Mysterious and mathematical at once, the magical visual world of Dutch artist M.C. Escher (1898–1972) has captivated scientists and scholars and made its mark on popular culture, inspiring bo...
Temples of KnowledgeExceptional access to the world’s illustrious librariesFrom the mighty halls of ancient Alexandria to the coffered ceilings of the Morgan Library i...
A Life in TattoosHenk Schiffmacher’s Private Collection of the Art and Its Makers, 1730s–1970sOne part history book, one part art book, and one part fascinating memoir...
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. Literally meaning "pictures of the floating world," ukiyo-e was a particular genre of art that fl...
The sky’s the limit with 50 ingenious tree houses around the worldThe idea of climbing a tree for shelter, or just to see the earth from another perspective, is as old as humanity. In t...
Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) was a clerk in the Paris customs service who dreamed of becoming a famous artist. At the age 49, he decided to give it a try. At first, Rousseau’s bright, bol...
Religion, Renaissance, and Reformation—these three ideologies shaped the world of 16th-century portraitist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98–1543), a pivotal figure of the Northern Rena...
When traditional craft met blossoming ModernismPoets and intellectuals brushed shoulders in bustling coffeehouses, young avant-gardists heralded a new era in social and sexual liberalism, wal...
Henri Matisse (1869–1954) was a fighting spirit. Despite a cancer diagnosis in 1941, increasing frailty, and the confines of a wheelchair, the indomitable Frenchman never stopped in his quest...
William Morris (1834–1896) was one of the greatest creative figures of the 19th century. As a visionary designer, as well as a manufacturer, writer, artist, and socialist activist, he pioneer...
The End Was NighAwesome apocalyptic visions of the 16th centuryThe Book of Miracles first surfaced only a few years ago and is one of the most spectacular discoveries in the field...
Under the burning Tuscan sun roll marvelous hills, vineyards, and olive groves-all postcard-perfect landscapes nestling centuries-old towns, rural villas, and contadino farmhouses. We've tracked do...
The textures and tones of dreamy ProvenceNestled in the south of France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, is a land renowned for its lavender fields, fine cuisine, golden sun, and dreamy land...
Architectural remnants of the USSRElected the architectural book of the year by the International Artbook and Film Festival in Perpignan, France, Frédéric Chaubin’s Cosmic...
The world’s greatest magicians from the Middle Ages to the 1950sMagic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics ...
Although it only lasted three turbulent years, the afterburn of the Blaue Reiter (1911–1914) movement exerted a tremendous influence on the development of modern European art. Named after a K...
The Case Study House program (1945–1966) was an exceptional, innovative event in the history of American architecture and remains to this day unique. The program, which concentrated on the Lo...
Abstract pioneerHarmonies in red, yellow, and blueA key figure in the international avant-garde, Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was at once an extraordinary painter and leading a...
When is a urinal no longer a urinal? When Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) declared it to be art. The uproar that greeted the French artist’s Fountain (1917), a porcelain urinal installed in ...
With a career spanning seven decades, Catalan-born Joan Miró (1893–1983) was a polymath giant of modern art, producing masterworks across painting, sculpture, art books, tapestry, and ...