The Art And History Of Calligraphy

This stunningly illustrated new book focuses on 77 intricate, expressive and individual examples of calligraphy from the unparalleled collection of the British Library. The author, a renowned expert on the history of the form as well as a fine calligrapher herself, writes - uniquely - from a practitioner's point of view. Ranging from the Middle Ages, when beautiful calligraphy was a way of celebrating the divine, to the renaissance of the art form by William Morris, to the modern school of calligraphers following in the wake of master typographer Edward Johnston, Patricia Lovett charts the development of calligraphy through the history of European manuscripts. Large-scale full-colour reproductions enable the reader to see the fine detail of each manuscript, and to understand more clearly than ever before the painstaking craft and great artistic skill that were necessary to create these strikingly beautiful pieces of writing.

Traces the history of Western calligraphy, demonstrates various scripts, and shows manuscripts and inscriptions from the past

Chinese calligraphy has been an independent visual art form for thousands of years. Its wonderful aesthetics has inspired the art of Chinese painting since the second century B.C. Before pen and pencil were introduced to China, millions practiced the art of writing in ink. In the twentieth century, the art of calligraphy has not only fascinated modern Chinese who are part of this continuous tradition, but has also captured the interest and imagination of the world. This is the first proper history of Chinese calligraphy in English.

This comprehensive, well-illustrated volume ranges from the earliest pictographs and hieroglyphics to the work of 20th-century designers. Subjects include early writing forms; Roman lettering; runes and medieval hands; the Carolingian minuscule and derivative types; humanistic writing and derivative fonts; and much more. 89 complete alphabets and more than 165 additional specimens.

This stunningly illustrated new book focuses on 76 intricate, expressive and individual examples of calligraphy from the unparalleled collection of the British Library. The author, a renowned expert on the history of the form as well as a fine calligrapher herself, writes - uniquely - from a practitioner's point of view. Ranging from the Middle Ages, when beautiful calligraphy was a way of celebrating the divine, to the renaissance of the art form by William Morris, to the modern school of calligraphers following in the wake of master typographer Edward Johnston, Patricia Lovett charts the development of calligraphy through the history of European manuscripts. Large-scale full-colour reproductions enable the reader to see the fine detail of each manuscript, and to understand more clearly than ever before the painstaking craft and great artistic skill that were necessary to create these strikingly beautiful pieces of writing.

This richly illustrated book provides an anthology and summation of the work of one of the world's leading historians of Chinese painting and calligraphy. Wen Fong helped create the field of East Asian art history during a distinguished five-decade career at Princeton University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Few if any writers in English have such a broad knowledge of the history and practice of Chinese painting and calligraphy. In this collection of some of his most recent essays, Fong gives a sweeping tour through the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy as he offers new and revised views on a broad range of important subjects. The topics addressed include "art as history," in which each art object preserves a moment in art's own significant history; the museum as a place of serious study and education; the close historical relationship between calligraphy and painting and their primacy among Chinese fine arts; the parallel development of representational painting and sculpture in early painting history; the greater significance of brushwork, seen abstractly as a means of personal expression by the artist, in later painting history; the paradigmatic importance of the master-to-follower lineage as a social force in shaping the continuity and directing the subtle changes in Chinese painting history; the role of collectors; and the critical necessity of authenticated works for establishing an accurate art history. Throughout the book, Fong skillfully combines close analysis and detailed contextualization of individual works to reveal how the study of Chinese painting and calligraphy yields deep insights about Chinese culture and history.

The court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II produced nothing more amazing than the Mira colligrophioe monumenta, a flamboyant demonstration of two arts-calligraphy and miniature painting. The project began when Rudolf's predecessor commissioned the master calligrapher Georg Bocskay to create a model book of calligraphy. A preeminent scribe, Bocskay assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historic scripts. Many were intended not for practical use but for virtuosic display. Years later, at Rudolf's behest, court artist Joris Hoefnagel filled the spaces on each manuscript page with images of fruit, flowers, insects, and other natural minutiae. The combination of word and images is rare and, on its tiny scale, constitutes one of the marvels of the Central European Renaissance. The manuscript is now in the collections of the Getty Museum. Forty-eight of its pages are reproduced in this book, containing samples of classic italic hands; historical, invented, and exhibition hands; Rotunda, a classicizing humanist script based on Carolingian miniscule; classically based scripts; and Gothic blackletter and chancery.

ART OF WRITTEN FORMS is the first book since the early years of the twentieth century to treat in one comprehensive volume both the historical and practical aspects of letters and writing systems. Drawing together information and illustrations from historic texts and modern research, much of it rare and inaccessible, the book surveys the history, theory, materials, and techniques of calligraphy, typography, and constructed letters.

Looks at the history of calligraphy & illumination, explores the use of gold in miniatures & high-lighting, & shows how to create a variety of projects. Subsidiary Rights: Selected by Book-of-the-Month Club & Crafters' Choice Book Club.