One of Paris's iconic symbols comes to life in this picture book that explores the tragic 2019 fire that destroyed parts of Notre Dame Cathedral as well as the heroic efforts to save the building and its valuable history. Gorgeous full-page illustrations take readers to the top of the cathedral, and into the studios of restoration artists, to tell a story of how Paris's famous rooster nearly perished and was brought back to life to keep watch over the city. From his perch atop a weathervane, the copper rooster enjoys one of the best views in Paris-even if the wind does blow him around a bit. But one fateful day a fire breaks out. Sirens sound, firefighters unroll their hoses, and the flames lick at his feathers. The rooster plunges to earth, crying out for his beloved partner Esmerelda. Gravely injured, he is discovered under the rubble by a worker who carefully lifts him out of the wreckage and brings him to a busy workroom. Will he be healed? Will he live to preside again over the city he loves, and in the company of Esmerelda? With sweeping views of Paris, dramatic scenes of the devastating fire, and fascinating insights into the restoration process, this storybook helps kids appreciate the historic and symbolic significance of buildings such as Notre Dame. An illustrated appendix provides background information that readers of every age will find useful.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 32

Dimensions: 240 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

Considered one of the most important figures in German art of the nineteenth century, Caspar David Friedrich is best known for his dramatic and emotional paintings, which often feature contemplative figures, sweeping landscapes, and an emphasis on the sublime and the spiritual. This book takes a chronological approach to Friedrich’s career, beginning with his early years producing traditional religious and historical scenes. It explores his innovative use of light and color, and his unprecedented treatment of the landscape as a living, dynamic entity, rather than simply as a backdrop or setting for other subjects. The beautifully reproduced works and details in this volume help readers appreciate the astounding qualities of Friedrich’s works: his palette of muted, atmospheric colors; swirling clouds, dramatic mountains, and turbulent seas; and subtle changes in light and shadow that occur throughout the day. Readers will come away with a renewed appreciation for Friedrich’s portrayals of the natural world and the unique and provocatively emotive qualities of his work.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 112

Dimensions: 170 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 02-10-2023

Engaging the visceral and the cognitive, this timely book assembles 28 international artists who deploy a variety of media in order to interrogate logics of truth, authenticity, opinion, and faith. At a time when society seems to have given up believing in facts, relying on a sense of “blind faith” instead, the body and mind binary has gained considerable importance in contemporary art. Thought-provoking texts as well as stunning visual material of works by some of today’s most acclaimed young artists are brought together in this highly original volume that investigates issues of the body and mind in a moment when “reality” has become an increasingly loaded term. Artists included in the book are Ed Atkins, Kader Attia, Olga Balema, Melanie Bonajo, Mariechen Danz, Cécile B. Evans, Andrea Éva Györi, Benedikt Hipp, Nicholas Hlobo, Marguerite Humeau, KAYA, Hanne Lippard, Wangechi Mutu, Otobong Nkanga, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Jon Rafman, Mary Reid Kelley, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Raphael Sbrzesny, Jeremy Shaw, Teresa Solar Abboud, Jol Thomson, and David Zink Yi.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 215 x 285 mm

Publication Date: 31-05-2018

Botticelli is one of the most admired artists of the Renaissance period and his seductive Venus and graceful Primavera are among the world's most recognisable works of art. This catalogue raisonne of Botticelli's paintings offers more than two hundred full-colour illustrations and meticulous scholarship by the distinguished Renaissance art historian Frank Zollner , described by The Financial Times, when reviewing this book's previous edition, as "a fabulous, accessible scholar; his book has luscious reproductions and exquisite detail." Presented in chronological order, the facts of Botticelli's life and career are insightfully discussed against the background of the artistic upheaval that marked the Renaissance period. The artist's reinterpretations of ancient myths as well as his religious paintings are thoughtfully explored in this sumptuously illustrated volume, which will please scholars and delight lovers of fine art books everywhere.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 222 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 11-08-2015

With radiant color and lavish detail, this collection of 19th and early 20th-century Viennese floral paintings tells a captivating story of artistic transformation. In this breathtaking book, richly illustrated chapters explore different artists’ takes on floral paintings. Outstanding Viennese artists, from Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller to Gustav Klimt, tested their skills by painting opulent floral works. Readers will learn how the depiction of flowers in this period echoed the evolution of painting styles as artists liberated themselves from formal techniques, how women, excluded from painting academies, turned to flowers as a means of expression and emancipation, and how modern artists are influenced today by floral masterpieces of the past. Additional chapters examine the role of the sunflower in particular and the role of orientalism in the Biedermeier period, while brief essays on porcelain painting and botany provide additional perspectives. Generously illustrated, this wide-ranging and informative history offers a veritable bounty of floral delights.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 235 x 285 mm

Publication Date: 27-07-2018

Chuck Close reinvented portraiture almost four decades ago with a series of nine-foot-tall, black-and-white likenesses of himself and fellow artists, which astonished an art world dominated by Minimalism and Conceptualism. Close has since explored the possibilities implicit in his original breakthrough in an array of media. This lavish, large-format volume deals with all aspects of Close's career and places them in a biographical context. Christopher Finch's insight into Close's achievement comes by way of hundreds of studio visits and thousands of hours of conversation since he met Close in 1968. The author provides an engaging, in-depth analysis of Close's portraits on canvas, from the continuous-tone airbrushed heads of the 1960s and 1970s to the painterly "prismatic grids" of the past decades. Featuring 365 illustrations, the book surveys almost all of Close's paintings, including his most recent work, together with a selection of prints and multiples and examples of his photographic oeuvre. This beautifully designed volume reveals not only the variety of pictorial strategies Close has devised, but also the extraordinary personality of the artist behind the work.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 370

Dimensions: 300 x 346 mm

Publication Date: 22-09-2014

Even the greatest works of art will often fail to enthrall young children. But insert a funny, loveable animal into the scene, and it's a whole different story. This delightful picture book takes artistic license as it reimagines the world's most famous paintings for a young audience. A teddy bear surfs Hokusai's Great Wave; a charming pig changes Mona Lisa's smile from cryptic to comic; Munch's scream is far less angsty on a panda's face, while Whistler's mother-the elephant-gives new meaning to Arrangement in Grey and Black. While it covers every major artistic school in art history, from Michelangelo and Velazquez to Kahlo and Rothko, each snort and guffaw offers an opportunity to explore the paintings in ways that will help kids remember them for the rest of their lives.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 56

Dimensions: 190 x 200 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

Toshio Shibata’s large-format contemporary landscapes are distinguished by their haunting beauty, graceful composition, and meticulous detail. Using long exposures, and eliminating any references to people, horizons, or identifying geographic reference points, Shibata captures structures such as dams, bridges, reservoirs, and roads as they interact with their natural settings—mountainsides, rivers, forests, and fields. The results are highlighted by painterly composition; filled with patterns, lines, and fluid action; and unmistakably Japanese in their aesthetic. Curated and with commentary by Phillip Prodger, one of the most erudite and critical voices in contemporary photography, this book will appeal both to fans of Toshio Shibata’s work as well as an audience that has yet to discover his remarkable œuvre.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 240 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 06-11-2023

Jil Sander is known for designing well sculptured, high quality clothes in subdued colours. This comprehensive book presents her work from the late 1960s to 2014. Challenging the styles of flamboyant femininity, her collections delighted the fashion world with their purity. She proposed a modernity which did away with senseless ornaments, while dynamizing the individual. This lavishly illustrated book will showcase the ingenuity and creative power of a designer who aimed at underlining a person's personality. More than 150 illustrations present the Jil Sander vision which had a huge impact not only on fashion, but on product design, advertising campaigns, and store architecture as well.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 264

Dimensions: 250 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 30-11-2017

In the village of Mirren, a tidy community garden is carefully organized and tended by the townspeople. On the other side of the garden wall is a wild patch of land- a jumble of trees, a pond, and tall grassy places. While the garden is cared for in different ways throughout the seasons, Jilly and her grandfather like to visit the wild place, foraging for mushrooms, asparagus, and nuts, and watching the insects, birds and other animals. When the townspeople decide they need a bigger garden, they make plans to expand beyond the wall into the wild place. Worried about what will happen to their special piece of nature, Jilly and her grandfather come up with a plan, inviting the townspeople to discover a new kind of gardening. Their plan works and the wild place and the community garden merge harmoniously; the bees pollinate the crops, berry bushes take over a garden corner, pumpkins grow along the pond, and delicious herbs appear among the ferns. Cynthia Cliff's lovingly detailed illustrations reveal the joys of every kind of garden, while her story offers endless opportunities to talk about healthy eating, nature, ecological gardening, and friendship.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 32

Dimensions: 230 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022