Книги по живописи

Harmony Between Man and Nature. Discover the artists who sought to capture utopia

Around 1800, philosophers, writers, and artists revolted against rationalism, spreading a new “romantic” vision — one that believed in the goodness of humanity, the divine spirit of nature, and that saw the artist as an individual creator. This comprehensive introduction gathers an essay situating the genre across different regions, crisp reproductions, and detailed interpretations of 31 crucial pieces.

In a revolt against rationalism, Romanticism sought to return to nature and the belief in the goodness of humanity, with the artist considered to be a profoundly individual creator. Beginning in the early 19th century, Romantic ideals developed largely in opposition to the traditions of Greco-Roman antiquity, and advocated an open-ended and progressive — that is, modern — view of the age.

Yet Romantic artists, searching perhaps for unattainable ideals, also looked back to the late medieval and Renaissance periods for nostalgic themes of Judeo-Christian heritage; drawing from these, they believed that a politically and intellectually enlightened utopia could be achieved. Romantic styles and subjects varied widely throughout Europe and America, ranging from tranquil contemplative scenes to spectacularly staged events, and it is precisely this diversity that lends Romantic art its fascination and lasting influence.

This volume gathers an essay situating the genre across different regions, crisp painting reproductions, and detailed interpretations of 31 crucial pieces to offer a comprehensive introduction to Romanticism.

The author:

Norbert Wolf graduated in art history, linguistics, and medieval studies at the Universities of Regensburg and Munich, and earned his PhD in 1983. He held visiting professorships in Marburg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Nuremberg-Erlangen, and Innsbruck. His extensive writings on art history include many TASCHEN titles, such as Diego Velázquez, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Caspar David Friedrich, Expressionism, Romanesque, Landscape Painting, and Symbolism.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre series features:

- approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions
- a detailed illustrated introduction plus a timeline of the most important political, cultural and social events that took place during that period
- a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each of which is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and with an interpretation of
the respective work, plus a portrait and brief biography of the artist

Resisting interpretation or classification, Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was a prominent advocate for the artist’s consummate freedom of expression. Although identified as a key protagonist of the Abstract Expressionist movement, first formed in New York City, Rothko rejected the label and insisted instead on “a consummated experience between picture and onlooker.”

Following a repertoire of figurative works, Rothko developed his now iconic canvases of bold colour blocks in red, yellow, ochre, maroon, black, or green. With these shimmering, pulsating colour masses, Rothko stressed that he had not removed the human figure but rather put symbols or shapes in its place. These intense colour forms contained all the tragedy of the human condition. At the same time, Rothko explicitly empowered the viewer in the expressive potential of his work. He believed “A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer.”

From his early development through to his most famous colour fields, this book introduces the intellect and influence of Rothko’s dramatic, intimate, and revolutionary work.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Mark Rothko belongs to the generation of American artists who completely revolutionized the essence of abstract painting. His stylistic evolution, from a figurative visual repertoire to an abstract style rooted in the active relationship of the observer to the painting, embodied the radical vision of a renaissance in painting. Rothko characterized this relationship as "a consummated experience between picture and onlooker". His colour formations indeed draw the observer into a space filled with an inner light.

Rothko always resisted attempts to interpret his paintings. He was mainly concerned with the viewer`s experience, the merging of work and recipient beyond verbal comprehension. Rothko was an intellectual, a thinker, a highly educated man. He loved music and literature and was very involved in philosophy, especially in the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche and of ancient Greek philosophy and mythology.

Rothko was a protagonist within the movement of American painters who became known as the Abstract Expressionists. First formed in New York City during the inter-war years, this group was also called the New York School. In all the history of art, they became the first American artists to receive international recognition as a significant movement. Many among them, including Rothko, have become legendary figures.

About the Series:
TASCHEN portfolios feature high quality prints that beg to be framed. Tucked in each portfolio are 14 large-format reproductions, each with a brief description. Guaranteed to brighten any day, they also make great gifts for art lovers!

Tiger, Tiger. Henri Rousseau’s dreamlike jungles

Henri Rousseau claimed he had “no teacher other than nature.” A retired customs official who only began painting in his late 40s, his simple, bold paintings of exotic flora and fauna attracted public derision at first, but went on to gain adulation from Picasso, the Surrealists, and long beyond. This dependable introduction explores the makings of this late-blooming artist and his legacy as an unlikely hero of modernism.

Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) was a clerk in the Paris customs service who dreamed of becoming a famous artist. At the age 49, he decided to give it a try. At first, Rousseau’s bright, bold paintings of jungles and exotic flora and fauna were dismissed as childish and simplistic, but his unique and tenacious style soon won acclaim. After 1886, he exhibited regularly at Paris’s prestigious Salon des Indépendants, and in 1908 he received a legendary banquet of honor, hosted by Picasso.

Although best known for his tropical scenes, Rousseau, in fact, never left France, relying on books and magazines for inspiration, as well as trips to natural history museums and anecdotes from returning military acquaintances. Working in oil on canvas, he tended toward a vibrant palette, vivid rendering, as well as a certain lush, languid sensuality as seen in the nude in the jungle composition The Dream.

Today, “Rousseau’s myth" is well established in art history, garnering comparison with such other post-Impressionist masters as Cézanne, Matisse, and Gauguin. In this dependable TASCHEN introduction, we explore the makings of this late-blooming artist and his legacy as an unlikely hero of modernism.

The author:

Cornelia Stabenow was born in Bamberg, Germany, and wrote her doctoral thesis on Rousseau’s jungle pictures. She worked as an art historian from 1982 until her passing in 1990.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Roy Lichtenstein’s painting is almost an identifiable brand today and his influence is evident in many forms of artistic expression: painting, advertising, photography, design, fashion.

Published for the extensive Milan exhibition and curated by Gianni Mercurio, this catalogue analyses – for the first time – the works he created by appropriating images from the history of modern art.

The publication comprises more than 100 works, mainly large-scale paintings, drawings and sculptures, photographs, and short films dedicated to the artist held in significant public and private international collections, including the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Moderner Kunst Museum in Vienna, and the Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles.

There is a wide range of paintings with their preparatory drawings made by Lichtenstein from the 1950s to the 1990s and inspired by Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, 1930s Modernism, minimalist abstraction, Action Painting, and landscape and still life genres.

His art was not mere ‘citationism’ or the desire to reinterpret the art of the past but is about the appropriation and transformation in a Pop way of forms of Greek architecture, Etruscan painting and the Baroque line.

The exhibition proposes a major re-reading of the following: Impressionism and expressionism, with their main exponents such as Monet, Matisse, and Nolde; Cubism with Picasso; Futurism; the Rationalism of Mondrian; and Surrealism.

The historic avant-garde movements in particular, which gave life to a new artistic course through a break with the past and which are now assimilated into ‘great art’, were in turn transformed to become an object of ironic and destabilising inquiry highlighting the cultural commercialisation and exploitation of high art.

One of the most complete monographs of the artist to date, this volume depicts the career of Roy Lichtenstein, one of the finest American pop artists of his era. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was the master of the stereotype, and the most sophisticated of the major pop artists. An emblematic protagonist of the New York art scene of the second half of twentieth century, he became a legend in his prolific lifetime. Even now, thirteen years after his death, his works and lexicon of symbols, subjects and themes continue to intrigue the art world. Published on the occasion of the major exhibition at the Milan Triennial, this monograph covers the entire artistic development of Roy Lichtenstein, through more than 250 paintings and sculptural works, a rich photographic section including unpublished material, and critical text. The reproductions of Lichtenstein’s work are large-format, in full color. The insightful quotes and most of the references to his personal life serve to explain how his art evolved or how he came to be in a particular place in the world. This deluxe edition (large square format with padded cover) offers a dynamic and provocative look at the works of Lichtenstein through a powerful combination of text and visual elements. It will appeal to Lichtenstein fans, critics, dealers, and anyone interested in contemporary art.

About the Author:

Gianni Mercurio, curator and essayist, lives and works in Rome. His exhibitions in museums include: Andy Warhol (Rome, Genoa, 1996/1999), Roy Lichtenstein, Reflections (Rome, Milan, Wolfsburg Kunstmuseum 1999/2000), Keith Haring (Pisa, Rome, Helsinki, Aachen-Ludwig Forum, Catania 1999/2001) Jean-Michel Basquiat (Rome, 2002) George Segal (Rome, 2002) and exhibitions on the Graffitists (Naples, Rome, 1997/1998) and the Hyper-realists (Rome, 2003). For Skira the author has published The Andy Warhol Show (2004), The Keith Haring Show (2005), and The Jean-Michel Basquiat Show (2006).

Russia is often viewed as the outsider of the art world, with creative genius frequently being hidden behind the representation of icons such as Rublov. However, with the succession of Pierre Le Grand, it was Europe which brought light to this otherwise ostensibly uncivilized empire.
Saint-Petersburg suddenly rose out of the darkness thanks to the brilliance of an Italian artist, and for more than a century afterwards, became a highly important cultural focus.
The all powerful Tsar, and later Catherine the Great allowed exchanges between Russian and European artists which eventually gave birth to a new Russian form of painting. Although this was greatly inspired by Italy and its vibrant colours, it stayed true to its foundations in Russian culture.
However, it was not until the 20th century that a true national style came into its own with the emergence of the Ambulants and the Blue Roses. This was then followed by the revolutionary period which led to the Russian Avant Garde and then modernism.
In this book, we come to understand the author’s viewpoint on Russian culture as a combination of western culture as well as eastern. These influences are demonstrated in the works and cover a vast pictorial scope. Artists such as Borovikovsky, Serov, Vrubel, Briullov, Fedotov, Repin, Shishkin and Levitan, among many others, bring their own fundamental contribution to the history of art.
Peter Leek puts the evolution of the history of Russian art after the fall of communism.

200 full-colour illustrations

Picasso called Dali "an outboard motor that's always running." Dali thought himself a genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer, and filmmaker, Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the century's greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics - and was rewarded with fierce controversy wherever he went. He was one of the first to apply the insights of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis to the art of painting, approaching the subconscious with extraordinary sensitivity and imagination. This lively monograph presents the infamous Surrealist in full color and in his own words. His provocative imagery is all here, from the soft watches to the notorious burning giraffe. A friend of the artist for over thirty years, privy to the reality behind Dali`s public image, author Robert Descharnes is uniquely qualified to analyze Dali - both the man and the myth.

Посмотреть русскоязычное издание книги Salvador Dali. The Paintings - Сальвадор Дали. Живопись

The seminal surrealist. Exploring Dalí's grandiose and grotesque oeuvre

Picasso called Dalí "an outboard motor that’s always running." Dalí thought himself a genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer, and filmmaker, Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was one of the century’s greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics — and was rewarded with fierce controversy wherever he went. He was one of the first to apply the insights of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis to the art of painting, approaching the subconscious with extraordinary sensitivity and imagination.

This publication presents the entire painted oeuvre of Salvador Dalí. After many years of research, Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret finally located all the paintings of this highly prolific artist. Many of the works had been inaccessible for years— in fact so many that almost half the illustrations in this book had rarely been seen.

About the authors:

Robert Descharnes, a photographer and writer, has published studies of major artists, among them Antoni Gaudí and Auguste Rodin. Since 1950, he has been documenting and cataloguing Dalí's paintings and writings and is now considered the leading expert on the artist.

Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

With his graphic style, figural distortion, and defiance of conventional standards of beauty, Egon Schiele (1890–1918) was a pioneer of Austrian Expressionism and one of the most startling portrait painters of the 20th century.

Mentored by Gustav Klimt, Schiele dabbled in a glittering Art Nouveau style before developing his own much more gritty and confrontational aesthetic of sharp lines, lurid shades, and mannered, elongated figures. His prolific portraits and self-portraits stunned the Viennese establishment with an unprecedented psychological and sexual intensity, favouring erotic, exposing, or unsettling poses in which he or his sitters cower on the floor, languish with legs akimbo, glower at the viewer, and thrust their genitalia into the foreground. His models are at times skeletal and sickly, at other times strong and sensual.

Many contemporaries found Schiele’s work to be not only ugly but morally objectionable; in 1912, the artist was briefly imprisoned for obscenity. Today, his oeuvre is celebrated for its revolutionary approach to the human figure and for its direct and particularly fervent, almost furious brand of craftsmanship. This book presents key Schiele works to introduce his short but urgent career and his profound contribution to the development of modern art, which reaches right through to such contemporary talents as Tracey Emin and Jenny Saville.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Is a self-portrait of an artist a medium of reflection—or is it merely a black void, the “false mirror,” as the surrealist René Magritte entitled his 1928 painting of an eye? Do self-portraits reveal how artists see themselves, or how they wish others would see them? From the 15th century to today, this collection brings together many of the best examples of self-portraiture in art history whilst exploring these and many more questions pertaining to the art of self-reflection.

Featured artists: Meister Gerlachus, Fra Filippo Lippi, Albrecht Durer, Giorgione, Parmigianino, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Salvator Rosa, Nicolas Poussin, David Bailly, Diego Da Silva Y Velazquez, Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn, Rosalba Carriera, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Francisco De Goya, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, James Ensor, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frida Kahlo, Felix Nussbaum, Max Beckmann, Diego Rivera, Salvador Dali, Lucian Freud, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Albert Oehlen, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre Series features:

* a detailed introduction with approximately 35 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, etc.) that took place during the time period
* a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work and brief biography of the artist as well as additional information such as a reference work, portrait of the artist, and/or citations

The development of Soviet realist painting over fifty years through a selection of works from Russias leading museums.

Socialist Realism was and remains an exceptional phenomenon in twentieth-century art. It bore the challenge of promoting realist figuration on a scale without parallel in the rest of the world, employing the talents of thousands of artists over decades and spreading over an immense and varied empire. By glorifying the social role of art, affirming the primary value of content as opposed to form and restoring the central role of traditional practices, socialist Realism was the declared opponent of the modern movement, and in fact represented the only completely alternative artistic system.

Created by the great Russian artists (Deineka, Malevic, Adlivankin, Laktionov, Plastov, Brodskij, Korzhev) the works present a multiplicity of questions, themes and formal approaches to art spanning from the last phases of the civil war to the beginnings of the Brezhnev era, stopping at the early 1970s when trends in official Soviet art took on varied and inconsistent directions such that the cultural supremacy of the socialist-realist current faded definitively.

A non-monolithic view emerges, in which the movement does not originate exclusively as the product of totalitarian control and political pressures but as an evolving organism that reflected internal issues and echoed the great historic events of the twentieth century.

The revised edition of "Soviet Impressionism," including fresh information as well as 140 additional colour plates.

This book is a completely revised and updated edition of "Soviet Impressionism," published in 2001 and quickly sold out. Vern Swanson has included a mass of new information as well as 140 additional colour plates. Soviet Art of the 1930s to the 1980s is now considered the twenieth century's major realist school of painting, although much of it had remained hidden during its heyday due to the politics of the Cold War. Now percipient and adventurous art historians are turning the balance and addressing the presence of Soviet Impressionist paintings. This is a vibrant and powerful school of art. Beautiful colour illustrations throughout and a highly perceptive text make this a reference book no art lover or historian would wish to be without.

The subject matter of these vibrant paintings is the intimate life of the Soviet man, woman and child: at work in field, factory, school and mine, and at home or at play. The policy-makers dictated the message: art should be readily understood and appreciated by the people, reflecting their hopes and aspirations for themselves and their efforts.

Together, the stunning illustrations and highly perceptive, fully up-to-date text serve to make Soviet Impressionist Painting a true testament to this powerful and vibrant school of art.

Vern G. Swanson, Ph. D. is the author of numerous books, catalogues and articles on Soviet painting, 19th century European classicist artists and American realist art. Swanson is the director of the Springville Museum of Art in Utah, USA, and is a graduate of the Brigham Young University and the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.

Among the pictorial genres, still life, which depicts in detail the common objects of domestic life (fruit, vegetables, food, but also animals and tableware), holds an important place. It is an art form which gives us valuable insights into changes of mentality and philosophy. Each still life is emblematic of a specific time and place and of a certain metaphysical perspective. This condensed, well-priced overview of the genre features some sixty works from antiquity to the present and analyzes the history and significance of each.