Rembrandt: The Painter Thinking
Rembrandt: The Painter Thinking

Author: Ernst van de Wetering

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2016-04-18

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0520290259

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Throughout his life, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) was considered an exceptional artist by contemporary art lovers. In this highly original book, Ernst van de Wetering investigates why Rembrandt, from a very early age, was praised by high-placed connoisseurs like Constantijn Huygens. It turns out that Rembrandt, from his first endeavours in painting on, had embarked on a journey past all the 'foundations of the art of painting' which were considered essential in the seventeenth century. In his systematic exploration of these foundations, Rembrandt achieved mastery in all of them, thus becoming the 'pittore famoso' that count Cosimo the Medici visited at the end of his life. Rembrandt never stopped searching for ever better solutions to the pictorial problems he saw himself confronted with; this sometimes led to radical decisions and alterations in his way of working, which cannot simply be explained by attributing them to a 'change in style' or a 'natural development'. In a quest as rigorous and novel as Rembrandt's, Van de Wetering shows us how Rembrandt dealt with the foundations of his art and used them to try and become the best painter the world had ever seen. His book sheds new light both on Rembrandt's exceptional accomplishments and on the practice of painting in the Dutch Golden Age at large.

Rembrandt's Orient
Rembrandt's Orient

Author: Ortrud Westheider

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2021-01-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 3791359630

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book sheds light on the fascinating ways Rembrandt and other Golden Age painters were influenced by Eastern culture. In the 17th century, Amsterdam was a vibrant hub of the burgeoning European trade with Asia, Africa, and the Levant, importing copious amounts of foreign items that powerfully stimulated the imagination of numerous Dutch artists. This was notably the case with Rembrandt, whose curiosity and voraciousness as a collector were legendary in his time. Throughout his prolific career, he drew on Eastern influences in genres as diverse as history painting and portraiture, including depictions in which he himself adopted Oriental styled attire. This lavishly illustrated book explores the inventive ways in which Rembrandt and his contemporaries accommodated Eastern imagery into their own repertoire, set within the wider context of Holland's rapidly expanding commercial and cultural exchange with its non-European trading partners. The problematic term "Orient" was widely used in Rembrandt's time and will be discussed at great length in this catalogue.

The Loop
The Loop

Author: Patrick T. Reardon

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0809338106

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The structure that anchors Chicago Every day Chicagoans rely on the loop of elevated train tracks to get to their jobs, classrooms, or homes in the city’s downtown. But how much do they know about the single most important structure in the history of the Windy City? In engagingly brisk prose, Patrick T. Reardon unfolds the fascinating story about how Chicago’s elevated Loop was built, gave its name to the downtown, helped unify the city, saved the city’s economy, and was itself saved from destruction in the 1970s. This unique volume combines urban history, biography, engineering, architecture, transportation, culture, and politics to explore the elevated Loop’s impact on the city’s development and economy and on the way Chicagoans see themselves. The Loop rooted Chicago’s downtown in a way unknown in other cities, and it protected that area—and the city itself—from the full effects of suburbanization during the second half of the twentieth century. Masses of data underlie new insights into what has made Chicago’s downtown, and the city as a whole, tick. The Loop features a cast of colorful Chicagoans, such as legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow, poet Edgar Lee Masters, mayor Richard J. Daley, and the notorious Gray Wolves of the Chicago City Council. Charles T. Yerkes, an often-demonized figure, is shown as a visionary urban planner, and engineer John Alexander Low Waddell, a world-renowned bridge creator, is introduced to Chicagoans as the designer of their urban railway. This fascinating exploration of how one human-built structure reshaped the social and economic landscape of Chicago is the definitive book on Chicago’s elevated Loop.

Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe'
Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe'

Author: Paul Hayes Tucker

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-02-13

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780521479844

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Edouard Manet's controversial painting "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" is one of the best known images in French art. The subject of critical analysis for more than a century, it still defies singular interpretations. These essays, written specially for this volume by the leading scholars of French modern art, therefore offer six different readings of the painting, incorporating close examinations of its radical style and novel subject, relevant historical developments and archival material, as well as biographical evidence that prompts psychological inquiries.

The Metropolis of Tomorrow
The Metropolis of Tomorrow

Author: Hugh Ferriss

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2012-03-14

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 0486139441

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The metropolis of the future — as perceived by architect Hugh Ferriss in 1929 — was both generous and prophetic in vision. This illustrated essay on the modern city and its future features 59 illustrations.

Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design
Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design

Author: Bill Buxton

Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann

Published: 2010-07-28

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 0080552900

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Sketching User Experiences approaches design and design thinking as something distinct that needs to be better understood—by both designers and the people with whom they need to work— in order to achieve success with new products and systems. So while the focus is on design, the approach is holistic. Hence, the book speaks to designers, usability specialists, the HCI community, product managers, and business executives. There is an emphasis on balancing the back-end concern with usability and engineering excellence (getting the design right) with an up-front investment in sketching and ideation (getting the right design). Overall, the objective is to build the notion of informed design: molding emerging technology into a form that serves our society and reflects its values. Grounded in both practice and scientific research, Bill Buxton's engaging work aims to spark the imagination while encouraging the use of new techniques, breathing new life into user experience design. - Covers sketching and early prototyping design methods suitable for dynamic product capabilities: cell phones that communicate with each other and other embedded systems, "smart" appliances, and things you only imagine in your dreams - Thorough coverage of the design sketching method which helps easily build experience prototypes—without the effort of engineering prototypes which are difficult to abandon - Reaches out to a range of designers, including user interface designers, industrial designers, software engineers, usability engineers, product managers, and others - Full of case studies, examples, exercises, and projects, and access to video clips that demonstrate the principles and methods

Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars
Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars

Author: John Laband

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2009-05-18

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 0810863006

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Between 1838 and 1888 the recently formed Zulu kingdom in southeastern Africa was directly challenged by the incursion of Boer pioneers aggressively seeking new lands on which to set up their independent republics, by English-speaking traders and hunters establishing their neighboring colony, and by imperial Britain intervening in Zulu affairs to safeguard Britain's position as the paramount power in southern Africa. As a result, the Zulu fought to resist Boer invasion in 1838 and British invasion in 1879. The internal strains these wars caused to the fabric of Zulu society resulted in civil wars in 1840, 1856, and 1882-1884, and Zululand itself was repeatedly partitioned between the Boers and British. In 1888, the old order in Zululand attempted a final, unsuccessful uprising against recently imposed British rule. This tangled web of invasions, civil wars, and rebellion is complex. The Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars unravels and elucidates Zulu history during the 50 years between the initial settler threat to the kingdom and its final dismemberment and absorption into the colonial order. A chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, maps, photos, and over 900 cross-referenced dictionary entries that cover the military, politics, society, economics, culture, and key players during the Zulu Wars make this an important reference for everyone from high school students to academics.

Pablo Picasso and Marie-Therese
Pablo Picasso and Marie-Therese

Author: John Richardson

Publisher: Rizzoli Publications

Published: 2011-06-13

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0847837130

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Pablo Picasso’s endless fascination with his lover’s character and form led to radical shifts in his conception of portraiture and the mystical metamorphoses that the act of creation entails. Picasso’s secretive love affair with Marie-Therese Walter, which began in 1927, inspired a radical shift in his conception of portraiture. The exhibition and catalogue present Marie-Therese as a primary vehicle for his experimentation during the period, including several works never before seen in the United States as well as previously unpublished personal letters and photographs. Picasso and Marie-Therese sheds new light on the interpretation of one of the most creative relationships in Picasso’s rich and varied oeuvre.