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The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren
It's a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of World War II: A lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge Vermeers, one of which he sold to Hermann Goering, making a mockery of the Nazis. And it's a story that's been believed ever since. Too bad it isn't true. Jonathan Lopez has drawn on never-before-seen documents from dozens of archives to write a revelatory new biography of the world’s most famous forger. Neither unappreciated artist nor antifascist hero, Van Meegeren emerges as an ingenious, dyed-in-the-wool crook who plied the forger's trade far longer than he ever admitted—a talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush. Lopez also explores a network of illicit commerce that operated across Europe: Not only was Van Meegeren a key player in that high-stakes game in the 1920s and '30s, landing fakes with powerful dealers and famous collectors such as Andrew Mellon, but he and his associates later offered a case study in wartime opportunism as they cashed in on the Nazi occupation. The Man Who Made Vermeers is a long-overdue unvarnishing of Van Meegeren’s legend and a deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world. .
Price: $16.72
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Faberge's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire
In Stradivari’s Genius, Toby Faber charted the fascinating course of some of the world’s most prized musical instruments. Now, in this enthralling new book, he tells the story of objects that are, to many, the pinnacle of the jeweler’s art: the Fabergé imperial eggs. The Easter presents that Russia’s last two czars gave to their czarinas have become synonymous with privilege, beauty, and an almost provocative uselessness. They are perhaps the most redolent symbols of the old empire’s phenomenal craftsmanship, of the decadence of its court, and of the upheavals that brought about its inevitable downfall. Fabergé’s Eggs is the first book to recount the remarkable story of these masterpieces, taking us from the circumstances that inspired each egg’s design, through their disappearance in the trauma of revolution, to their eventual reemergence in the global marketplace. In 1885, Carl Fabergé created a seemingly plain white egg for Czar Alexander III to give to his beloved wife, Marie Fedorovna. It was the surprises hidden inside that made it special: a diamond miniature of the Imperial crown and a ruby pendant. This gift began a tradition that would last for more than three decades: lavishly extravagant eggs commemorating public events that, in retrospect, seem little more than staging posts on the march to revolution. Above all, the eggs illustrate the attitudes that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Romanovs: their apparent indifference to the poverty that choked their country, their preference for style over substance, and, during the reign of Nicholas II, their all-consuming concern with the health of the czarevitch Alexis, the sickly heir to the throne–a preoccupation that would propel them toward Rasputin and the doom of the dynasty. More than a superb new account of a classic tragedy, Fabergé’s Eggs illuminates some fascinating aspects of twentieth-century history. The eggs’ amazing journey from revolutionary Russia features a cast of characters including embattled Bolsheviks, acquisitive British royals, eccentric artifact salesmen, and such famous business and society figures as Arm and Hammer, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Malcolm Forbes. Finally, Toby Faber tantalizingly suggests that some of the eggs long thought lost may eventually emerge. Darting from the palaces of a besieged Russia to the showcases of New York’s modern mega-wealthy, Fabergé’s Eggs weaves a story unparalleled in its drama and extravagance. Praise for Stradivari’s Genius“Fascinating . . . lively . . . more enthralling, earthy and illuminating than any fiction could be.” –The New York Times Book Review
“A celebration of six instruments and the master craftsman who made them . . . [Faber] brings to the subject an infectious fascination with Stradivari’s life and trade. . . . He writes with clarity and fluency.” –Chicago Tribune
“An extraordinary accomplishment and a compelling read. Like strange totems that cast an irresistible spell, these instruments bring out the best and the worst of those who would own them, and Faber deftly tells the stories in all their rich and surprising detail.” –Thad Carhart, author of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank
“A worthy contribution to the ongoing legend of Stradivari.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune“Fascinating, accessible, and enjoyable.” –Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring
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Price: $14.70
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Versailles
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Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy: A Primer in the Social History of Pictorial Style (Oxford Paperbacks)
Serving as both an introduction to fifteenth-century Italian painting and as a text on how to interpret social history from the style of pictures in a given historical period, this new edition to Baxandall's pre-eminent scholarly volume examines early Renaissance painting, and explains how the style of painting in any society reflects the visual skills and habits that evolve out of daily life. Renaissance painting, for example, mirrors the experience of such activities as preaching, dancing, and gauging barrels. The volume includes discussions of a wide variety of painters, including Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Stefano di Giovanni, Sandro Botticelli, Masaccio, Luca Signorelli, Boccaccio, and countless others. Baxandall also defines and illustrates sixteen concepts used by a contemporary critic of painting, thereby assembling the basic equipment needed to explore fifteenth-century art. This new second edition includes an appendix that lists the original Latin and Italian texts referred to throughout the book, providing the reader with all the relevant, authentic sources. It also contains an updated bibliography and a new reproduction of a recently restored painting which replaces the original..
Price: $7.44
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Hearst the Collector
William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951) was one of the most famous men in America in the first half of the 20th century His life as a newspaper magnate and politician was satirized in Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, and his home in San Simeon, California, is still one of the most visited house museums in the country. Hearst the Collector explores another facet of his extraordinary life and notoriety: his phenomenal art collection. During the 1920s and 1930s, he amassed the largest private collections of tapestries, antiquities, silver, and arms and armor of his time. His collection furnished six palatial residences. Hearst the Collector takes the reader inside each, illustrating with rarely seen historical prints the most interesting pieces from Hearst’s vast holdings, which were dispersed over the years among many museums throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Rijksmueum. .
Price: $31.33
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The Art of Mantua: Power and Patronage in the Renaissance
This book traces the rich history of the northern Italian city of Mantua, from its mythic origins in Dante's Inferno, to its cultural heyday during the Renaissance under the patronage of the powerful Gonzaga family, to its eventual decline and annexation by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fortunes of Mantua rose and fell with those of the Gonzaga family, who ruled as imperial vicars from the fourteenth to the early seventeenth century. They transformed the city into a major cultural center by commissioning works from the master architects and artists of the day such as Leon Battista Alberti, Giulio Romano, Titian, Rubens, and Guercino. However, Andrea Mantegna--who served as the court painter from 1460 to 1506 and whose technical mastery revolutionized painting--is the artist most identified with the city. Although most of Mantua's artistic treasures were sold or claimed as war spoils upon the decline of the Gonzaga family, the rich cultural legacy of this fascinating city lives on in the collections of many of the world's premier museums..
Price: $49.53
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Patronizing the Arts
What is the role of the arts in American culture? Is art an essential element? If so, how should we support it? Today, as in the past, artists need the funding, approval, and friendship of patrons whether they are individuals, corporations, governments, or nonprofit foundations. But as Patronizing the Arts shows, these relationships can be problematic, leaving artists "patronized"--both supported with funds and personal interest, while being condescended to for vocations misperceived as play rather than serious work. In this provocative book, Marjorie Garber looks at the history of patronage, explains how patronage has elevated and damaged the arts in modern culture, and argues for the university as a serious patron of the arts. With clarity and wit, Garber supports rethinking prejudices that oppose art's role in higher education, rejects assumptions of inequality between the sciences and humanities, and points to similarities between the making of fine art and the making of good science. She examines issues of artistic and monetary value, and transactions between high and popular culture. She even asks how college sports could provide a new way of thinking about arts funding. Using vivid anecdotes and telling details, Garber calls passionately for an increased attention to the arts, not just through government and private support, but as a core aspect of higher education. Compulsively readable, Patronizing the Arts challenges all who value the survival of artistic creation both in the present and future. .
Price: $11.95
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Guide to Getting Arts Grants
Here is a comprehensive guide to everything artists and arts groups need to know about supporting themselves through grants and special projects. "Guide to Getting Arts Grants" provides detailed information and how-to-exercises that cover nearly every conceivable situation that a grant seeking artist may encounter, from writing letters of enquiry, fellowship applications, and artists statements, to being ready for the all important site visit. This volume also includes sections on how to deal with grant decisions, be they yes, no, or maybe..
Price: $11.43
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