The Art Lover

Peggy Guggenheim -- millionairess, legendary lover, sadomasochist, appalling parent, selective miser -- was one of the greatest and most notorious art patrons of the twentieth century. After her father, Benjamin Guggenheim, went down with the Titanic, the young heiress came into a small fortune and left for Europe. She married the writer Laurence Vail and joined the American expatriate bohemian set. Though her many lovers included such lions of art and literature as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst (whom she later married), Yves Tanguy, and Roland Penrose, real love always seemed to elude her. In the late 1930s, Peggy set up one of the first galleries of modern art in London, quickly acquiring a magnificent selection of works, buying great numbers of paintings from artists fleeing to America after the Nazi invasion of France. Escaping from Vichy, she moved back to New York, where she was a vital part of the new American abstract expressionist movement. Meticulously researched, filled with colorful incident, and boasting a distinguished cast, Anton Gill's biography reveals the inner drives of a remarkable woman and indefatigable patron of the arts.

While her father and best friend are dying, a young American woman tries to find the limits of love and the power of art in the face of the inevitable.

No city but Florence contains such an intense concentration of art produced in such a short span of time. The sheer number and proximity of works of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence can be so overwhelming that Florentine hospitals treat hundreds of visitors each year for symptoms brought on by trying to see them all, an illness famously identified with the French author Stendhal. While most guidebooks offer only brief descriptions of a large number of works, with little discussion of the historical background, Judith Testa gives a fresh perspective on the rich and brilliant art of the Florentine Renaissance in An Art Lover's Guide to Florence. Concentrating on a number of the greatest works, by such masters as Botticelli and Michelangelo, Testa explains each piece in terms of what it meant to the people who produced it and for whom they made it, deftly treating the complex interplay of politics, sex, and religion that were involved in the creation of those works. With Testa as a guide, armchair travelers and tourists alike will delight in the fascinating world of Florentine art and history.

Discover the architectural history behind Paris’s iconic building, famous landmarks, and charming neighborhoods with this handy visual guidebook. As you stroll the streets of Paris, this informative volume will help you unlock the secrets of the city’s beguiling beauty. Covering the major landmarks as well as dozens of lesser-known architectural gems, The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris puts essential history and fascinating details at your fingertips. Whether you are a Paris regular or visiting for the first time, this guide will help you understand how the city acquired its unique design palette. It also offers self-guided walking tours and suggestions of some of the best hotels, restaurants, cafés, churches, parks and more. You’ll discover ancient Roman baths, 17th century mansions, Art Deco theaters, and contemporary cultural complexes. You’ll also find out where to kick back, cocktail or mock-tail in hand, with a panoramic view over the capital. Written by Ruby Boukabou, author of The Art Lover’s Guide to Paris, this book is the perfect companion for anybody intrigued by the City of Light.

Philippe Daverio is one of Italy’s most important contemporary art historians, whose discerning comments about art are voraciously consumed by the public through his writing as editor of the famed magazine Art e Dossier and his platform on a leading Italian television program Passepartout. Now, in his first full-length work of narrative nonfiction, Daverio uses the conceit of creating his own perfect museum gallery and in the process reexamines major artistic masterpieces of Western art. Daverio turns his critical eye on the place of Western art in contemporary twenty-first-century culture and how we relate to art generally. According to Daverio, we relate to the history of art based on views that crystallized in the nineteenth century, and so we look to the past to understand the present, though the present is what truly matters to everyone. Daverio means to challenge this perspective, and guided by his curiosity and personal taste, he examines key masterworks to rediscover the true meaning and power they had before they became commoditized and clichéd. Some distinctive features of this illustrated eBook are: • 800+ full size and detailed images of paintings and drawings. • 280+ artworks with pop-up ability. • 160 thumbnails with links showing the setting of the work and location in its home museum, with informational text. • 92 links to museum websites that house the real works. The Italian-language edition of The Ideal Museum ebook has been awarded the QED Seal (Quality, Excellence, Design)—the premier award for ebooks and book apps—by the council of the Publishing Innovation Awards. This award recognizes the title’s portability and readability, providing the best reading experience possible.

A tender and wise ode to love, illustrated with an expertly curated selection of fine art for young children Art, like anything else, is only as meaningful and interesting as it is relatable. For toddlers and preschoolers, connecting their own experiences of love to those they see on the canvas allows them to truly engage with the material. 35 full-page artworks feature love in all its forms, accompanied by a brief and gentle read-aloud text. Each artwork's title and artist's name are included as secondary read-aloud text, for true integration of narrative and information. This stylishly compact art book is this first title in the My Art Book series, which suits lovey and artsy families alike! Ages 2-4

Former art forger Annie Kincaid has reinvented her life and now operates a legitimate decorative painting business, but memories are long in the art world. Here, with the blessing of the FBI Art Squad, Annie uses her underworld connections to boost her new art investigation business, where she’s partnered with her ex-art thief/love interest Michael X. Johnson. At first it’s strictly business, but she stumbles across a body in an exclusive Nob Hill men’s club. Then an insurance adjuster asks her to find a stolen -- and forged -- erotic painting. Then her Uncle Anton is attacked and Annie’s on the trail of more than just art. Moving easily between high and low circles, she makes the rounds of Nob Hill and Chinatown, a sex club, and the artists’ studios to find justice.

Discover the secret symbols and meaning behind 62 featured paintings in this unique volume. Ranging from Giotto’s 14th-century painting of the Last Judgment to the 19th-century symbolist Gustave Moreau’s depiction of Jupiter and Semele, each work has been selected for its own symbolic enigma. This book’s innovative design pairs each painting with a page of die-cut windows that help the reader focus on specific aspects of each painting and features captions that highlight the most important symbols. Other works in this unique and fascinating book include Renaissance masterpieces such as Botticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment.

"What is the relationship between life, love, and art? This gorgeously illustrated book goes into both the art and love of artists couples from the 20th and 21st centuries"--Provided by publisher.