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Recently Japanese swords have gained enormous popularity as art objects with collectors and enthusiasts around the world, but until now much of the most detailed information on the subject has been available only in Japanese. This comprehensive guide to the appreciation and appraisal of the blades of Japanese swords provides, at last, all the background that readers need to become true connoisseurs.
The book is organized along historical lines for the sake of clarity and convenience, and its approach is always practical. Broad discussions of each tradition within the Gokaden focus on the features that distinguish specific schools and smiths - the various kinds of jihada, hamon, boshi, and hataraki favored in different periods and regions - making this an invaluable reference tool for all enthusiasts, especially those who wish to take part in kantei-kai, or sword appreciation meetings. Each section closes with an easy reference chart summarizing the distinctive features of the work of various schools and smiths.

The chapter on terminology gives advice on what to look for when examining the different parts of a blade, again making reference to the unique features of particularly significant smiths. The chapter on care and appraisal of blades tells precisely how to handle blades and what to expect at a sword appraisal meeting, including an explanation of all the various responses that a judge may give in response to a bid.

Richly illustrated throughout with more than 550 of the author's own painstaking oshigata illustrations - sword tracings onto which details are penciled in by hand - THE CONNOISSEUR’S BOOK OF JAPANESE SWORDS is easily the most informative and comprehensive guide to the blades of Japanese swords ever to appear in English.

Kokan Nagayama, who is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers, compiled the notes for this book over the course of many years spent teaching the arts of polishing and appraisal.

Nagayama-sensei is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers and is a veteran teacher of both polishing and appraisal. Here in one accessible volume he distills the store of knowledge he has gained over a lifetime of intensive research.

From the Back Cover:

"Nagayama-sensei and his senior pupils have for many years now taken an enlightened approach to study of Japanese swords outside of Japan. They have been of great assistance to collectors here in Great Britain and in other countries, traveling and living abroad, organizing exhibitions, teaching us and polishing our swords, always in an altruistic spirit. This translation is another example of this same approach. In the past we have often struggled on our own or in small groups to gain an understanding of this peculiarly Japanese cultural asset, and with many of the definitive books on the subject still untranslated, a wealth of information has in the past been inaccessible to the non-Japanese reader. THE CONNOISSEUR’S BOOK OF JAPANESE SWORDS will be of great help in making educated judgments at kantei sessions, and will be an invaluable and constant reference work." - From the Foreword by Clive Sinclaire, Chairman of the Token Society of Great Britain.

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Пролистать книгу The Connoisseur`s Book of Japanese Swords на Google Books.

From the girl next door to sexy switch-blade sisters, the pin-up girls depicted in this collection of works by 15 of today's best artists boldly display the full spectrum of the genre.

Through masterful use of color and media, both traditional and digital, these artists from around the world capture the female form in ways that remain true to their forefathers (Gil Elvgren, Alberto Vargas, etc.) but also to their own contemporary styles. To dig deeper into the process, each artist's section includes a statement that unveils his or her inspiration and techniques.

Themes in the 280+ works included here are vast and cover everything from action, horror, and 70s cinema to mythology, comic books, science fiction, and fantasy. So, whether you're into zombies, angels, latex, burlesque, or pop-culture, there is fresh, modern pin-up art for everyone.

The Cover Art of Blue Note Records is Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham’s classic collection of the unparalleled record sleeves produced by the celebrated Blue Note record label.

Around January 1956 the photographer Francis Wolff and Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records met Reid Miles, a commercial artists and a devout classical music fan. After establishing a rapport, Reid Miles became the designer for the Blue Note label for the next eleven years creating wonderful graphic covers that were both unique and also retaining the indefinable Blue Note look. Featuring iconic covers for artists such as Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, this anthology is an evocative piece of Jazz history.

Alongside over 400 of the record label’s best  album covers is a selection of short essays written by leading industry figures. Both a comprehensive guide to an acclaimed label, and an insightful snapshot of graphic design history, The Cover Art of Blue Note Records is a must-have for all Jazz fans.

About the Authors:

Graham Marsh is an art director, illustrator and writer. He is the co-author and art director of many ground-breaking books including The Cover Art of Blue Note Records Volumes 1 and 2, East Coasting and California Cool all published by Collins & Brown.

Glyn Callingham runs the legendary Ray’s Jazz Shop in London. He is co-author of The Cover Art of Blue Note Records Volumes 1 and 2, East Coasting and California Cool. He contributes to several jazz magazines and is a walking encyclopaedia on jazz of the fifties and sixties.

This sumptuous volume, which includes a complete inventory of every item of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, captures the magnificence of a collection of symbolic objects steeped in English history that is still in use today. For anyone with either a professional or a personal interest in jewellery and history, The Crown Jewels will be a delight.

The Crown Jewels tells the history of the spectacular, priceless objects now in the Tower of London. Their story is that of the English monarchy itself – from the 12th-century spoon used for the anointing at the coronation to the platinum crown created for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1937, set with the Koh-i-nûr diamond.

Published in association with the Royal Collection and Historic Royal Palaces, the book features specially commissioned new photography, including many detailed shots, allowing individual pieces, the famous gems and carefully selected groups of objects to be viewed as never before.

The text, recounts the development of the collection in the medieval period, the dramatic sale and melting down of almost every piece after the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the remaking of the Crown Jewels for Charles II in 1660. Since then the collection has been augmented with pieces that reflect key moments in English history, such as the regalia created for the only joint monarchs, William III and Mary II, in 1689, and the crown made for King George V’s inauguration as Emperor of India in 1911.

On an island behind Tibet’s Potala Palace is a small pagoda roofed Khang, or temple, a place reserved exclusively for the Dalai Lamas as a place of meditation and spiritual retreat.

During the brief reign of the Sixth Dalai Lama, who built the Lukhang Temple in the 18th century, unknown artists created a series of mysterious paintings on its chapel walls; comparable in quality and ambition to the Sistine Chapel in Rome. These masterpieces of Tibetan art are superbly reproduced here in this extraordinary publication.

This treasure of Tibetan Buddhist spirituality is presented in a magnificent and sumptuous large format edition. The vivid detail, rich colour and awe-inspiring impact of this path to spiritual liberation can be experienced outside the Lukhang Chapel.

This is the ultimate guide to two musical styles that have fundamentally influenced popular music. Divided into eras from the Early Years, then decade by decade to the Contemporary Era, learn about the development of this music from its 19th-century African-American roots up to the present day. Each decade has a Sounds &Sources discussion before introducing the Key Artists of the time and A–Zs of lesser artists. A section on Styles is also included, which covers jazz styles from Ragtime to Bebop and blues styles from Texas Blues to Rhythm &BLues. A section on instruments, a glossary and evocative photographs complete the comprehensive experience. Whether a fan of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday or Ray Charles this is the book

Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo’s amazing illustrated journal documents the last ten years of her turbulent life. These passionate, often surprising, intimate records, kept under lock and key for some 40 years in Mexico, reveal many new dimensions in the complex personal life of this remarkable Mexican artist. The 170-page journal contains the artist’s thoughts, poems, and dreams - many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera  - along with 70 mesmerizing watercolor illustrations.

The text entries, written in Frida’s round, full script in brightly colored inks, make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist’s political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than 35 operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of 18. This intimate portal into her life is sure to fascinate fans of the artist, art historians, and women’s culturalists alike.

Brian M. Viveros paints dangerous women. Often depicted helmeted and smoking, they sport bandages as if they had just been in a fight and won.

This first-ever monograph on this talented self-taught artist allows us to enter his fantasy world where women are sexy and powerful and men are nowhere to be seen.

From his first group exhibition 20 years ago, where his work was exhibited alongside the likes of H.R. Giger and Eric Stanton, his reputation among the art community and collectors alike has continued to grow.

The Disposable Skateboard Bible sets out to be the ultimate guide. Author Sean Cliver's industry insider status (mesmerized by his first visit to a skate shop in 1986 he went all out and in 1989, landed his first job as a designer at Powell-Peralta) allows him to guide readers through the culture and experience, the art and the mania of the skate world with authority and expertise. While the boards take center stage, fascinating vignettes and recollections by an A-list of skateboarding personalities from Tony Hawk to Mike Vallely, Mark Gonzales to Mark “Gator” Rogowski, Steve Caballero to Stacy Peralta and more.

This book is devoted to Albrecht Dürer’s early art and the circumstances of the young painter’s life that enabled his unique work.

Literature about Dürer fills library shelves. Does this mean everything has already been said about the artist? Far from it, according to the scholars at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and their international partners in the Early Dürer Project. Their essays deal with the core phenomena of Dürer’s early work, ranging from the artist’s biography and surroundings to the question of Dürer’s role as the archetype of the modern artist.

New sociological approaches allow us to interpret Dürer’s ‘ideal neighbourhood’ as a source of inspiration for the artist’s work, resituating Dürer in the artistic context of his time, at an exciting crossroad between the imitation of traditional painting and the self-conscious renewal of his profession.

Photographs of Dürer’s early work, many of which are new and published here for the first time, complete the publication, which will establish a new basis for a modern understanding of Germany’s most famous artist.

In its most prestigious exhibition to date, the Fondation Beyeler has devoted itself to the early paintings and sculptures of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) that date from his so-called Blue and Pink periods to early Cubism. The paintings from this stage of his career, all produced between 1901 and 1907, are milestones on the road Picasso took to becoming the most famous artist of the twentieth century. They can be counted among modernism’s most beautiful and most emotional works, and are also some of the most precious works of art ever to exist.

This comprehensive exhibition and its companion catalogue feature around eighty masterpieces, most of which are only rarely loaned out by famous museums and private collections around the world.EXHIBITIONFebruary 3 – May 26, 2019 Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel

Well-crafted and class-tested, this guide to figure drawing features a unique teaching method. It focuses on learning to draw complete figures prior to the study of individual components, and it stresses action figures rather than the customary static examples favoured by most drawing and anatomy texts. Employing more text than typical art instruction books, it presents thirty figure drawing lessons and fifty-six drawings and figures. Each lesson includes detailed instructions on anatomical drawing, accompanied by visual examples of strokes, boxes, and measurements.

Author Alon Bement taught art instruction to future art teachers at Columbia University and later founded the prestigious Maryland Institute of Art. His students included Georgia O'Keeffe, who regarded him as a mentor and major influence. Bement's nontraditional approach offers students at all levels an excellent opportunity to build their visual acuity and technical skills.

Table of Contents for The Energetic Line in Figure Drawing

What is Life Drawing--Introduction by Arthur Wesley Dow
Preface
Illustrations
Materials
The Figure in Profile
The Arm in Profile
The Head in Profile
The Hand, the Forearm, and Simple Measurements
Variations of the Profile
Dancing Figure
The Head—Front View
The Back—Three-quarters View
The Front—Three-quarters View
The Front of the Figure
Memory and Imagination
Adaptability
The Double Curve
The Ear as a Pivot
The Standing Figure—Three-quarters View
Two Convex Sides
Adaptability
The Figure and Line
The Sitting Figure (No. 1)
The Sitting Figure (No. 2)
The Sitting Figure (No. 3)
Beginning Shading
Symmetry
Figure and Costume
Figure and Line
Absence of Line
Extreme Action
The Foot
The Hand
The Head

The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, or Dresden State Art Collections, comprise the oldest, second-largest group of museums inGermany. The eleven museums united under this umbrella organization are among the most famous in the world, and they contain a wealth of unique art treasures that span a variety of themes and epochs, attracting visitors from around the globe. Augustus the Strong and his son, Augustus III - both electors of Saxony and kings of Poland during the eighteenth century - were extraordinary connoisseurs of the arts, and their enthusiastic patronage had a lasting impact on the development of the collections which today are exhibited in world-famous buildings, such as the Zwinger, the Rezidenz, and the Albertinum.

The year 2010 marks the 450th anniversary of the Dresden State Art Collections, and visitors are invited to travel through time - from the days of antiquity to the present. This opulent volume features numerous illustrations of very special highlights from the individual collections and the historical buildings that house them.

Taken from the cult BBC 6 Music show, The First Time invites you inside the lives of some of the music world’s most notable legends.

From Alice Cooper to Yoko Ono, Courtney Love to Elton John, follow their lives and careers starting with their first musical memories, first records and first gigs, finding out the songs that have shaped them along the way. With 40 compelling interviews, specially commissioned collage illustrations and a bespoke playlist for each musician, The First Time is a must-have for any music lover.

About the Authors:

Matt Everitt is a BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 presenter, journalist, music consultant and producer. He produces and presents The First Time With… on 6 Music and presents the daily Music News on Shaun Keaveny’s breakfast show.

Tim Marrs is a renowned digital collage artist who has worked for Nike, Ogilvy and Geffen Records.