Arte

En la Sevilla del siglo XVII conviven el esplendor artístico y literario con la decadencia económica. A años de esplendor sucedían otros con hambrunas, catástrofes y epidemias que causaban una alta mortalidad. Era una sociedad de contrastes: vitalista y piadosa, creativa y acongojada. A veces (...)

This sumptuously illustrated volume analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition and describes how these artistic portrayals evolved over time. As with other books in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this volume is to help (...)

From antiquity to the Enlightenment, astrology, magic, and alchemy have always been considered important tools in unravelling the mysteries of nature and human destiny. As a result of the West's exposure to the astrological beliefs of Arab philosophers and the mystical writings of late antiquity, (...)

Malaguzzi's work describes the significance of food and feasts through the ages and discusses how artists have created allegories of gluttony and odes to the sense of taste, using, for example, artfully positioned fruits and vegetables in the still-life genre in painting.

Gods and Heroes in Art aims to help museum patrons and art lovers recognize the legendary characters of classical antiquity in art. The characters are each described in entries summarizing their distinctive stories, their special attributes, and the ways in which artists have depicted them. Each (...)

In this richly illustrated volume Rosa Giorgi argues that because much of Western art depicts key events, leaders, and practices in the history of the Christian Church, knowledge of that history is critical to an appreciation of many of our great masterpieces. Giorgi begins by analyzing artistic (...)

Nature and Its Symbols is the fifth volume in the series A Guide to Imagery, reference guides whose goal is to explain the symbols used in art. This volume includes chapters on plants, flowers, fruits, and animals of the earth, air, and water, as well as fantastical creatures such as centaurs, (...)

Throughout the Middle Ages, sacred Christian art had two objectives: to express veneration for God and to provide illustrative lessons on the Christian faith to a largely illiterate population. Continuing in the spirit of the other books in this series, Old Testament Figures in Art compiles entries (...)

From Agatha to Zeno, Francis of Assisi to Mary Magdalene, Saints in Arti presents the characteristic features of more than one hundred saints often encountered in sacred Western art. Each saint is introduced by a practical list of his or her unique attributes. Entries also include notes on the (...)

From antiquity, when the gods and goddesses were commonly featured in works of art, through to the twentieth century, when Surrealists drew on archetypes from the unconscious, artists have embedded symbols in their works. As with previous volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this (...)