The so-called master of art is such a person:
They use their own eyes to see what others have seen, and they can find beauty in what others are accustomed to.
- Rodin
In the 21st century, it is not difficult to find that the brightest stars in art history are often playing across borders, as if overnight, "Everyone is an artist" is no longer just a vain slogan.
Today, if you want to ask, what is art, to understand what art is really useful... The answer I can give you may be that artistic accomplishment is an indispensable part of modern people's pursuit of freedom, creative spirit and self-reflection.
Anything that is done to the extreme, we can say that it is an "art".
Many people always think that art is a niche field, but in fact, it is not, the historical and cultural connotations reflected behind each famous painting, each music, the background and story of each artist's creation, these bits and pieces, cumulatively, are a rare insight for a person.
As long as you are willing to take some time out of your daily work and study, read books, and learn as much as possible about the stories behind the world's classic works of art, the historical and cultural background of creation, and some basic appreciation skills, you will find:
Art is all around us, and it's not that hard.
Marcel Duchamp's Springs
How can we improve our artistic accomplishment in daily life? The most direct method is undoubtedly reading. Today, Ashin has specially prepared an interesting and informative art book list for you, which is worth collecting.
Selected Art Books (New 2018)
"B-side of famous paintings" (all 4 volumes)
The representative works of Kyoko Nakano, the best-selling author of Japanese art history, including "The Painting of Destiny: Is it an Accident or Fate", "The Absolute Queen in The Art", "The First Sight of the Louvre", and "The Man's Suit in the Picture Frame", all of which are listed as best-sellers in the Japanese art category.
Kyoko Nakano has a deep academic background in art history, but she uses a gossipy heart and a spitting pen to make a wonderful interpretation of the classic Western paintings that seem to be high above. In this series, the author takes the fate of the people in the painting and the story behind the famous painting as the starting point, and tells you the lesser-known other side of the famous painting. Wonderful text and a large number of famous paintings and pictures, this book will take you to the world of art history, into the historical secret behind the famous paintings.
The seduction of fine art
[Day] Miyashita Nori kuro
Renowned Japanese art historian and Kobe University teacher Norihisa Miyashita has selected 20 themes that are closely related to our lives, society, and culture— food scenes, tattoos, the birth of genius, Yukio Mishima, trompe l'oeil painting, offering paintings, the glory and withering of eclecticism, the Rinpai and primitivism... Fine art, it turns out that you are close at hand!
How to Read Contemporary Art: Experiencing the Art of the 21st Century
Michael Wilson
More than 170 artists and more than 600 works have set off a huge storm of new century art, but it only takes three minutes to read an artist. The aesthetic attitude of never blindly following takes you to re-understand the art world simply and seriously! Art is not a mysterious and disciplined work, it does not exist in the only right way, but there can be a knack for appreciating it. More than 200 works of art have been created by artists in the past 20 years, revealing the essence of 21st century art and showing an aesthetic feast that transcends the times.
Art Material Series (5 volumes)
Circle of friends of Impressionist painters
Sun: Mihoko Sugizen
In the history of painting art, "Impressionism", which was born in the second half of the 19th century, is an epoch-making art genre in the history of Western painting. Although the history is not very long, it occupies a pivotal position. Even if you don't know what Impressionism is, you must have heard the thunderous names of Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Van Gogh.
Impressionist exhibitions were always unprecedented, and the works were repeatedly sold at sky-high prices. But what exactly is Impressionism, and what complex context was it born in? Why is Impressionist painting so sought after? What kind of deep friendship between seemingly cold artists?
It all starts with Monet's Sunrise Impressions... Manet, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Van Gogh, Morisso... It collects the representative works and related works of each Impressionist painter, accompanied by maps and character relationship diagrams, bringing a funny and unprecedented "Impressionism" big coffee biography, reading Impressionism in minutes.
Renaissance greats
The great artist of the 16th century, George Vasari, wrote a huge work called "The Biography of the Artist". In this work, he first used the word "Renaissance" and recorded many anecdotes of artists active in the Renaissance, the first art history in Europe and the most vivid depiction of the lives of artists at that time.
According to this "Biography of Artists", Japanese illustrator Sugi Quanmei Fanko uses illustrations to examine a large number of historical materials, 360 ° without dead angles to present the unique personalities of da Vinci and other artistic giants, as well as the complex relationship between them. Full of "breaking news + jokes", I didn't expect them to be such a big coffee! A special renaissance history, let you understand the Renaissance in minutes, and know the masters and masters of renaissance history.
My friend Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci is a god-like presence in art history. He was not only a great artist, but also an inventor, architect, engineer, military man, anatomist, stage director... In this book, you will see many of the hidden life stories of this artistic giant. As an illegitimate child, he could not inherit the family's career as a notary for generations, but he showed an amazing talent for painting at a young age, and even let his teacher Velocchio break the brush and never paint again; he created many masterpieces in art history that no one could match, but left more half-abandoned projects and mysteries.
Whimsical painters
Having seen enough of the classical beauty of the Renaissance and the light and shadow charm of Impressionism, this book talks about the "grotesque" paintings in art history that have always been parallel to "beautiful". Through seven painters and works with strange and maverick styles, you can see the "Dark Series" painting genre in art history!
These seven painting masters are: Bosch, the founder of surrealist painting, Dürer, a genius painter whose animal and plant drawings and human anatomy are not inferior to leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, who is famous and carries the fate of the world, Goya, who has a large number of fans of court ladies, Blake, who has super-cosmic illusions in his brain, Redon, who is in the era of impressionist brilliant light and shadow, but only pursues darkness, and Rousseau, who is best at "being funny in a serious way". Interesting explanation of the extraordinary lives of seven eccentrics in the history of art, as well as masterpieces, a book to understand the "Dark Series" painting!
Matsuda Yukimasa series (set of 4 volumes)
Sun: Matsuda, Gosho
Japanese ghost book designer Yukimasa Matsuda series of works. If in Zero ZEЯRO: The Complete Book of World Symbols, he collects various texts, codes, and symbol systems in human history; in "Circles and Squares" he compares the circles and square-based graphics and designs that appear in various walks of life and cultures; will the world be based on "2"?
In "The Adventure of 2", we see all kinds of "2s", and follow the "2" from the microscopic to the end of the universe; holding "One Hundredth of a Billion solar system" in your hand, you hold up the entire solar system, turn the page, and feel the emptiness and loneliness of the universe...
In Matsuda's works, culture, design, beauty, science, and entertainment are all integrated into small books with paper as the carrier. Crossover, surprise, fun, beauty, specially presented to you who are curious and pursue perfectionism.
Modern sky 20 years , zero to infinity
Modern skies
In the past 20 years of Modern Sky, how many "unreliable" insiders are waiting for you to dig? Just watch "Modern Sky 03: Modern Sky 20 Years Zero to Infinity" to sweep away all these gossip! Modern Sky 03: Modern Sky 20 Years Zero to Infinity is composed of two major themes, HERO and ZERO, with a unique dual cover design.
In hero, we interviewed dozens of people who have been associated with Modern Sky over the past 20 years, trying to recreate the thrilling moments that Modern Sky has experienced over the past 20 years, and in ZERO, we throw a set of topics about the future to young, sharp and up-and-coming artists, fashion designers, helmsmen and engineers of cutting-edge technology companies, and they are the future that Modern Sky is planning.
Olive Classical Music 02: A Guide to Concert Viewing
Olive FM
"Olive Classical Music" series of books, is the domestic directional classical music MOOK, with the popularization of classical music as the core, from the perspective of lifestyle to cut and expand, whether you have a classical music background, you can easily appreciate the beauty of classical music! Each issue of MOOK focuses on a theme, such as a concert viewing guide, a musician's biography, a musical instrument purchase guide, etc., in-depth and simple, providing domestic music fans with cutting-edge, fashionable, interesting and three-dimensional classical music information and knowledge.
What does the band leader do? Is the organ in the concert hall an ornament? What is the difference between back score playing and watching score playing? Is the piano trio a three-pian ensemble? Do concerts have titles? What do musicians do during intermission? In addition, 10 common concert repertoire and the moving stories behind them, such as Bach's Prelude in C major, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, and the piano version of Beethoven's Symphony. Attach a QR code to the book, read and listen, giving you a relaxed and original classical.
History of Chinese Art
Li Lincan
This book is compiled by Mr. Li Lincan, vice president of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and an aesthetician, based on his lectures on the history of Chinese art at National Taiwan University for more than 20 years. Mr. Li Lincan has been working in the museum for more than 40 years and has devoted his life to the study of Chinese art history, and has a clear understanding of China's various periods and types of art works and their development history.
Relying on the profound traditional cultural cultivation, the author uses the way of story to match the social and cultural background, characters and poetry of the work, explain the artistic conception and style of the art work, and connect with people's daily life and emotions. So that this art history is not only easy to understand, but also easy for readers to understand and apply, and to make contact with our daily lives, they will have some understanding.
Read painting for forty years
It is a book about art, appreciation, beauty and everyday life. In the author's eyes, the improvement of quality of life does not only mean the development of science and technology, material abundance, "the appreciation of beauty is the top priority", which is where we really need to improve. How to appreciate beauty? The author starts from the traditional art that he is most familiar with, talking about ancient paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, stones...
He not only talked about where the beauty of these works of art is, how to experience and recognize the beauty of these works of art, but also expanded the appreciation of this beauty. Beauty not only exists in works of art, but also in birds, animals, fish, insects, trees, flowers and plants, and even in everything in the world, everyone's daily life. All we have to do is learn to appreciate.
The Story of Art Nouveau (all three volumes)
Paul Johnson
Following "The Story of Art", the historian Paul Johnson, who is on par with Gombrich, has written another general art history work worthy of the collection of art lovers with a unique vision, light-hearted and popular writing.
The book contains 300 precious illustrations focusing on the Renaissance, the early 17th century when neorealism emerged, the boom in landscape painting, and the development of ideological art. The author will take you across the timeline, deep into the vanished space of civilization, and embark on a journey to pursue beauty and wisdom.
Selected Art Books (Classic Old Books)
Perceptual art
Dennis M. J. Spole
A popular art book from the United States, the English edition has been published in the 11th edition, is a far-reaching classic with many readers. The book divides art into 8 forms: painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, drama, film, and dance, and asks the reader 3 questions: What is it? (Formal question) How did it come about? (Technical question) How does it touch the gut? By responding to these three questions, the reader and art are connected, able to calmly face and evaluate the work of art, and communicate with other people who appreciate art. Beautifully framed, hardcover with lock lines, printed in color, with plenty of illustrations, each chapter marked in a different shade.
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General History of Art
Stephen Fassin
The director of global art museums, art historians, and art critics have jointly created a world art history, with more than 1,100 high-definition pictures, full-color printing on matte pastel paper, perfect presentation, more than 20 translations, and millions of copies.
The book begins with a profound historical overview that places art in the context of social and cultural evolution. From before and now, from the formation of state power and society, this social and cultural change has continued all over the world. Chronologically, it traces the evolution of art in various periods and genres one by one. Richly illustrated, the selected representative works condense the salient features of each era or artistic flow, and the in-depth commentary touches on almost all categories of art, from painting and sculpture to conceptual and performance art.
A general history of fashion
[English] Marnie Fogg
Fashion always has a different definition. To answer the question of what fashion is, General History of Fashion ambitiously traces the history of fashion in all eras and corners of the world, from the draped costumes of ancient Greece and Rome and the silk costumes of the Court silk costumes of the Chinese Tang Dynasty to contemporary sportswear design and Japanese street culture, tracing the evolution of each fashion period and trend.
It will take us to the admirable court costumes of India's Mughal Empire and the steel hoop skirt braces of the 19th century, the line design of the classic suit and the political metaphor of the miniskirt, the advent of the shoulder pads and the scientific concept of the fusion of new "smart" fabrics. The historical and cultural context provided in the book contrasts the development of fashion with socio-historical changes, revealing to the reader that fashion is not unattainable. Flipping through this pleasing and beautiful book will not only grasp the essence of 2500 years of fashion, but also re-understand ourselves from a unique perspective.
Select important events in the history of fashion development in 2500 years, focusing on graphic details. More than 1000 high-definition pictures, full-color printing on matte paper, novel layout, perfect presentation.
Rock Chronicles
David Roberts
"Rock Chronicle" is an unparalleled rock encyclopedia, the book through a large number of pictures and chronology of the history of rock and roll 250 most important bands, detailed records of all the band members, important records and concerts, etc., both readable and documentary value.
Sun: Kyoko Nakano