Vacillating between the majesty of the Greco-Byzantine heritage and the modernity forecasted by Giotto, Early Italian painting summarises the first steps that lead to the Renaissance. Trying out new mediums, those first artists left frescoes for...
Hurlburt's classic retelling of most of the famous stories from the Bible has been a popular favorite, in print continuously since it was first published in 1904. There are numerous versions and all are beautifully...
Footbinding for women on China was a curious, painful custom that deformed the foot and kept it from growing more than a few inches in length. This practice may have begun in the tenth century as a whim of the Imperial court; by the twelfth century,...
The English school of painting was officially recognised at the beginning of the 18th century through the work of William Hogarth. It includes works by the most famous English artists, such as Thomas Gainsborough, Joseph Mallord...
"Charles Van Doren has laid a feast before all of us that is irresistible." --Mortimer J. Adler
This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world--from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to...
By any measure, Seneca (?4-65AD) is one of the most significant figures in both Roman literature and ancient philosophy. His writings are voluminous and diverse, ranging from satire to disturbing, violent tragedies, from metaphysical theory to moral...
Pierre Bonnard was the leader of the group of post-impressionist painters who called themselves "the Nabis," based on the Hebrew word for "prophet". Influenced by Odilon Redon, Puvis de Chavannes, popular imagery and Japanese woodblock...
The book that defines a band that defined a generation. During 1967 and 1968 Hunter Davies spent eighteen months with the Beatles at the peak of their powers as they defined a generation and rewrote popular music. As their only authorized...
The strict prohibition on the representation of the human form has channeled artistic creation into architecture and architectural decoration. This book is a magical tour through Central Asia - Khirgizia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenia, and Uzbekistan -...