Showing titles in History & Criticism

What does it mean to call something "new"? Why is Western art and culture, even after postmodernism, still so obsessed with the concept? What are the consequences of relying on culture to bring about social change? In this provocative book, David Balzer argues that Western culture was never designed to produce truly new or original artifacts. Rather, we move from fixation to fixation, trend to trend—a cycle of creation and destruction with deep origins in Judeo-Christianity and the paganism that preceded it.

Brought to you by Penguin. Since the inception of mainstream art history, Blackness has been distinctly ignored. In Reframing Blackness, art historian and founder of @ABlackHistoryOfArt, Alayo Akinkugbe challenges this void. Exploring the presentation of Black figures in Western art, Blackness...

'Outstanding' - The Guardian 'Judith Mackrell has done an incredible job in bringing to life the stories of these two great artists' - Anthony D’Offay 'This is a must read . . . a deeply moving account of a family bursting with talent' - Anne Sebba In Artists, Siblings, Visionaries, acclaimed...

Journey back in time to explore one the most fascinating and influential periods of ancient history. In this concise and incredibly readable short history, Egyptologist Dr Campbell Price asks us how we know so much about life in ancient Egypt, from the working lives of pyramid builders to the...

Journey back in time to explore one the most fascinating and influential periods of ancient history. In this concise and incredibly readable short history, Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts journeys from the warrior societies of The Bronze Age all the way to the invention of democracy during the golden...

This is a historical journey like no other - unlike every other book on the subject, Goddess with a Thousand Faces transcends geographical boundaries and breaks down cultural barriers. From Rangda in Bali, to Freyja in Iceland and more recognisable faces such as the Greek goddess Artemis, it is a work of true inclusion - listeners are invited to consider these dazzling goddesses as part of a cultural cannon of human femininity; regardless of race, sex, or gender. Goddess with a Thousand Faces asks us to interrogate our past through a fresh new lens.

What if the British Museum isn't a house of learning, but a vast sinkhole of still-bubbling historic injustice? What if it presents us not with a carefully ordered cross section of history but is instead a palatial trophy cabinet of colonial loot swarming with volatile and errant spirits? When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a landslide as staff old and new brought forth testimonies of their inexplicable supernatural encounters.

A Literary Hub Most Noteworthy Nonfiction Book of 2024 A Brooklyn Rail Best Art Book of 2024 A The Millions and Hyperallergic Most Anticipated Book of 2024 A Publishers Weekly Summer Reads Pick ""A book that emerges out of the moment, electric with timely energies."" –Washington...

Art evolves and revolutionises itself through these simple - but ground-breaking - creative leaps. Art Firsts brings together 30 of these pioneering firsts to piece together an original approach to looking at and appreciating art, as well as understanding where it has come from and how it relates to you. Each first is approachable and engaging, while each work is simply and satisfyingly explained. Art Firsts offers a refreshing and fascinating narrative for those curious about why so-called 'masterpieces' are so important.

Somewhere within the iconic images, carefully made personae, star-studded milieu, million-dollar price tags and famous quotes lies the real Andy Warhol. But who was he? With Andy Warhol, Robert Shore unfolds the multi-dimensional Warhol, dissecting his existence as undisputed art-world hotshot, recreating the amazing circle that surrounded him, and tracing his path to stardom back through his early career and his awkward and unusual youth.

How to deal with the colonial history of art in museums and monuments in the public realm is a thorny issue that we are only just beginning to address. Alice Procter provides a guide for deconstructing everything you thought you knew about art history and tells the stories that have been left out of the canon. A much-needed provocation to look more critically at the accepted narratives about art and rethink and disrupt the way we interact with the museums and galleries that display it.

In the predawn hours of a gloomy February day in 1994, two thieves entered the National Gallery in Oslo and made off with one of the world's most famous paintings, Edvard Munch's Scream. It was a brazen crime committed while the whole world was watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter...

Two modern adventurers sought a treasure possessed by the legendary “Wild Men of Borneo.” One found riches. The other vanished forever into an endless jungle. Had he shed civilization—or lost his mind? Global headlines suspected murder. Lured by these mysteries, New York Times bestselling...

Was hat Dalí vom Camembert gelernt? Lustig, leidenschaftlich, lehrreich – ein Blick hinter die Kulissen, der Kunstnerds wie Kunstbanausen gleichermaßen begeistert. Einer der bekanntesten Surrealisten ließ sich bei seinen fließenden Uhren von französischem Weichkäse inspirieren, der Schöpfer des ›Schrei‹, Edvard Munch, verteilte auf den meisten seiner Werke Vogelscheiße, Martin Kippenberger hat in den 1980er-Jahren ein Bild von Gerhard Richter als Tischplatte in seiner eigenen Skulptur verarbeitet.

"Шедевры Третьяковки. Личный взгляд" – это увлекательная прогулка по залам Третьяковской галереи вместе с Зельфирой Трегуловой. В книге описываются знаменитые полотна российских художников XIX и XX веков: Ильи Репина, Михаила Врубеля, Казимира Малевича и других. Автор рассказывает о том, какие картины кажутся ей наиболее значимыми для истории мирового искусства и почему. Книга будет интересна читателям, которые хотят по-настоящему оценить сокровища российской живописи и взглянуть на них глазами одного из самых уважаемых кураторов страны.

Ни одна культура, ни один культурный этап не имеет такого прямого отношения к современности, как эпоха Возрождения. Ренессанс – наиболее прогрессивный и революционный период в истории человечества. Об этом рассказывает Паола Дмитриевна Волкова в следующей аудиокниге цикла Мост через бездну, принимая эстафету у первого искусствоведа, Джоржо Вазари, настоящего человека своей эпохи – писателя, живописца и архитектора.Художники Возрождения – Сандро Ботичелли и Леонардо да Винчи, Рафаэль и Тициан, Иероним Босх и Питер Брейгель Старший – никогда не были просто художниками.

Фиалка и плод граната, единорог и собака, бык и лев, попугай и павлин, весы и жемчуг, рог изобилия и зеркало, знак «Зеркало Венеры» и христианский знак «ихтис»…

Craig Childs bears witness to rock art of the Colorado Plateau—bighorn sheep pecked behind boulders, tiny spirals in stone, human figures with upraised arms shifting with the desert light, each one a portal to the open mouth of time. With a spirit of generosity, humility, and love of the arid, intricate landscapes of the desert Southwest, Childs sets these ancient communications in context, inviting listeners to look and listen deeply.

The celebrated painter Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) occupied a central place in the artistic scene of his time: a founding member of the new school of French painting, he was a close friend of Monet, a longtime associate in Degas's and Mary Cassatt's experimental work, a support to Cezanne and Gauguin, and a comfort to Van Gogh, and was backed by the great Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel throughout his career. Nevertheless, he felt a persistent sense of being set apart, different, and hard to classify.

Karl Kraus gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Aphoristiker deutscher Sprache. Ob berühmte Schriftsteller oder die Presse - nichts und niemand wurde von der gnadenlosen Kritik seiner Feder verschont. Bekannte Künstler wie Stefan Zweig, Georg Trakl, Thomas Mann und andere zollten ihm Respekt, aber die Zahl seiner Feinde in Kunst und Gesellschaft war enorm. Als Vorleser hinterließ er aufgrund seiner Sprachgewalt und Persönlichkeit angeblich einen äußerst außergewöhnlichen Eindruck.