Books
Discover a curated selection of Art books available in our library. Here you will find key textbooks, reference materials, and recommended readings to enhance your understanding of Art, Art History, and Historical Art Figures. Use the search tools to locate specific titles, or browse our collection for inspiration. Happy reading!
Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art
by
The art of the Renaissance is usually the most familiar to non-specialists, and for good reason. This was the era that produced some of the icons of civilization, including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, Pietà, and David. Marked as one of the greatest moments in history, the outburst of creativity of the era resulted in the most influential artistic revolution ever to have taken place. The period produced a substantial number of notable masters, among them Donatello, Filippo Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, and Tintoretto. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on artists from Italy, Flanders, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, historical figures and events that impacted the production of Renaissance art. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Renaissance art.
The Oxford companion to the photograph
by
"Compiled by an international team of over 140 contributors, this is the first Oxford Companion to deal with the subject of photography. It appears at a watershed in the medium's history, as digital imaging increasingly dominates the global photography scene. Providing a wide range of technical information, the Companion also presents, in a concise and readily accessible form, the mass of recent scholarship on photography as a social and artistic practice. There are over 800 biographical entries, both on photographers and on others who have influenced photographic culture from the 19th century to the present. The Companion is stunningly illustrated, with many pictures published here for the first time."--Publisher.
Beyond Imperial Aesthetics : theories of art and politics in East Asia
by
Punk art history : artworks from the European no future generation
by
The punk movement of the 1970s to early 1980s is examined as an art movement through archive research, interviews, and art historical analysis. It is about pop, pain, poetry, presence, and about a 'no future' generation refusing to be the next artworld avant-garde, instead choosing to be the 'rear-guard'. 103 col. and b/w illus. Author interview with Echoes & Dust.
Self-representation in an expanded field : from self-portraiture to selfie, contemporary art in the social media age
by
Defined as a self-image made with a hand-held mobile device and shared via social media platforms, the selfie has facilitated self-imaging, becoming a ubiquitous part of globally networked contemporary life. Beyond this, selfies have facilitated a diversity of image making practices and enabled otherwise representationally marginalized constituencies to insert self-representations into visual culture. In the Western European and North American art-historical context, self-portraiture has been somewhat rigidly albeit obliquely defined, and selfies have facilitated a shift regarding who literally holds the power to self-image. Like self-portraits, not all selfies are inherently aesthetically or conceptually rigorous or avant-garde. But--as this project aims to ... address via a variety of interdisciplinary approaches--selfies have irreversibly impacted visual culture, contemporary art, and portraiture in particular. Selfies propose new modes of self-imaging, [move] forward emerging aesthetics and challenge established methods; they prove that as scholars and image-makers it is necessary to adapt and innovate in order to contend with the most current form of self-representation to date.
Andy Warhol
by
In a work of great wisdom and insight, art critic and philosopher Danto delivers a compact, masterful tour of Andy Warhol's personal, artistic, and philosophical transformations.
Georgia O'Keeffe A Life
by
One of the greatest and most admired artists of the twentieth century, Georgia O'Keeffe led a life rich in intense relationships--with family, friends, and especially with fellow artist Alfred Stieglitz. Her extraordinary accomplishments, such as the often eroticized flowers, bones, stones, skulls, and pelvises she painted with such command, are all the more remarkable when seen in the context of the struggle she waged between the rigorous demands of love and work. When Roxana Robinson's definitive biography of O'Keeffe was first published in 1989, it received rave reviews and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. 0This new edition features a new foreword by the author setting O'Keefe in an artistic context over the last thirty years since the book was first published, as well as previously unpublished letters of the young O'Keeffe to her lover, Arthur MacMahon. It also relates the story of Robinson's own encounter with the artist. As interest in O'Keeffe continues to grow among museum-goers and scholars alike, this book remains indispensable for understanding her life and art.
World of Manet
by
An account of the life, career and paintings of 19th century French artist Edouard Manet, with background information on the time. -- Provided by publisher.
Interpreting art
by
How do people make sense of works of art? And how do they write to make others see the same way? There are many guides to looking at art, histories of art history and art criticism, and accounts of various 'theories' and 'methods', but this book offers something very unlike the normal search for difference and division: it examines the general and largely unspoken norms shared by interpreters of many kinds. Ranging widely, though taking writing within the Western tradition of art history as its primary focus, Interpreting Art highlights the norms, premises, and patterns that tend to guide interpretation along the way. Why, for example, is the concept of artistic 'intention' at once so reviled and yet so hard to let go of? What does it really involve when an interpretation appeals to an artwork's 'reception'? How can 'context' be used by some to keep things under control and by others to make the interpretation of art seem limitless? And how is it that artworks only seem to grow in complexity over time? Interpreting Art reveals subtle features of art writing central to the often unnoticed interpretative practices through which we understand works of art. In doing so, the book also sheds light on possible alternatives, pointing to how writers on art might choose to operate differently in the future.
Mini-Masterpieces: exploring art history with hands-on projects for kids
by
Learn to create art just like the famous artists who inspire us?it's easier than you think! Known for her colorful painted paper lessons, elementary art teacher Laura Lohmann has created the go-to art history book to creatively engage kids. Mini Masterpieces: Exploring Art History With Hands-On Projects for Kids encourages young artists to explore various art materials through projects inspired by a diverse collection of famous artists past and present from around the world. This invaluable guide to creating beautiful art includes: 52 art projects thoroughly tested by more than 800 kids to get them just right--perfect for ages 5-12 and all different skill levels. Step-by-step full-color photos, helpful tips and techniques (including how to make painted paper), and a list of must-have inexpensive art supplies. Background information about each unique artist that will help young artists get to know them and their body of work. Learning art history has never been more fun!
The Art of Color
by
"In this book Itten examines two different approaches to understanding the art of color. Subjective feelings and objective color principles are the two poles which are described in detail and clarified with numerous color reproductions. The key to this knowledge lies in the color circle and the seven color contrasts which are found on pages 35-109. The problems of visual, emotional and symbolic color effects are carefully explored with numerous color illustrations. The systematic color exercises are followed by outstanding reproductions of paintings by the great masters--28 large-size, four-color plates--which offer insight into all the epochs of Western painting from the Early Middle Ages to Klee and Picasso. With each reproduction is one of Professor Itten's famous analyses which proves how conscious awareness and use of color contrast has been an important means of expression." -- Book Jacket.