Art And Eternity

The final report on the conservation of the wall paintings in the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of Queens, Egypt. This highly successful collaborative venture launched by the Getty Conservation Institute and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization brought together scientists and conservators from all over the world to address the problems facing one of the most beautiful monuments of antiquity. The painstaking process that saved this cultural treasure in situ is documented in the text written by those who were most intimately involved in its rescue. Paolo and Laura Mora worked with and trained the team of conservators who carried out the consolidation and cleaning of the paintings. An international group of scientists carried out the analysis that was essential to the conservation process. Others contribute articles on the archaeology of the Valley, the iconography of the tomb, the original techniques and materials used by the artists, photographic documentation of the wall paintings, and literary sources for their study.

Icons in Time, Persons in Eternity presents a critical, interdisciplinary examination of contemporary theological and philosophical studies of the Christian image and redefines this within the Orthodox tradition by exploring the ontological and aesthetic implications of Orthodox ascetic and mystical theology. It finds Modernist interest in the aesthetic peculiarity of icons significant, and essential for re-evaluating their relationship to non-representational art. Drawing on classical Greek art criticism, Byzantine ekphraseis and hymnography, and the theologies of St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. Gregory Palamas, the author argues that the ancient Greek concept of enargeia best conveys the expression of theophany and theosis in art. The qualities that define enargeia - inherent liveliness, expressive autonomy and self-subsisting form - are identified in exemplary Greek and Russian icons and considered in the context of the hesychastic theology that lies at the heart of Orthodox Christianity. An Orthodox aesthetics is thus outlined that recognizes the transcendent being of art and is open to dialogue with diverse pictorial and iconographic traditions. An examination of Ch’an (Zen) art theory and a comparison of icons with paintings by Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Marc Chagall, and by Japanese artists influenced by Zen Buddhism, reveal intriguing points of convergence and difference. The reader will find in these pages reasons to reconcile Modernism with the Christian image and Orthodox tradition with creative form in art.

Nefertari, the favorite queen of Rameses II, was buried about 3,200 years ago in the most exquisitely decorated tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. Discovered in 1904 by Italian explorer Ernesto Schiaparelli, the tomb had deteriorated to a disastrous extent when emergency consolidation began in 1986. The six-year conservation project of the GCI and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization was completed in 1992. In this fascinating exploration of the tomb, John McDonald takes the reader through each chamber, describing the hieroglyphic messages depicted in the brilliant wall paintings and discussing the images within the context of Egyptian beliefs. He also offers insights into the life of Nefertari, the development and symbolism of royal tombs, and the construction and decoration of the tombs. House of Eternity is illustrated with historic black-and-white images and more recent color photographs that reveal the vibrant beauty of the wall paintings. In November 1995 the tomb was reopened to the public. Because of the potential for damage and deterioration to the fragile wall paintings caused by increased humidity, carbon dioxide, and microbiological activity introduced by visitors to the tomb, the number permitted to enter daily is strictly controlled by the Egyptian authorities. This book results from a desire of the GCI to enrich visitors' experience by providing a detailed descriptive walk-through of the tomb while conveying a strong message regarding the need for conservation and continuous monitoring to ensure the long-term survival of the tomb's paintings. Visitors to the tomb and the armchair traveler alike will find House of Eternity to be an excellent resource for understanding Nefertari's journey to the afterlife and for appreciating the extraordinary depictions of that journey on the walls of Nefertari's tomb.

Since the first funerary statues were placed in the first sepulchres, the ideas of death and the afterlife have always held a prominent place at the heart of the art world. An unlimited source of inspiration where artists can search for the expression of the infinite, death remains the object of numerous rich illustrations, as various as they are mysterious. The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the forever sleeping statues on medieval tombs, and the Romantic and Symbolist movements of the 19th century are all evidence of the incessant interest that fuels the creation of artworks featuring themes of death and what lies beyond it. In this work, Victoria Charles analyses how, through the centuries, art has become the reflection of these interrogations linked to mankind’s fate and the hereafter.

"Caught up by the Spirit of God, taken on tours of Heaven and now commissioned to reveal the truth and give hope for eternity."--page 4 of cover.

Why do we keep returning to certain pictures? What is it we are looking for? How does our understanding of an image change over time? This investigates the nature of visual complexity, the capacity of certain images to sustain repeated attention, and how pictures respond and resist their viewers' wishes.

Describes the starcut diagram which underlies many significant geometrical patterns and proportions across the world.

A New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world’s funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry—especially chemical embalming—and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a fascinating tour through the unique ways people everywhere confront mortality.

From the first millennium B.C. until the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century, artists from across the ancient Americas created small-scale architectural effigies to be placed in the tombs of important individuals. These works range from highly abstracted, minimalist representations of temples and houses to elaborate complexes populated with figures, conveying a rich sense of ancient ritual and daily life. Although often called models, these effigies were not created as prototypes for structures, but rather to serve as components of funerary practices that conveyed beliefs about an afterlife. Design for Eternity is the first publication in English to explore the full variety of these exquisite architectural works. The vivid illustrations and insightful essays focus on the concepts embodied in architectural representations and the role these intriguing sculptures played in mediating relationships among the living, the dead, and the divine.