(Hardback)

Discover the scenes of daily life and delicate dabs of color that transformed the history of art. This overview of Impressionism explores the artists, subjects, and techniques that first brought the easel out of the studio and shifted artistic attention from history, religion, or portraiture to the evanescent ebb and flow of modernity.

(Hardback)

The Japanese woodblock print showcased breathtaking landscapes, blush-inducing erotica, ghosts and demons that torment the living, and made sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors into rock stars. This book reveals the most exceptional prints from 1710-1925, drawing from the finest impressions of museums and private collections worldwide.

(Hardback)

Feminist icon, symbol of Mexican culture, political activist, groundbreaking artist: discover the many facets of Frida Kahlo, who transformed the afflictions of her life into unremittingly powerful paintings. In this introduction, Kahlo's body of bold, arresting works are presented alongside her turbulent life to shed light on the audacious face glaring defiantly from her self-portraits.

(Hardback)

Throughout his artistic career, Wassily Kandinsky transformed not only his own practice, but the course of art history itself. This essential guide traces Kandinsky's rich repertoire to present the painter, engraver, teacher, and theorist credited with the first modern abstract painting and with one of the keenest theoretical minds of 20th-century art.

(Hardback)

Meet a giant of 20th-century modernism with this introduction to Paul Klee, the Swiss-born painter whose highly individual style combined Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism in sun-drenched landscapes, child-like figures, and enigmatic symbols. Though typically small in scale, Klee's works are remarkable for their sophisticated thought and meticulous nuances of line, color, and tonality.

(Hardback)

Immortalized in Julius Shulman's photograph of Case Study House #22, Pierre Koenig is one of the leading figures of the Modern movement. With his two contributions to the Case Study Houses program and many other pioneering projects, he hampioned the streamlined elegance of industrial materials and epitomized postwar experimentalism and optimism.

(Hardback)

With his geometric structures perched upon the hillsides, beaches, and deserts of California, John Lautner is responsible for some of the most original buildings of the 20th century. This introductory book surveys his key works and his iconic aesthetic in an age of space-age technology, economic growth, and affluence.

(Hardback)

Even in his unrealised projects, Le Corbusier redefined modern living, synthesising functionalism, expressionism, and expansive urban thinking from Switzerland to Chandigarh, India. This book provides a succinct introduction to his trailblazing ideas, writings, and buildings, which continue to resonate and influence to this day.

(Hardback)

Painter, inventor, architect, scientist, and engineer: Leonardo da Vinci stands to this day as one of the most accomplished human beings ever to have lived. Whether the smallest arteries of the human heart, exquisite biblical scenes, or far-flung constellations of the universe, explore his insatiable quest for knowledge, invention, and beauty.

(Hardback)

Meet the pioneer of Pop art in this introduction to Roy Lichtenstein, whose high-impact cartoon-based images exploded onto the art scene at the end of the 1950s and transformed the notion of fine art forever. Appropriating the form and content of mass media, Lichtenstein reveled in American consumer culture while elevating it for critique at the same time.

(Hardback)

Artist Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was considered the most important figurative painter of his generation. Master portraitist and specialist in nudes, Freud used impasto to create depth and intensity while restraining his color palate to muted hues. His portraits may be physically unflattering to their subjects, but they are honest and unapologetic.

(Hardback)

From impossible staircases to tessellated birds, explore the graphic genius of M.C. Escher, master of quirky vantage points, mathematical puzzles, and the transition from paper flatness to illusory volume. This essential introduction presents key Escher works, exploring the evolution of a unique pictorial style that has captivated scientists and hippies alike.

(Hardback)

Meet the Belgian Surrealist forever on the hunt for magic and mystery. This introduction to Magritte presents key works from the artist's vast repertoire of visual humor, paradox, and surprise which makes us look and look again, not only at the painting, but at our sense of self and the world.

(Hardback)

Kiev-born artist Kazimir Malevich painted Black Square in 1915 and with it established the "zero point of painting," a seminal moment for modern and abstract practice. A century on from the Russian revolution, Malevich's groundbreaking pursuit of pure color and geometry remain pivotal influences in the Russian and global avant-garde.

(Hardback)

Discover the artist who applied paint according to the world around him and bridged the transition from Realism to Impressionism. This richly illustrated introduction to douard Manet presents his trailblazing panorama of contemporary life, from well-heeled classes in genteel city parks to the unabashed pose of the languid prostitute, Olympia.

(Hardback)

Through eye-popping colors and simple forms, rejoice in the restless creativity and infectious energy of Henri Matisse, the artist who never stopped making art, and whose vivid palette gave nudes, landscapes, and interior views a whole new modernity. This compact yet comprehensive monograph includes preparatory sketches, full-page reproductions, and enlarged details.

(Hardback)

Discover the magical and unconventional world of the iconic master and pioneer in Dada and Surrealist movements, Max Ernst. His captivating work stands out for its varied style and technique and illustrates not only his brilliant and extraordinary ideas but also pushes against the constraints of the rational mind.

(Hardback)

Nicknamed "il divino," Renaissance genius Michelangelo combined body, spirit, and God into visionary masterpieces across sculpture, painting, and architecture. From The Piet to the extraordinary ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, this book provides the essential introduction to the artist's revolutionary ideas and awe-inspiring artworks.

(Hardback)

Discover the master of the modern minimalist, Mies van der Rohe, one of the defining and most hotly debated tastemakers of the twentieth century. In pursuit of elemental truth, van der Rohe crafted an "almost nothing" architecture, criticized by some as bland, extolled by others as the paradigm of purity.

(Hardback)

Explore the lyrical seven-decade career of Catalan-born Joan Mir, a towering figure of 20th-century art, whose highly individual style reflected Surrealist, Dadaist, and abstract elements in dazzling colors and unique symbolic narratives. From automated drawing to sculptures made of gas, this modernist legend abandoned categorization and approval in favor of his own dreamlike worlds.

(Hardback)

Renowned for his distinctive, elongated female nudes, Amedeo Modigliani is a legend of early modernism. His unique figuration corresponded to his own personal idea of beauty, but drew upon a rich variety of visual influences, including contemporary Cubism, African carvings, Cambodian sculptures, and 13th-century painting from his native Italy.

(Hardback)

With graceful lines and floral details, Alphonse Mucha gave the Belle poque its visual character. His work permeated illustration and advertising of the day, most famously in striking posters of star actress Sarah Bernhardt. Compiled in association with the Mucha Foundation, this book introduces the full reach of his work, from patterned decoration to his political ideas.

(Hardback)

Take in the dark, compelling visions of Edvard Munch, artist of lurid colors, strange distortions, and a haunting Mona Lisa for modernity: The Scream. This essential introduction surveys Munch's staggering capacity for psychodrama and the echo of his artistic wail through the work of Andy Warhol, Martin Kippenberger, Tracey Emin, Marlene Dumas, and beyond.

(Hardback)

Explore a unique blend of structure and surroundings in this essential architectural introduction to Richard Neutra, pioneer of a particularly holistic brand of modernism which incorporated the ragged lines of a landscape as much as the sleek surfaces and pared down geometries of 20th-century cool.