The Paris Salons of the mid-nineteenth century are famous today above all for the paintings that were rejected more than for those that were actually shown. The rejected works form today's canon of art history and are regarded as heralds of a modern age. This book looks to reassess the other side of[...]

Durer's prints and drawings inspired centuries of artists both during his life and after his death. Yet his talent as a painter and colourist, and his enthusiasm for the scientific world have not been widely appreciated. Durer's influence was both international and intergenerational; indeed Picasso [...]

The Art Nouveau movement became an international phenomenon at the beginning of the twentieth century that ushered in the era of modernity in almost every aspect of cultural life. For decades critics have argued that Art Nouveau was not an artistic period in its own right, but an amalgam of artists [...]

The Art Nouveau movement became an international phenomenon at the beginning of the twentieth century that ushered in the era of modernity in almost every aspect of cultural life. For decades critics have argued that Art Nouveau was not an artistic period in its own right, but an amalgam of artists [...]

An introduction to the German Expressionist painter, graphic artist and sculptor who, at the turn of the 19th century, was Germany's most influential artist.[...]

Albrecht Dürer

Germany’s greatest Renaissance artist

Though he is most famous for his engravings, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was also a master painter and draftsman whose work exemplifies the spirit of German art. Dürer’s importance in the German High Renais[...]

The landscape has been, for many centuries, one of the most important genres in painting. This book examines the landscape from the late Middle Ages to modern times, comprising a synopsis of the genre and covering a selection of the most important landscapes in the history of art. From Titian to War[...]

Acclaimed for its blending of realism with atmosphere, and for its deeply sensitive appreciation of character, the work of Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez represents the undeniable pinnacle of the golden age of Spanish painting. Born in Seville but of Portuguese origin, he became court painter [...]

Acclaimed for its blending of realism with atmosphere, and for its deeply sensitive appreciation of character, the work of Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (1599-1660) represents the undeniable pinnacle of the golden age of Spanish painting. Born in Seville but of Portuguese origin, Velazquez be[...]

The painter of sublime stillness. The solitude of man and the bleak beauty of nature are prominent themes in the work of Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), the great romantic painter whose importance and influence have often been underestimated. Now widely considered to be the most important German[...]

The 18th century's Neoclassicist movement, with its white marble sculptures inspired by the art of the ancient world, has helped Greek art to remain vivid in our memories even today. But the reality of ancient art was entirely different, as surfaces were in fact much more brut. As author Michael Sie[...]