What is beauty? Umberto Eco, among Italy’s finest and most important contemporary thinkers, explores the nature, the meaning, and the very history of the idea of beauty in Western culture. The profound and subtle text is lavishly illustrated with abundant examples of sublime painting and sculpture and lengthy quotations from writers and philosophers. This is the first paperback edition of History of Beauty, making this intellectual and philosophical journey with one of the world’s most acclaimed thinkers available in a more compact and affordable format.From the Trade Paperback edition

    Coverage explores the on-board effects, low-light settings, and automatic HDR shooting. Clear explanations detail the ways in which you can use the new features of the Nikon D5100 to add unique shots to your portfolio while an explanation of photography terms gets you confident and savvy with this fun DSLR camera.Covers basic camera controls and functions, shooting in auto mode, setting photo quality, and navigating menus and the view screen Introduces the basics of photography, including the settings that control lighting, exposure, focus, and color Addresses the new low-light and HDR settings Encourages you to use the new onboard effects features and shares tips for improving images with editing software Get a grasp on the fun Nikon D5100 with this fun and friendly guide!

    Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is like meeting a very famous person. We may all pretend that a well-known celebrity is no different from anyone else, and yet there is an undeniable thrill in actually meeting and talking to a person of world stature.The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence and to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history - and sometimes about the modern world too. Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors and the international community of manuscript scholars, showing us how he and his fellows piece together evidence to reach unexpected conclusions. He traces the elaborate journeys which these exceptionally precious artefacts have made through time and space, shows us how they have been copied, who has owned them or lusted after them (and how we can tell), how they have been embroiled in politics and scholarly disputes, how they have been regarded as objects of supreme beauty and luxury and as symbols of national identity. The book touches on religion, art, literature, music, science and the history of taste.Part travel book, part detective story, part conversation with the reader, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts conveys the fascination and excitement of encountering some of the greatest works of art in our culture which, in the originals, are to most people completely inaccessible. At the end, we have a slightly different perspective on history and how we come by knowledge. It is a most unusual book.

    The Photography Book brings together 500 inspiring, moving and beautiful images of famous events and people, sensational landscapes, historic moments, ground-breaking photojournalism, insightful portraits, sport, wildlife, fashion and the everyday.Following the winning formula of The Art Book and The 20th Century Art Book, The Photography Book is arranged in alphabetical order by photographer offering us a window on the last 150 years as it takes us on a journey through familiar and strange images by great, unknown and innovative photographers from around the world. Each image is discussed in detail, bringing it to life and offering us an understanding of this art form which plays such a large role in our everyday lives.An accessible, informative and easy-to-use guide, The Photography Book brings together an overview of this incredibly rich and diverse medium. A simple system of cross-referencing offers easy access to photographers working with a similar approach or using different means to capture the same subject. Glossaries of technical terms and movements and a directory of museums and galleries where photography is permanently exhibited are also included to provide a fully comprehensive volume.

    Art as Therapy is packed with 150 examples of outstanding art, with chapters on Love, Nature, Money, and Politics outlining how these works can help with common difficulties. For example, Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter helps us focus on what we want to be loved for; Serra's Fernando Passoa reminds us of the importance of dignity in suffering; and Manet's Bunch of Asparagus teaches us how to preserve and value our long-term partners.De Botton demonstrates how art can guide and console us, and along the way, help us to better understand both art and ourselves.

    Vermeer left no record of his method and indeed we know almost nothing of the man nor of how he worked. But by a close and illuminating study of the paintings Steadman concludes that Vermeer did use the camera obscura and shows how the inherent defects in this primitive device enabled Vermeer to achieve some remarkable effects--the slight blurring of image, the absence of sharp lines, the peculiar illusion not of closeness but of distance in the domestic scenes. Steadman argues that the use of the camera also explains some previously unexplainable qualities of Vermeer's art, such as the absence of conventional drawing, the pattern of underpainting in areas of pure tone, the pervasive feeling of reticence that suffuses his canvases, and the almost magical sense that Vermeer is painting not objects but light itself.Drawing on a wealth of Vermeer research and displaying an extraordinary sensitivity to the subtleties of the work itself, Philip Steadman offers in Vermeer's Camera a fresh perspective on some of the most enchanting paintings ever created.

    William Manchester's account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written, alive with all its terrifying power.

    Today, it is America's densest urban environment and most vital city, boasting one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.• New York Then and Now places today's post 9/11 cityscape within the context of history, reflecting the changing and enduring aspects of life in the Big Apple.• Remarkable past-and-present photographs showcase Manhattan's development and the amazing architecture that defines the city. See side-by-side images of the lavish Waldorf-Astoria, Radio City Music Hall, Union Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Penn Station, Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building.• The Twin Towers, part of the World Trade Center, redefined the Manhattan skyline when they opened in 1976. After the tragedies of 9/11, the skyline is defined as much by their absence.• New York continues to be one of the most popular destinations in the world-everyone who has experienced the energy and magic of the Big Apple will want this compact edition of New York Then and Now. It's the perfect souvenir or gift!

    Drawn from the archives of British Vogue, an immense resource of over 1,000,000 images, the book presents hundreds of images never seen before - the killed pictures, rejects and out-takes - to form a fresh, new history of fashion photography. Featuring the first attempts of many now internationally famous photographers, great pictures by forgotten masters, out-takes from famous shoots and many other extraordinary and sometimes controversial pictures. By showing contact sheets and unedited film UNSEEN VOGUE opens up the process of making fashion images, previously the reserve of fashion's inner circle.From Irving Penn to David Bailey, from Cecil Beaton to Mario Testino - the new book will be an authoritative addition to the documented history of fashion photography.

    Relevant psychological principles will help you predict your viewer's emotional reaction to your photographic images, giving you more power, control, and tools for communicating your desired message. Knowing how our minds work helps photographers, graphic designers, videographers, animators, and visual communicators both create and critique sophisticated works of visual art. Benefit from this insight in your work. Topics covered in this book: gestalt grouping, memory and association, space, time, color, contours, illusion and ambiguity, morphics, personality, subliminals, critiquing photographs, and rhetoric.

    In Face Paint, Lisa Eldridge reveals the entire history of the art form, from Egyptian and Classical times up through the Victorian age and golden era of Hollywood, and also surveys the cutting-edge makeup science of today and tomorrow. Face Paint explores the practical and idiosyncratic reasons behind makeup’s use, the actual materials employed over generations, and the glamorous icons that people emulate and how they achieved their effects. An engaging history of style, it is also a social history of women and the ways in which we can understand their lives through the prism and impact of makeup.

    senator, in January 2005, and served as the chief official White House photographer for the President's full two terms. Souza was with President Obama more often, and at more crucial moments, than any friend or staff member, or even the First Lady--and he photographed it all. Souza captured nearly 2 million photographs of Obama, in moments ranging from classified to disarmingly candid.This large-format (12"x10"), exquisitely produced book presents more than 300 of Souza's favorite and most iconic images from these historic years; many have never been seen before. This seminal work on the Obama presidency documents moments of national importance--including the historic image of the President and his advisors watching tensely in the Situation Room as the Bin Laden mission unfolded--alongside unguarded moments with the President's family, his many encounters with children, and his time spent interacting with world leaders, members of Congress, White House staff, artists, musicians and more.The photographs are paired with captions and stories providing behind-the-scenes context for each, and offer insight into the special relationship Souza and the President forged during their time together. The result is a stunning record of a landmark era in American history.Souza's work enabled us to feel that we knew the President. This book puts us in the White House with him.

    Interestingly, abstract expressionism is considered to be the first movement originating in America to have a worldwide influence. Two very different sub-categories of the movement developed: action painting (exemplified notably by Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock) and color field painting, made most famous by Mark Rothko. Abstract expressionists strove to express pure emotion directly on canvas, via color and especially texture (the surface quality of the brushstroke), by embracing accidents, and celebrating painting itself as a communicative action. Artists featured: William Baziotes, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Hans Hofmann, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Theodoros Stamos, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, Bradley Walter Tomlin.

    In Through the Lens, 250 spectacular images--some famous, others rarely seen--are gathered in one lavish volume.Through the Lens is divided into geographical regions with a special section devoted to space exploration. Each geographical section features an outstanding array of photographs that exemplifies the area's unique people, wildlife, archaeology, culture, architecture, and environment, accompanied by brief but informative captions. From Barry Bishop's heroic Mount Everest climb in the 1950s to the glorious wildlife of Asia and Africa, from ancient Maya culture to the Afghan woman found 17 years after her piercing green eyes captivated the world, these are some of the finest and most important photographs ever taken.Featuring master photographers from the late 1800s to today, including Frans Lanting, David Doubilet, David Alan Harvey, Jodi Cobb, William Albert Allard, Nick Nichols, and Annie Griffiths Belt, Through the Lens is an extraordinary photographic celebration of some of the greatest the world has to offer.

    Military and press photographers, propagandists, camera-wielding soldiers, and civilians all took the opportunity to record the tumultuous events of 1939-1945. From the mass suffering to the individual heroism, the cruelty to the humanitarianism, the misery to the hope, World War II: A Photographic History features the images and the stories that document this extraordinary period. With its wealth of memorable images, this truly comprehensive book provides an unrivalled overview of a time when three-quarters of the globe went to war.-- Features nine hundred clearly captioned images selected from a wide variety of sources, many of which are seen here for the first time-- Every major theater of conflict is covered extensively, from the icy seas of the Arctic Circle to the jungles of the South Pacific, and from the deserts of North Africa to the steppes of Russia-- Informative, indexed commentary provides historical grounding and summarizes the complex events of the period