Egyptian art is perhaps the most impersonal that exists. The artist effaces himself. But he has such an innate sense of life, a sense so directly moved and so limpid that everything of life which he describes seems defi ned by that sense, to issue from the natural gesture, from the exact attitude, in which one no longer sees stiffness. His impersonality resembles that of the trees bowing in the wind with a single movement and without resistance, or that of the water which wrinkles into equal circles all moving in the same direction. From afar, Egyptian art seems changeless …

What is more common than a pair of shoes? In a world where shoes have become an object of mass consumption, these accessories are now rid of any significance. The industry has accomplished its duty: producing a large quantity at a low price. But there was a time when the shoe symbolised the strength of the Roman legion, the power of the Medieval lords or the oppression of the Chinese woman. Its history is both vast and enthralling, as revealed by the author Marie-Josèphe Bossan. Supporting her analysis with an outstanding iconography, the author gives these commonplace objects a universal …

Icon painting, the ultimate expression of Orthodox Christian art, reached its zenith in Ukraine between the 11th and 18th centuries. This book spans the entire period, showing the development of the style. The Ukrainian icon is a surprising synthesis of the traditions of Eastern Byzantine art and the stylistic characteristics of Russian icon painting. The introduction of this book explains the stages of development of icon-painting over five centuries in Ukraine’s major Centres of art - Kyiv, Chernihiv, Transcarpathia, Galicia, and Volhynia - and discusses the life and work of the masters of icon-painting. Despite the strict stylistic considerations imposed …

Por sorprendente que resulte, la similitud fonética de la lengua japonesa y la española es tan grande que su aprendizaje resulta más fácil de lo que podríamos pensar en un primer momento. Además, su gramática es una de las más sencillas del mundo y en ella apenas existen excepciones. Quizá, la tarea más difícil sea acostumbrarse a la lectura y la escritura de los caracteres que provienen del chino, los llamados kanji. Por este motivo, en cada lección encontrará un buen número de diálogos y modelos de conversación, que le permitirán utilizar con fluidez las expresiones más comunes del japonés …

Born in 1872, Aubrey Beardsley was, along with Oscar Wilde, an emblematic figure of the decadence that marked the end of Queen Victoria's reign. Largely self-taught, Beardsley's drawings initially show the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, such as Burne-Jones and Rossetti. Later, he adopted a more radical and innovative style, illustrating Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and participating in the creation of The Yellow Book magazine. But it was through his dark and erotic drawings, notably for Oscar Wilde's Salome, that he best evoked the troubled atmosphere of the time. Stricken with tuberculosis, Beardsley died prematurely at the age of …

Greek art, at the very moment that it was breaking up in depth, was scattering over the whole material surface of Hellenic antiquity. After the movement of concentration that had brought to Athens all the forces of Hellenism, a movement of dispersal began, which was to carry from Athens to southern Italy, to Sicily, to Cyrenaica, Egypt, the Islands, and Asia Minor the passion and, unfortunately, the mania, for beautiful things—in default of creative genius. Dilettantism and the diffusion of taste multiply and at the same time weaken talent. It is the Hellenistic period, perhaps the richest in artists and …

Au cours de l'histoire, nombreuses sont les guerres qui changèrent le paysage politique et culturel du monde. Source de bouleversements, de destructions et de violences, elles contribuèrent néanmoins à l'évolution de la création artistique. En effet, malgré les événements traumatisants qu'elles engendrent, les guerres inspirent les artistes depuis toujours. Ces derniers immortalisent ces moments dramatiques en des oeuvres qui sont autant de précieux témoignages pour toutes les générations. Ce livre offre au lecteur les illustrations des batailles les plus connues et autres scènes de guerre. Composé de textes d'écrivains célèbres, cet ouvrage s'accompagne, en outre, du texte de référence de …