Taoist meditation is an essential aspect of spiritual practice in the Taoist tradition. Focused on harmony with nature and the Universe, it offers a path to inner peace and deep understanding of oneself and the world around us. Unlike other forms of meditation, it emphasizes flow and transformation, mimicking the natural movement of the Tao, the universal force. In Taoist literature, such as Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching", these principles are explored and guided, allowing for rewarding and enlightening practice. This book on Taoist meditation will be a valuable addition for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of these ancient …
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) is widely regarded as one of the most significant artists of the Northern Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Dürer became renowned for his mastery of various mediums, including painting, printmaking, and wood-cutting. Throughout his life, Dürer produced a vast array of works that demonstrated his technical skill and innovative vision. His art often incorporated religious and classical themes, and his use of perspective and realism helped to establish new standards in European art. Beyond his artistic achievements, Dürer was also a prolific writer and thinker. His treatises on geometry, human proportion, and the theory of perspective remain …
Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935) was a painter and a great art theorist, but first and foremost he was the founder of Suprematism, a style seeking pure abstraction based on geometrical forms. “Suprematism,” he wrote, “has led me to discover something that had not been understood until then… There is in human consciousness an imperious desire of space and the will to escape from Earth.” This new publication presents the brilliant and original works of Malevich, who had no professional background as a painter before the age of twenty-seven and who learned to draw out of sheer curiosity and his will to …
Hieronymus Bosch was painting frightening, yet vaguely likable monsters long before computer games were ever invented, often including a touch of humour. His works are assertive statements about the mental illness that befalls any man who abandons the teachings of Christ. With a life that spanned from 1450 to 1516, Bosch experienced the drama of the highly charged Renaissance and its wars of religion. Medieval tradition and values were crumbling, paving the way to thrust man into a new universe where faith lost some of its power and much of its magic. Bosch set out to warn doubters of the …
Pioneer and leader of the abstract art movement, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was known for his straight lines and pure colours. Fascinated by the mathematical laws of the universe, this Dutch artist nourished his work with his scientific discoveries and created a new abstract language alongside his allies Wassily Kandinsky and Fernand Léger. As his investigations advanced, his works purified and intensified to the rhythm of the travels and encounters that he enjoyed. Recognised during his lifetime as the founder of an avant-garde movement, he propagated his knowledge and his artistic vision to illustrious architects and stylists and still today remains …
This is a major pictorial work about the Romanov dynasty, the supreme rulers of Russia for over 300 years, with special emphasis on the life of Nicholas II, the last Tsar. Moreover, it is an unsurpassed photographic record of the lives of the last reigning members of the Russian Royal family. The great majority of the photographs used in this book have never been published before, and have rarely been seen even by researchers from the West, having remained hidden in archives for 70 years, since the Russian revolution. The many contemporary photographs depict Russian royalty in ceremonial dress and …
At fifteen, Turner was already exhibiting View of Lambeth. He soon acquired the reputation of an immensely clever watercolourist. A disciple of Girtin and Cozens, he showed in his choice and presentation of theme a picturesque imagination which seemed to mark him out for a brilliant career as an illustrator. He travelled, first in his native land and then on several occasions in France, the Rhine Valley, Switzerland and Italy. He soon began to look beyond illustration. However, even in works in which we are tempted to see only picturesque imagination, there appears his dominant and guiding ideal of lyric …
Not only was Leonardo da Vinci (1453-1519) an astonishing painter, but also a scientist, anatomist, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, inventor, and more. The question is rather, what was he not? During the Italian Renaissance, he mastered the most beautiful works of art for the Medicis’ in Italy and for the King of France. He aroused admiration from his contemporaries, who depicted a universal genius, curious and virtuous. Even today, interest in da Vinci and his work does not fade; his works and writings are still studied by foremost experts hoping to decipher one of the numerous secrets of this visionary …
Secluded within cloister walls, a painter and a monk, and brother of the order of the Dominicans, Angelico devoted his life to religious paintings. Little is known of his early life except that he was born at Vicchio, in the broad fertile valley of the Mugello, not far from Florence, that his name was Guido de Pietro, and that he passed his youth in Florence, probably in some bottegha, for at twenty he was recognised as a painter. In 1418 he entered in a Dominican convent in Fiesole with his brother. They were welcomed by the monks and, after a …
Ever wondered why your ceiling is shaped like the arches in a gothic cathedral? Or why your offi ce building looks so different from its neighboring counterparts? The ABC of Style invites you to explore the many different architectural and decorative interior styles from their ancient origins to the 1940s. Take a journey through history to see how the French aristocracy styled their palaces and castles to the simple designs of the Dominican monastic churches during the middle ages. Often, political changes implicate a stylistic transformation. Thus, the different European styles were frequently named after a sovereign or a historical …
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