One of the most accomplished human beings who ever lived, Leonardo da Vinci remains the quintessential Renaissance genius. Creator of the world’s most famous paintings, this scientist, artist, philosopher, inventor, builder, and mechanic epitomized the great flowering of human consciousness that marks his era. "Leonardo da Vinci. The Graphic Work" features top-quality reproductions of 663 of Leonardo's drawings, more than half of which reside in the Royal Collection of Windsor Castle. From anatomical studies to architectural plans, from complex engineering designs to pudgy infant portraits, delve in and ... |
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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 ... |
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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 - 1669) never left his homeland of the Netherlands but in his massive body of painting, drawing, and etching, he changed the course of Western art. His prolific oeuvre encompasses religious, historical, and secular scenes, as well as one of the most extraordinary series of portraits and self-portraits in history. Rembrandt's work foregrounds texture, light, and acute observation. Like sudden, startling apparitions in a shadowy street, his subjects are illuminated against deep, dark backgrounds and rendered with immense physical as well as psychological scrutiny. Whether biblical or ... |
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With its 1,050 years old history, the Rila Monastery is one of the oldest sacred places in Bulgaria. Having survived the Byzantine and Turkish Yokes, and as UNESCO has declared it monument of world culture, it has not accidentally been called “the soul of the nation”. An attempt has been made to outline some of the first bulgarien architekton Alexi Rilets’s achievements in the formation of the architectural aspect of the Rila Monastery during its renovation (1816-1819) and restoration after the fire (1833). These can be seen in four aspects: The construction of the exterior façade as a monumental fortress, The ... |
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Filling notebook after notebook with sketches, inventions, and theories, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) not only stands as one of the most exceptional draftsmen of art history, but also as a mastermind and innovator who anticipated some of the greatest discoveries of human progress, sometimes centuries before their material realization. From the smallest arteries in the human heart to the far-flung constellations of the universe, Leonardo saw nature and science as being unequivocally connected. His points of inquiry and invention spanned philosophy, anatomy, geology, and mathematics, from the laws of optics, ... |
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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938) is regarded as one of the key figures in 20th-century European art. A Modernist to his bones, he sent seismic waves through the art world with his hard-edged, intensely colored paintings and disseminated his ideas through Die Brücke art movement and the MUIM-Institut school of modernist painting, both of which he cofounded. Kirchner's work reconciled past and present through an Expressionist prism, reflecting the latest avant-garde ideas in art, while exploring traditional academic approaches and subjects. His works tackled social, moral, and emotional questions with a fierce ... |
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Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) was always a name to be reckoned with. Notorious bad boy of the Italian Baroque, the artist was at once celebrated and controversial, violent in temper, precise in technique, a creative master, and a man on the run. Though famed for his dramatic use of color, light, and shadow, it was above all Caravaggio's boundary-breaking naturalism which scorched his name into the annals of art history. From the dirtied soles of feet to the sexualized languor of bare flesh, the artist allowed even sacred and biblical scenes to unfold with a startling, often visceral humanity. This ... |
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"Magnificent icons in Bulgaria" is a project of "Metodivs books" publishing house, representing one hundred Orthodox Christian icons, created in the span of a millennium - from X to XIX century, currently part of the collections of the National Archaeological Institute with a museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Gallery / Museum of Christian Art, National Museum of Ecclesiastical History and Archaeology, National History Museum and Rozhen Monastery "Holy Nativity of the Mother of God". This priceless heritage of centuries-old icons, certifying the indisputable Bulgarian ... |
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"The history of the Jewish ethnicity and its material culture are inseparable from Bulgarian history and culture. Regardless of the preceding series of conscientiously carried separate studies on the topic of the fate of local Jewish communities and especially on the issue of synagogues as their most prominent artistic creations during the long centuries of exile, the "last word" in that respect was not either said or written until now. Professor Jan Assmann of Heidelberg University says: "The cultural memory procures "breathing air" to the world that is too narrow for the everyday realities ... |
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Illustrated by Peter C. Lee. ... "World of Warcraft - vol. 1: Chronicle" is a journey through an age of myth and legend, a time long before the Horde and the Alliance came to be. This definitive tome of Warcraft history reveals untold stories about the birth of the cosmos, the rise of ancient empires, and the forces that shaped the world of Azeroth and its people. Featuring beautifully illustrated original art and detailed maps, "World of Warcraft" is the first in a multipart series exploring the rich lore of Warcraft universe, from the distant past to the modern era. ... |
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In a world where we're more connected than ever, why is it that we're also more lonely? Dip into this anthology of classic writing to reclaim the pleasure of your own company. Part of the "Macmillan Collector's Library", a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by writer and academic, Zachary Seager. "The Art of Solitude" shows some of the myriad ways in which people throughout history have understood their experiences of ... |
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Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility-whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games, and the Internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible. This book celebrates more ... |