Art History Theory

Discover how Impressionism transformed the art world and laid the foundation for modern art as we know it. This comprehensive exploration traces the movement's origins in 1870s France through its profound influence on twentieth-century artistic development. From Monet's water lilies to Renoir's intimate portraits, explore the masterpieces that challenged academic tradition and revolutionized how artists investigate color, light, and visual perception. Learn how Impressionism's radical principles opened pathways to Fauvism, Cubism, abstraction, and beyond—making it the pivotal movement ...

A Landmark Translation of the Original Renaissance Quadrivium Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) was the last great Renaissance polymath—and one of the first global scholars. In the mid-1600s, he published his monumental three-volume work, Oedipus Aegyptiacus, which aimed to decode the ancient world’s symbolic language. This volume contains Kircher’s exploration of the Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy—the four liberal arts of classical education. Drawing on ancient sources from Pythagoras to Plato, Kircher weaves a cosmological vision in which number, form, sound...

In this vivid and captivating journey through the colors of an artist’s palette, Victoria Finlay takes us on an enthralling adventure around the world and through the ages, illuminating how the colors we choose to value have determined the history of culture itself. How did the most precious...

The Queer Art of Failure is about finding alternatives - to conventional understandings of success in a heteronormative, capitalist society; to academic disciplines that confirm what is already known according to approved methods of knowing; and to cultural criticism that claims to break new ground but cleaves to conventional archives.

We live in an age of the mobile image. This recent kinetic revolution of the image has enormous consequences not only for the way we think about contemporary art and aesthetics but also for art history as well. Responding to this historical moment, Theory of the Image offers a fresh new theory and history of art from the perspective of this epoch-defining mobility. The image has been understood in many ways, but it is rarely understood to be fundamentally in motion.

"A dauntingly ambitious, obsessively researched" (Los Angeles Times) global history of music that reveals how songs have shifted societies and sparked revolutions. Histories of music overwhelmingly suppress stories of the outsiders and rebels who created musical revolutions and instead celebrate...

The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.

Discover the timeless wisdom of Aristotle and how his Poetics continues to shape literature, theater, and storytelling today. For more than two thousand years, Aristotle’s Poetics has stood as one of the most influential works in literary history. In Aristotle and the Art of Poetics: Exploring His Enduring Influence on Literature and Storytelling, The Practical Atlas takes readers on a clear and engaging journey through Aristotle’s vision of tragedy, epic, and comedy, revealing why his ideas remain vital for understanding the power of stories. From Aristotle’s definition of tragedy ...

Otto Rank Explained: Birth Trauma, Will Psychology, Creativity, Separation Anxiety, Art, and the Courage to Become an Individual Otto Rank was one of the most brilliant yet often overlooked pioneers of modern psychology. A close collaborator of Sigmund Freud and a central figure in the early psychoanalytic movement, Rank eventually broke away to develop a bold and original vision of the human mind. In Otto Rank Explained: Birth Trauma, Will Psychology, Creativity, Separation Anxiety, Art, and the Courage to Become an Individual, readers will discover the revolutionary ideas that reshaped ...

Ida B. Wells is an American icon of truth telling. Born to slaves, she was a pioneer of investigative journalism, a crusader against lynching, and a tireless advocate for suffrage, both for women and for African Americans. She cofounded the NAACP, started the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago, and was a leader in the early civil rights movement. This engaging memoir relates Wells’ private life as a mother as well as her public activities as a teacher, lecturer, and journalist in her fight for equality and justice.

An electrifying new study that investigates the challenges of the Bard’s inconsistencies and flaws, and focuses on revealing—not resolving—the ambiguities of the plays and their changing topicality A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no other. A...

Abridged for audio. Read by the author, Clive James. With fascinating essays on towering figures from Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Wittgenstein, Cultural Amnesia is one of the crowning achievements in Clive James's illustrious career as a critic...

From Berlin to the Congo, from Moscow to the back streets of London, these are the stories of the agents on the front lines of British intelligence. And the truth is often more remarkable than fiction.

MI6 has been cloaked in secrecy and shrouded in myth since it was created a hundred years ago. Our understanding of what it is to be a spy has been largely defined by the fictional worlds of Ian Fleming and John le Carré. Gordon Corera provides a unique and unprecedented insight into this secret world and the reality that lies behind the fiction.

Saint Augustine's contributions to Christian theology are second to no other post-apostolic author in the whole sweep of church history. Yet along side his doctrinal treatises, Augustine tells a story of his life devoted to Christ as his only satisfaction.

Discover the fascinating world of mesmerism in this captivating book that sheds light on its birth, tumultuous history, and modern-day resurgence. Whether you're new to mesmerism or seeking to deepen your understanding, this comprehensive guide offers valuable insights and practical instructions to become a skilled mesmerist. Delve into the life of Franz Anton Mesmer, the visionary behind animal magnetism, and uncover the remarkable challenges he faced, from betrayal to unjust accusations. As you immerse yourself in Mesmer's true journey, you'll gain a newfound appreciation for his ...

In clear and entertaining prose, Plotkin explores a thousand years of music, introduces listeners to more than 100 great works, and profiles in depth many significant composers, including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Dvoxak, and Mahler. He describes all the musical instruments in the orchestra, defines major musical terms, and makes music theory comprehensible for the uninitiated. There are also conversations with important musicians who offer fascinating insights about their art.

The first major biography of the pathbreaking, perpetually influential surrealist artist and iconoclast whose inspiration can be seen in everyone from Jasper Johns to Beyoncé—by the celebrated biographer of Cézanne and Braque In this thought-provoking life of René Magritte (1898‒1967)...

A delicious romp through the heyday of rock and roll and a revealing portrait of the man at the helm of the iconic magazine that made it all possible, with candid look backs at the era from Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and others. The story of...

Beauty, Meaning, and Expression: Exploring the Foundations of Aesthetic Theory takes you on a journey through the history of aesthetics, from Plato and Aristotle to the digital age. This comprehensive yet accessible exploration shows how theories of beauty, art, and creativity have shaped culture, politics, and daily life for centuries. Discover how Enlightenment thinkers like Hume, Burke, and Kant defined taste and the sublime, how Romanticism elevated the artist as a visionary genius, and how modernism and postmodernism revolutionized art by challenging tradition and questioning universal...

Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and laws.