Men’s fashion, particularly the trends involving undergarments, was once reserved for the elite; today it has become democratised, clear proof of social progress. The aestheticism of the body so highly valued by the Greeks seems to have regained a prominent place in the masculine world. Mirroring the evolution of society’s values, the history of underwear also highlights the continuous, dancing exchange that exists between women’s styles and men’s fashion. Undergarments are concealed, flaunted, stretched or shortened, establishing a game between yesterday’s illicit and today’s chic and thereby denouncing the sense of disgrace that these simple pieces of clothing used to …

Until the end of the 19th century Naïve Art, created by untrained artists and characterised by spontaneity and simplicity, enjoyed little recognition from professional artists and art critics. Naïve painting is often distinguished by its clarity of line, vivacity and joyful colours, as well as by its rather clean-cut, simple shapes, as represented by French artists such as Henri Rousseau, Séraphine de Senlis, André Bauchant and Camille Bombois. However, this movement has also found adherents elsewhere, including Joan Miró (who was influenced by some of its qualities), Guido Vedovato, Niko Pirosmani, and Ivan Generalic.

Al estudiar con pasión la naturaleza, lo mismo que las ciencias que permiten reproducirla más exactamente -anatomía, perspectiva, fisonomía-, luego, en compensación, al consultar, con la independencia que le era propia, los modelos antiguos, era imposible que no combinase la precisión con la libertad, la verdad con la belleza. Ahí, en esa emancipación definitiva, en esa plena posesión del modelado, de la iluminación y de la expresión, en esa amplitud y esa libertad se encuentra la razón de ser y la gloria del maestro: otros han podido ensayar por vías diferentes; pero ninguno ha llegado tan lejos, ninguno ha subido …

Die Einzigartigkeit der niederländischen Landschaft mit ihren Wasserwegen und ihrem Farbreichtum spiegelt sich nicht nur in den Naturgemälden, sondern auch in bekannten Einzel- und Gruppenporträts aus dieser Region Europas wieder. Dieses handliche Buch versammelt die Höhepunkte der niederländischen Malerei vom 15. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert mit Werken von, zum Beispiel, Bosch, Rembrandt, Rubens und van Eyck. Das innovative Layout der Mega Square-Reihe hebt drei charakteristische Ausschnitte eines jeden Bildes hervor und unterstreicht damit jene Detailliebe, die so bezeichnend ist für die niederländische Malerei.

Detrás de los retratos de Frida Kahlo se ocultan tanto la historia de su vida como la de su obra. Es precisamente esta combinación lo que cautiva al espectador. La obra de Frida es un testimonio de su vida. Pocas veces se puede aprender tanto acerca de un artista con sólo contemplar lo que inscribe dentro del marco de sus cuadros. Frida Kahlo es sin lugar a dudas la ofrenda de México a la historia del arte. La historia y las pinturas que Frida nos dejó revelar el valiente relato de una mujer en constante búsqueda de sí misma. Al …

Arriving with a bang on the post-World War I scene, the Surrealists proclaimed a revolution of thought and creation, insisting on breaking away from the past and a world that had been left in ruins. This refusal to integrate into bourgeois society was also a leitmotiv of the Dada movement, a rebellious trait that led André Breton to say that Dadaism was “a machine had not thought to come up with new perspectives. It was this comment that gave birth to Surrealism. The Surrealists frequently collaborated with Dada artists on intellectual levels for which exclusivity had often become the general …

To draw a horse is to capture a moment of grace in motion — strength, balance, and lightness united in a single line. This book invites you to rediscover the pleasure of observation and the simplicity of form. Starting from geometric shapes, you will learn how to build the body, head, and movement of the horse with clarity and precision, transforming simple sketches into expressive drawings. Step by step, page by page, your hand will learn to follow the rhythm of this noble animal — until your lines run as freely as the horses you draw. This book is the …

At the beginning of the XXth century, there was an unprecedented explosion of creativity in all artistic fields. Overwhelming both Europe and North America, the Russian Ballet revolutionized theatrical design with their stage sets and their costumes that were ablaze with colour yet refind in effect, bearing much of the mystic of the Orient yet also visually influenced by the work of the Persian miniaturists. Together with Diaghilev, Léon Bakst showed himself to be the most talented of the theatre group designers of his time. The costumes he devised with exclusive art seemed to shimmer with a thousand colours. Dazzled …