Archives
(2015) Tortured talent: The genius and the angst of an Expressionist master Vincent van Gogh s story is one of the most ironic in art history. Today, he is celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, feted museums, and record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.Yet as he was painting the canvases that would subsequently become these sell-out modern masterpieces, van Gogh was battling not only the disinterest of his contemporary audiences but also devastating bouts of mental illness, with episodes of depression and paralyzing anxiety which would eventually claim his life in 1890, when he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.This comprehensive study of Vincent van Gogh (1853 1890) pairs a detailed monograph on his life and art with a complete catalogue of his 871 paintings. 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, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing.Bibliotheca Universalisbrings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite 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! “
(2015) The great Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1526/31 1569)was an astoundingly inventive painter and draftsman, who made his art historical mark with beautiful, evocative landscapes as well as religious subjects, both notable for their vernacular language and attention to everyday, contemporary life.
Immersing himself in rural or small-town communities, Bruegel is particularly notable for his depiction of peasant experience and folk culture, earning the artist nickname Peasant Bruegel. Whether hunters shivering in the snow or a boisterous country fair, Bruegel raised the farming, festivals, gatherings, and games of peasant culture to the status of high art. Bruegel s imposing religious and moral subjects, meanwhile, such as The Triumph of Death and The Tower of Babel are as awestriking and influential today as they were in the 16th century, inspiring contemporary culture from The Lord of the Rings cinematic battle scenes to Don DeLillo s novel Underworld.
From the corn harvest to the conversion of Saul, from quaint wedding processions to Christ s road to Calvary, this book brings together the rich range of Bruegel s subjects to introduce his powerful compositions of both biblical and earthly tableaux
(2016) Few artists can claim such tenacious fame across continents and centuries as Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475 1564). His achievements as a sculptor, painter, draftsman, and architect remain unrivalled and unique. This fresh edition celebrates the artist s graphic work, with a selection of his most masterful and mesmerizing drawings.
Gathered from some of the world s most prestigious collections, these works show the full ambition and reach of Michelangelo s practice, spanning architectural elements, facial expressions, and countless, meticulous anatomical drawings. Whether finely-tuned or left unfinished, each and every drawing testifies to the artist s dedicated scrutiny of the world around him and his compelling mastery of line, form, and detail
There is an intimacy in these works, too. As different sketches occupy the same pages, and notes intersperse the drawings, we may not only marvel at the meticulously rendered textures or anatomically-perfected figures, but also feel a spine-tingling proximity to the very process, as much as the product, of genius.
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, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite 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!
(2016) Divine apples and pears: Cezanne’s quest for a harmony parallel to Nature. He was the founding father of modern art, the grand master who pointed painting forward on its way from Impressionism to the 20th century: Paul Cezanne (1839 1906). In Paris, but above all in Provence, Cezanne quested tirelessly for a harmony parallel to Nature discovering it in still lifes of apples, in bathers, or in the renowned landscapes of his beloved Montagne Sainte-Victoire. This book discusses this extraordinary artist s major works and his theories of painting and color.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”
(2016) The work of the artist couple Christo (1935-2020) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) resists categorization. It is a hybrid of art, urban planning, architecture, and engineering, but above all an aesthetic uniquely their own: surreal and ethereal environmental interventions that have graced monuments, public parks, and centers of power alike.
This compact book spans the complete career of the couple who were born on the very same day, met in Paris, fell in love, and became a creative team like no other. With rich illustration, it spans Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s earliest projects in the 1950s right through to The Floating Piers, installed at Lake Iseo, Italy, in 2016. The book celebrates all of the couple’s most famous environmental interventions, such as The Gates in New York’s Central Park and the Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, while also featuring early drawings and family photos unknown to the wider public.
About the series
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. 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
(2016) The painter as poet: A world of floating symbols
For Marc Chagall (1887 1985), painting was an intricate tapestry of dreams, tales, and traditions. His instantly recognizable visual language carved out a unique early 20th-century niche, often identified as one of the earliest expressions of psychic experience.
Chagall s canvases are characterized by loose brushwork, deep colors, a particular fondness for blue, and a repertoire of recurring tropes including musicians, roosters, rooftops, flowers, and floating lovers. For all their ethereal charms, his compositions were often rich and complex in their references. They wove together not only colors and forms, but also his Jewish roots with his present encounters in Paris, markers of faith with gestures of love and symbols of hope with testimonies of trauma.
Across scenes of birth, love, marriage, and death, this dependable artist introduction explores the many versions of Chagall s rich vocabulary. From visions of his native Vitebsk in modern-day Belarus to images of the Eiffel Tower, we explore the unique aesthetic of one of the most readily identifiable modern masters and one of the most influential Jewish artists of all time.
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
