Picasso was one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print. This book charts his career as a printmaker, which was characterised by close collaboration with skilled printers, through which extraordinary artworks were produced.
Printmaking was a vitally important activity in the long artistic career of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). His long-standing, if at times episodic, engagement with printmaking, stretched from his early years in Paris until his old age in 1972. This book explores how the technical challenges of working in different print media (etching, aquatint, linocut and lithography) inspired Picasso's creativity.
Together with a stunning selection of works on paper by Picasso, it also includes sculptures, drawings and prints by other artists and cultures of the kind that inspired Picasso. His prints often demonstrate his keen sense of belonging to an artistic lineage stretching back to antiquity (stemming from his kinship with the Mediterranean world of his birthplace, Málaga), as well as great artists of the past such as Raphael, Rembrandt and Ingres. One section explores the contradictions and controversies relating to Picasso's relationships with his wives and lovers. The focus on Picasso as a printmaker will argue for the importance of this activity in his long artistic career, and his continued relevance as one of the most creative and experimental talents ever to explore the medium of print.
Luxurious objects are celebrated for their exoticism, rarity and style, but also disparaged as indulgent, extravagant and corrupt. The ancient origins of these attitudes emerged at the boundary between the imperial Persian and democratic Athenian Greek worlds. Luxury was at the center of the royal Persian court and behaviors of ostentatious display rippled through the imperial provinces, whose elite classes emulated luxury objects in lesser materials. But luxury is contrastingly depicted through Athenian eyes - within the philosophical context of early democratic codes and the historical context of the Greco-Persian Wars, which suddenly and spectacularly brought eastern luxuries into the imagination of the Athenian populace for the first time. While Greek writers rejected luxury as eastern, despotic and corrupt, the Athenian elite adopted Persian luxuries in imaginative ways to signal status, distinction and prestige. Under the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great and its subsequent kingdoms, royal Achaemenid luxury culture would later be adopted and displayed by the Macedonian and local elite across the Greek and Middle Eastern worlds: behaviors of ostentatious display were a means to seek advantage in the new Hellenistic world order. Ultimately, this publication demonstrates how competing political spins woven around 2,500 years ago still continue to shape modern perceptions of luxury today.
Michelangelo Buonarroti fut l'un des plus grands artistes de la Renaissance. Il n'était pas le génie isolé et torturé du mythe artistique, mais un homme qui a entretenu tout au long de sa vie un cercle étroit d'amis et d'associés. Il a développé des relations de travail avec des artistes plus jeunes, maintenant ainsi sa renommée et sa réputation même en vieillissant, confiant le travail physique trop dur pour lui aux autres. Ses derniers dessins offrent un aperçu puissant de sa psychologie, reflétant sa foi catholique, son engagement intellectuel et son élan vital. Édité à partir de l'extraordinaire collection de dessins du British Museum, cet ouvrage explore son oeuvre tardive aux côtés de ses relations personnelles pour considérer la transformation de Michel-Ange en la figure imposante du génie artistique connue aujourd'hui.
Hiroshige was one of Japan's most talented, prolific and popular artists. Famed for his landscapes, he was also a great observer of nature with a visionary approach to colour and brushwork. His legacy continues to influence and inspire artists today.
Over a career spanning four decades, the prolific Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) produced thousands of landscape and nature prints, hundreds of paintings commissioned by the samurai elite, as well as many illustrated books.
An accessible introduction that reveals the importance of Greek inscriptions in the understanding of ancient Greek culture.
Inscriptions are an important form of evidence for our interpretation of past human societies. They are outstanding sources as they offer direct snapshots into the behaviour of humans and their aspiration to make a permanent and public record of themselves. Greek inscriptions in particular combine word and image in a multitude of ways, meaning they are rich in terms of the insights they offer into the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the mindsets of their peoples. They give us views of inter-state relations, historical narratives, the political administration of city-states and honorific culture; and at the same time offer perspectives on the significance of ideas about democracy, citizenship, gender, ethnicity, religion and the supernatural.
This book, based on the collection of ancient Greek inscriptions on stone and metal held at the British Museum, constitutes an introduction to the study of ancient Greek inscriptions, their significance for our understanding of ancient Greek culture, their history and their reception in the modern world. It places emphasis on the texts of the inscriptions, their physical form, their importance in understanding the ancient Greek language and the modern history of their collection.
Traces the development of Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu religious imagery in Ancient India, highlighting symbolic to human forms between 100 BCE and 600 CE.
Ancient India was a dynamic, cosmopolitan centre of creativity. The visual traditions of its major indigenous religions were closely interrelated, reflecting political power, changes in peoples' daily lives and artistic innovation. Exported beyond the Indian subcontinent in antiquity, these three major religions - Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism - are living traditions and their devotional works of art impact on the daily life of billions of people across the world.
This major new publication traces the development of religious imagery from around 100 BCE, when it focused on the depiction of nature spirits, to 600 CE, by which time devotional images of Jain, Buddhist and Hindu deities and teachers had taken definitive shape. Moving from symbolic to human form, such imagery employed attributes, divine attendants and animal vehicles that we still recognise today and are found across the global diaspora. Examples of these ancient images are found not only across South Asia, but also in Central and Southeast Asia, China and Japan - and they transformed the religious landscape of these regions too.
The authors explore fascinating topics such as the first devotional images of the twenty-four jinas (enlightened Jain teachers); the transformation from symbolic depictions of the Buddha to those that showed him in bodily form for the first time; and the formalisation of divine representations and devotional sculpture in Hindu traditions. This beautifully illustrated book reveals the ancient roots of the images and depictions of these world religions that many will find familiar today.
Cultural creativity in China between 1796 and 1912 demonstrated extraordinary resilience in a time of warfare, land shortages, famine and uprisings. Innovation can be seen in material culture (including print, painting, calligraphy, textiles, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, lacquer, glass, arms and armour, rugs, silver, money and photography) during a century in which China's art, literature, crafts and technology faced unprecedented exposure to global influences.
1796 - the official end of the reign of the Qianlong emperor - is viewed as the end of the 'high Qing' and the start of a period of protracted crisis. In 1912, the last emperor, Puyi, abdicated after the revolution of 1911, bringing to an end some 2,000 years of dynastic rule and making way for the republic.
Until recently the 19th century in China has been defined as an era of cultural stagnation. Built on new research, this book sets out a fresh understanding of this important era and creates a detailed visual account of responses to war, technology, urbanisation, political transformations and external influences. The narratives of each chapter are brought to life and individualised through illustrated biographical accounts that highlight the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to this fascinating, turbulent period in Chinese history.
A richly illustrated publication that explores the networks of contacts and exchanges spanning Afro-Eurasia from 500 to 1000 CE, highlighting how the movement of people, objects and ideas shaped cultures and histories.
In the ninth century CE, an Arabian ship sank off the coast of Indonesia. The objects found in the wreckage, which include Chinese ceramics and precious metals, have provided extraordinary evidence of the nature, scale and diversity of trade between Tang China and the Islamic Abbasid dyna
À l'occasion du nouvel écrin aménagé au British Museum pour exposer la donation de Ferdinand de Rothschild en 1898, ce livre présente une quarantaine de magnifiques objets d'art européens. Photographiés avec précision et accompagnés d'une notice explicative, ces trésors montrent toute la créativité et la finesse du travail des plus grands artisans, du Moyen-Âge au 19e siècle.
Ce titre, édité par Thorsten Oppen, conservateur des antiquités grecques et latines au British Museum, jette un regard neuf sur la vie de Néron (54-68 après JC), donnant un aperçu des conflits internes d'une société romaine en transition et remettant en question les idées préconçues d'une figure rejetée par une tradition historique hostile comme tyrannique et incompétent.
De superpuissance influente à régime répressif, le Myanmar - également connu sous le nom de Birmanie - a connu des fluctuations de fortune spectaculaires au cours des 1 500 dernières années. Interconnecté mais isolé, riche en ressources naturelles telles que le jade, les rubis et le teck, mais avec une grande partie de sa population vivant en dessous du seuil de pauvreté, le Myanmar est un pays qui défie toute catégorisation. Ce livre explore ses complexités, en se concentrant sur l'art et l'artisanal national pour retracer et analyse l'histoire du pays. Présentant des objets tels que des pierres précieuses, des robes de cour, des meubles finement sculptés, des dessins animés satiriques ou encore des objets du quotidien allant des années 400 de notre ère à nos jours, ce livre est un témoignage de la créativité et de la variété des nombreux peuples du Myanmar.
Explores the ideals, symbolism and ideology of Egyptian kingship and uncovers the stories behind the objects and images left as a legacy by this ancient civilisation.
The rulers of ancient Egypt were not always male, nor always Egyptian. At times, Egypt was divided by civil war, conquered by foreign powers or ruled by competing kings. While some kings were revered - such as Thutmose III who expanded Egypt's empire to its largest extent - the memory of others was officially erased.
Le monde entier est un théâtre : à travers le prisme de l'oeuvre du plus célèbre dramaturge anglais, le British Museum propose, dans le cadre de l'année Shakespeare, une incursion vivante et originale dans l'Angleterre au tournant des 16e et 17e siècles. Une sélection d'objets du quotidien, d'oeuvres d'art, de bijoux, de manuscrits et de livres, témoignent du rôle considérable de ses pièces de théâtre dans la diffusion des événements historiques majeurs et des enjeux politiques de son époque.
Dessiné à partir de sources du 14e et du 15e siècle, avec des travaux de Geoffrey Chaucer, et soigneusement adapté pour la cuisine moderne, ce très beau livre, richement illustré, explore les traditions et les goûts de l'authentique cuisine médievale.
La présentation d'une centaine des netsuke les plus fascinants de la collection du British Museum. Révélant l'histoire de chaque objet, cet ouvrage explique pourquoi ces petits accessoires de bois, d'ivoire ou de porcelaine servant à attacher des éléments à la ceinture du kimono ont tant fasciné, et quelle est leur signification dans la culture japonaise.
S'appuyant sur la figure du peintre-graveur allemand Georg Baselitz, l'exposition Germany Divided présente près de cent oeuvres d'une génération d'artistes - Lüpertz, Palermo, Penck, Polke et Richter - marquée par les traumatismes de l'histoire allemande qui a redéfini l'art allemand dans la seconde moitié du 20e siècle.
Cette somme, fruit de 20 ans de recherches d'un conservateur du British Museum, relate l'histoire et les techniques de l'industrie de la gravure, de la Renaissance à l'époque moderne. La gravure fut pendant 3 siècle la seule technique de reproduction de l'image en grande série et elle a touché toutes les populations d'Europe.
Ce petit livre du célèbre artiste japonais Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) présente une sélection inédite de 103 dessins réalisés spécifiquement pour cette publication inédite restée jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Ils présentent un large éventail de sujets allant des représentations de figures religieuses, mythologiques, historiques et littéraires aux animaux, oiseaux, fleurs et autres phénomènes naturels, ainsi que paysages.
