitude of travel and adult life in the America of the thirties, forties and fifties. Because of the familiarity of his subject matter, Hopper has been pigeon-holed both historically, as an American realist, and thematically, as an artist of alienation. Mark Strand, recent poet laureate and writer of many books of award-winning poetry, approaches Hopper's work with a fresh eye, exploring the aesthetic principles behind the paintings. Strand, whose poems move through a terrain similar to that portrayed by Hopper, possesses a unique and powerful understanding of what makes the paintings so moving and memorable. He writes with his distinctive clarity and grace, examining twenty-three of Hopper's most important works. He cites aesthetic reasons for Hopper's continuing ability to deeply move people in an America that has grown considerably more complex both politically and socially since mid-century.

For Rembrandt as for Shakespeare, all the world was indeed a stage, and he knew in exhaustive detail the tactics of its performance; the strutting and mincing; the wardrobe and the face paint; the full repertoire of gesture and grimace; the flutter of hands and the roll of the eyes; the belly laugh and the half-stifled sob. He knew what it looked like to seduce, to intimidate, to wheedle, and to console; to strike a pose or preach a sermon; to shake a fist or uncover a breast; how to sin and how to atone; how to commit murder and how to commit suicide. No artist had ever been so fascinated by the fashioning of personae, beginning with his own. No painter ever looked with such unsparing intelligence or such bottomless compassion at our entrances and our exits and the whole rowdy show in between. More than three centuries after his death, Rembrandt remains the most deeply loved of all the great masters of painting, his face so familiar to us from the self-portraits painted at every stage in his life, yet still so mysterious. As with Shakespeare, the facts of his life are hard to come by; the Leiden miller's son who briefly found fame in Amsterdam, whose genius was fitfully recognized by his contemporaries, who fell into bankruptcy and died in poverty. So there is probably no other painter whose life has engendered more legends, nor to whom more unlikely pictures have been attributed (a process now undergoing rigorous reversal). "Rembrandt's Eyes," about which Simon Schama has been thinking for more than twenty years, shows that the true biography of Rembrandt is to be discovered in his pictures. Though a succession of superbly incisive descriptions and interpretations of Rembrandt'spaintings threaded into his narrative, he allows us to see Rembrandt's life clearly and to think about it afresh. But this book moves far beyond the bounds of conventional biography or art history. With extraordinary imaginative sympathy, Schama conjures up the world in which Rembrandt moved -- its sounds, smells and tastes as well as its politics; the influences on him of the wars of the Protestant United Provinces against Spain, of the extreme Calvinism of his native Leiden, of the demands of patrons and the ambitions of contemporaries; the importance of his beloved Saskia and, after her death (Rembrandt was later forced to sell her grave, so complete was his ruin), of his mistress Hendrickje Stoffels; and, above all, the profound effect on him of the great master of the immediately preceding generation, the Catholic painter from Antwerp, Peter Paul Rubens: "the prince of painters and the painter of princes" with whom Rembrandt was obsessed for the first part of his life, and whose career was the shaping force that drove Rembrandt to test the farthest reaches of his own originality. "Rembrandt's Eyes" shows us "why" Rembrandt is such a thrilling painter, so revolutionary in his art, so penetrating of the hearts of those who have looked for three hundred years at his pictures. Above all, Schama's understanding of Rembrandt's mind and the dynamic of his life allows him to re-create Rembrandt's life on the page. Through a combination of scholarship and literary skill, Schama allows us to actually see that life through Rembrandt's own eyes. In overcoming the paucity of conventional historical evidence, it is the most intelligently true biography of Rembrandt that has ever beenwritten, and the most dazzling achievement to date of the art historian whose work has been hailed as "marvelously rich and eloquent" ... "rare, imaginative" ... "provocative" ... "astoundingly learned with verve, humor, and an unflagging sense of delight" ... that of "a master storyteller ... and a master of history."* Quotes from the "New York Times Book Review, Time," the "New York Times, The Independent on Sunday," and "Nature," respectively. "From the Hardcover edition."

   At the height of his powers, Pablo Picasso was the artist as revolutionary, breaking through the niceties of form in order to mount a direct challenge to the values of his time. At the height of his fame, he was the artist as royalty: incalculably wealthy, universally idolized−and wholly isolated.    In this stunning critical assessment, John Berger−one of this century's most insightful cultural historians−trains his penetrating gaze upon this most prodigious and enigmatic painter and on the Spanish landscape and very particular culture that shpaed his life and work. Writing with a novelist's sensuous evocation of character and detail, and drawing on an erudition that embraces history, politics, and art, Berger follows Picasso from his childhood in Malaga to the Blue Period and Cubism, from the creation of Guernica to the pained etchings of his final years. He gives us the full measure of Picasso's triumphs and an unsparing reckoning of their cost−in exile, in loneliness, and in a desolation that drove him, in his last works, into an old man's furious and desperate frenzy at the beauty of what he could no longer create.

In 1952, at the age of 23, Helen Frankenthaler created her legendary painting Mountains and Sea . She poured thinned-down pigment directly onto unprimed canvas to be absorbed into its fibers. This large painting, the first in which Frankenthaler used her soak-stain technique, synthesized the influences that had informed her work to that point and announces her arrival as a mature artist. Published to accompany a 1998 exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, this book focuses on Mountains and Sea and other groundbreaking paintings of Frankenthaler's early career. In this period, Frankenthaler drew upon Cubism, the abstractions of Arshile Gorky and, especially, those of Jackson Pollock, whose radical technique inspired her to reject easel painting. Frankenthaler herself became associated with the second generation of the New York School and her unique method and experimental use of materials influenced her contemporaries and subsequent generations of artists.

A picture universally recognized, endlessly scrutinized and described, incessantly copied, adapted, lampooned: does Leonardo's near-ruined Last Supper still offer anything new to be seen or to be said? This book is a resounding Yes to both questions. With direct perception -- -and with attention paid to the work of earlier scholars and to the criticism embodied in the production of copyists over the past five hundred years -- Leo Steinberg demonstrates that Leonardo's mural has been consistently oversimplified. This most thought-out picture in Western art, painted in the 1490s on the north wall of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, is a marvel of compressed meanings. Its subject is not one arrested moment, but successiveness and duration. It is not only Christ's announcement of the forthcoming betrayal, but in equal measure the institution of the Eucharist. More than the spur of the moment animates the disciples, and more than perspective determines their housing. Though Leonardo's geometry obeys all rules, it responds as well to Christ's action at center, as if in emanation from the prime mover. The picture is simultaneously narrative and sacramental. As its protagonist is two-natured, as the twofold event of this night is both human submission and divine dispensation -- -so the entire picture is shown to have been conceived in duplexity: a sublime pun.Meanwhile, the unending disagreement as to what exactly is represented, what the depicted actions express, how and where this assembly is seated -- -all these still-raging disputes are traced to a single mistaken assumption: that Leonardo intended throughout to be unambiguous and clear, and that any one meaning necessarily rules out every other.As Steinberg reveals an abundance of significant interrelations previously overlooked, Leonardo's masterpiece regains the freshness of its initial conception and the power to fascinate.

Deborah Solomon's biography sets Jackson Pollock in his time and portrays him as a shy, often withdrawn person, full of insecurities and self-doubts, and frequently unable to express himself about his art or its meaning. Solomon interviewed two hundred people who knew Pollock and his work and she has drawn extensively on Pollock's own writings and other personal papers. She examines the artist's relationships with his family; his wife and fellow artist Lee Krasner; art patron Peggy Guggenheim; the painters Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and many more.

The Stones of Florence is a non-fiction book written by Mary McCarthy, first published in 1959. The book is a travelogue and a cultural exploration of the city of Florence, Italy. The author delves into the history and art of the city, highlighting its rich cultural heritage and the impact of the Renaissance on its architecture, literature, and art. McCarthy takes the reader on a tour of the city, exploring its iconic landmarks such as the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Ponte Vecchio. She also examines the city's political and social history, including the role of the Medici family in shaping the city's cultural identity. Through her vivid descriptions and insightful analysis, the author provides a comprehensive portrait of Florence, its people, and its art. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Italian culture and history, and for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the city that has inspired countless artists and writers throughout the centuries.Picture And Text Book On Italy. Includes All Aspects Of Florentine Life, From Art And Architecture To Religion And Politics.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

The Moment of Cubism is one of John Berger’s most important collections of art criticism. Whether considering Vermeer in his studio, Poussin’s poignant meditation on death, or the complexities of Rodin’s sculpture, Berger draws together the threads that bind individual artists to their social and political context. Here Berger argues that Cubism was a moment rather than a movement, one that came and went without the consent of its key figures – Picasso and Braque above all. He makes a case for Cubism’s revolutionary influence. As always, Berger helps us see the world in new ways

This monograph offers a comprehensive survey of the work of Philip Guston, one of the most important artists of the 20th century. With a focus on Guston's iconic paintings, this book explores the complex themes of identity, politics, and art history that are central to his work. Alongside insightful essays and critical commentary, this book features stunning reproductions of Guston's paintings, offering readers a chance to experience the power and beauty of his art firsthand. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Jon Foster's art is dark, beautiful, and visually overpowering. From his Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars covers to his game industry work on Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition and Alternity, Foster always knows how to move the soul of the viewer. Progressions features a selection of Foster's paintings, sketches, and illustrations and is a must have for anyone who has ever admired art.

For nearly thirty years, Mort Kunstler has focused his considerable artistic talent on interpreting the Civil War through his paintings. In doing so, he has turned to leading historians and scholars for information that he has then translated on canvas to create an indelible image of this defining ordeal in America's history. More than 160 of those images--supplemented by preliminary sketches, early studies, and photographs of works in progress--are the basis for the four volumes in this series. Volume 4 follows the course of the war from the battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) through the end of the war at Appomattox (April 9, 1865). The march through Virginia and Tennessee and Georgia, culminating at the battle of Chickamauga, the Atlanta campaign, the battles of Franklin and Nashville, Sherman's March to the Sea, the North's rampage through South Carolina, and battles through North Carolina all ended in a parlor in a house at an obscure railroad crossroads.

Originated as 7 lectures delivered at Cooper Union in Mar. and April of 1974.

Known the world over for his iconic images of Che Guevara and Brasília, René Burri is one of the world’s greatest living photographers. Burri’s remarkable and adventurous work is brought together in this career- spanning collection of 55 photographs. A member of the prestigious Magnum photo agency, Burri is a photographer whose curiosity and humanity as a photographer have afforded him almost unrestricted access to the major events and personalities of the last fifty years. In this way the book is a fascinating personal account of the major artists, politicians and personalities that Burri has made a part of his life, as well as featuring lesser-known and early images which show how his style has developed.

This instantly collectible limited edition artist's book, featuring rounded edges and nine blown-in, four-color photographic images, documents a recent project by the daring and witty young American artist, Liz Cohen. In 2002, the artist began the process of importing the Trabant, once the most common car in East Germany, to the United States. Upon their arrival, Cohen set to work converting these Communist-era workhorses into supped-up hybrid American El Caminos. Black-and-white photographs and the artist's notes explain the process, and the glossy, blown-in photographs show the scantily clad, stiletto-shod artist posing in typical calendar-shot, car-model form on top of and alongside her works in progress, sometimes accompanied by the real-life mechanics who helped her to reach her dream.

Speak, Memory is a critical reader accompanying Los Angeles-based Kerry Tribe's (born 1973) exhibition at the Power Plant. It includes artwork reproductions, an annotated script from her film There Will Be _______ (2012), as well as texts by Eli Horwatt, Mark Godfrey and Melanie O'Brian.

In excellent condition. No creases or damage

A native of Vienna, Henry Koerner immigrated to the United States in 1938, a refugee from Hitler's persecution of the Jews. Upon his return to Vienna as an American soldier in 1946, he learned that his family had been deported and killed. This volume documents the painter's formation through his experience of loss, exploring his magical realism work of the period 1945-57.

This book is an overview of art of Harold Smith's Man of Color Series

Calling attention to the visual materiality of the text, this book attempts to halt linear reading, trapping the eye in a field of letters which make a complex object on the page. The writing refers continually to the visceral character of language, literalizing metaphors of tongue, breath, and flesh. The work both embodies and discusses language as a physical form, one whose properties cannot be ignored by arriving at a disembodied content. The format of this work invokes a reference to the carmina figurata of the Renaissance -- works in which a sacred image was picked out in red letters against a field of black type so that a holy figure could be seen and meditated on in the process of reading. The technique is reversed here, with the red field of small type serving as a background in which large, black letters are arranged like figures on the red ground. This is a facsimile reprint of an original letterpress edition issued in 1989.