This beautifully illustrated book explores the artistic roots of Flemish identity during the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. Through art, essays, poems, and reflections by artists, academics and collectors, it revives the cultural context of the Flemish Belle Eqoque. Featured here are works by Emile Claus, Valerius De Saedeleer, George Minne and Gustave Van de Woestyne, James Ensor, Rik Wouters and Léon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke, Gust De Smedt, Frits Van den Berghe and Edgard Tytgat.

Since its inception, T.O.P. office has boosted architecture as an uncompromising social tool to persistently question the terrestrial scale and the delicate balance with mankind. Whichever way you turn it, Earth – the orb – is the undeniable alpha and omega for any future stance, action or intervention. An insight Luc Deleu & T.O.P. office have never failed to underscore – or challenge.

Armed with an unsparing but humorous logic, a firm belief in the freedom of the individual, and a persistent commitment to ecology, T.O.P. office continues to hold up a mirror to society. Always unsolicited. Simply because they have to.

For this publication, editors Peter Swinnen and Anne Judong were given unlimited access to the archives of T.O.P. office. The title is also the filter through which to examine the living archive. Which projects – whether conceived in the 1970s or 2000s – retain the intelligent promise of a future plan? And how can they enlighten designers, architects, urban planners, ecologists, cultural workers, administrations and policymakers of today and tomorrow? A future plan in itself.

For this unique book, photographer Servaas Van Belle scouted every corner of Belgium to find just the right kind of shed, always photographing them in the same perfect lighting conditions. And for Van Belle ‘perfect’ means in a haze of fog.

Livestock shelters in meadows and fields are so common in the Belgian landscape and culture that nobody ever pays them any attention. Nonetheless, the countryside offers quite a range of architectural gems. These sheds and barns are the product of man and nature, quietly radiating a poignant if decaying beauty. They come in many shapes and sizes, are constructed from motley materials (often recycled) and exhibit a varied colour palette. Clearly showing the ravages of time, they tell wordless stories that Servaas Van Belle can capture like no other.

Features an introduction by Stephan Vanfleteren.

Text in English and Dutch.

Dick van Gameren, a partner with the renowned Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, has been engaging in housing design for the past 25 years as part of his work as designing architect as well as his research and teaching at TU Delft’s Global Housing Study Center. In this book, he presents some 40 of his own projects in this field through concise texts and photographs with explanatory captions as well as through plans and drawings. They’re grouped to illustrate seven specific aspects of housing design: Streets and Squares, Courtyards and Patios, Gardens, Halls, the Fireplace, Walls, and Roofs. Together they constitute a multi-faceted catalogue of housing typologies.

In four supplementing essays, van Gameren explores evolutions in residential architecture in the Netherlands. He places his own concepts in context of these developments and expands on what he considers the key factors of good housing design. A particular focus he puts on affordable housing, a pressing issue in so many countries and metropolitan areas around the world.

Dutch Dwellings is an inspiring read for anyone involved in housing design today.

In the autumn of 2023, Museum Mayer van den Bergh invited 15 contemporary artists to enter into a dialogue with its impressive collection. The works of Bram Demunter, Marcel Dzama, Adrian Ghenie, Kati Heck, Leiko Ikemura, Edward Lipski, Jonathan Meese, Ryan Mosley, Muller Van Severen, Tobias Pils, Tal R, Ben Sledsens, Dennis Tyfus, Inès van den Kieboom and Rinus Van de Velde are placed alongside Pieter Bruegel’s world-famous Dulle Griet (‘Mad Meg’), but also next to the portraits of Cornelis De Vos and Alessandro Allori, still lifes by Antwerp masters such as Daniël Seghers and works by Jacob Jordaens, Joachim Patinir and Gerard de Lairesse. A number of artists have also been directly inspired to create new work, including Jonathan Meese, Tal R, Ben Sledsens, Bram Demunter, Rinus Van de Velde and Dennis Tyfus.

Text in English and Dutch.

“This is the very best of Antwerp and the best from here in Oxford.” — The Oxford Times Weekend
“This entertaining exhibition of the 16th- and 17th-century drawings from the Low Countries has energy to spare.” —  The Telegraph
This catalogue will accompany the Bruegel to Rubens exhibition held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford between 23 March and 23 June 2024.

Through a selection of over 100 world-class drawings created by Flemish artists in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an insightful and comprehensive overview will be given into how these drawn sheets were used as part of artistic practice, within or beyond the artist’s studio. By revealing the drawings’ function, rather than on their attribution or iconography, these sheets will become more fully understood through the eyes of contemporary readers. Identifying how and why these sheets were created will render these artworks more accessible to a wider audience. The three main essays will each deal with one of the principal functions of drawings at the time: studies (copies and sketches), designs for other artworks (paintings, prints, tapestries, metalwork, stained glass, sculpture and architecture), and finally the independent drawings. Each essay will discuss the relevant works within their functional context and compared with other related objects. Introductory chapters will focus on what precisely can be considered a drawing, including its materials, media and techniques, in addition to an attempt to explain the notion of Flanders and Flemish art. Emphasis will be placed throughout the catalogue on how Flemish artists collaborated in creating the most astonishing artworks of their time, unveiling their networks and friendships, as well as their travels across Europe, revealing their international importance.

The exhibition is a partnership with the Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp and will bring together for the first time the most stunning drawings from both the Ashmolean and the Plantin-Moretus collections, in addition to further loans from renowned Antwerp and Oxford institutions like the Rubenshuis and Christ Church Picture Gallery. Many of the sheets coming from Antwerp are registered on the Flemish Government’s Masterpieces List and will not be shown again for the next five to ten years to protect them from fading. Prominent artists featured in this catalogue include Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Jacques Jordaens, among many others. Highlights will include a sketchbook in which a young Rubens has copied Holbein’s Dance of Death woodcuts, intricate pen and ink drawings by Pieter Bruegel, meticulously drawn miniatures by Joris Hoefnagel, portrait studies by Anthony van Dyck, and a rare survival of a friendship album containing numerous drawings and poems dedicated to its owner. Two recently discovered sheets by Rubens will also be included, a design for a book-illustration on optics and an anatomical study of three legs.

With many new creations and innovative products, Margarete Steiff GmbH has managed to expand and consolidate its position in the collector’s market without losing sight of its roots as being one of the most famous soft toy manufacturers to date. Margarete Steiff’s oft-cited phrase, “Only the best is good enough for children” is as valid today as it was 100 years ago, which is probably why the company is as successful as it is. More than 8,500 different Steiff articles are currently available and every single one can be tracked by the clever Stieff identification markings such as the famous button, labels and chest tags.

Invented in 1902 and shown for the first time in March 1903 at the Leipzig Toy Fair, Germany, the Steiff Teddy Bear soon became a best-seller. First published on the occasion of Steiff’s 100th anniversary, Steiff has opened its archives to release previously unpublished photograghs and other historic material.

The sound of Maria Callas, artist and woman.
Maria Callas was one of the most influential and renowned opera singers of the 20th century. Callas 100 recounts the diva’s unparalleled career and epoch-making moments through exclusive images and previously unpublished documents, such as her debut at La Scala in 1950, her 1958 Norma at the Rome Opera, her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1956, and her Lucia di Lammermoor at the Dallas Civic Opera in 1959.
Intimate conversations with friends and collaborators, anecdotes and photographs from personal archives introduce the unprecedented journey into the life of the artist beyond the curtain, from her stay in Ischia with her friend Giovanna Lomazzi to her trip to Africa with the writer Dacia Maraini, from her lessons at the Julliard School in New York to the private lessons she gave to the Soprano Sylvia Sass in Paris.
Text in English and Italian.

A game box of 100 illustrated cards to stimulate the phonological and pre-reading skills of 3 to 5 year olds. The set is divided into five categories (objects, professions, mode of transport, foods, and animals) with words of particular interest to young children. One side of each card features a word written in all caps, as well as in cursive, while the reverse side offers a visual representation of that word. Use the cards to teach recognition, challenge recall, or create stories! Ages 3-5

Scientists have discovered more than a million different species of insects that every day, in every part of the world, live their very diverse lives. Many fly, others walk or bore through wood. Some are pleasing to the eye, like butterflies; others, like cockroaches, a bit less. For the most part, insects are small – sometimes so small that you need a magnifying lens to see them – and that is the way we are used to thinking of them. But in this book, the insects are presented in their actual sizes and in many cases readers will be genuinely surprised to find some veritable giants among them. The book includes other impressive insect characteristics – how much they weigh, how fast they are, how large and small insects differ from each other – all of which can be seen in the life-size illustrations that make the insects seem as though they have just landed on the page. Ages: 7 plus

There are few subjects that fascinate children as much as animals: they never tire of reading about their characteristics, but they rarely get the opportunity to see their favourite creatures in person. This book gives readers the possibility to explore the animal world as though its inhabitants were right in front of them, exactly as they are in reality, with their real dimensions. It will thus be possible, for instance, to compare fangs and tails and discover that it’s not the lion that has the longest claws, but the sloth! Young readers will be able to compare a cat’s nose with that of its wilder and more dangerous cousin, the tiger. With these immediate comparisons children will finally be able get to know animals the ways they are in real life! Ages: 6 and up

The National Galleries Barberini and Corsini contain paintings and sculptures of exceptional historical and artistic value. Page after page, through the masterpieces of many of the greatest Italian artists from the Middle Ages to the 18th century (Angelico, Raphael, Piero di Cosimo, Bronzino, Lotto, Tintoretto, Cortona, Caravaggio, Bernini, Reni, Guercino, Batoni, Canaletto) the reader can follow the development of art history. The collections also include artwork by Holbein, Murille and Van Dyck, besides a few antique pieces. In addition to the 100 entries, there are descriptions of particularly important elements that are part of the palaces’ architecture, such as Borromini’s spiral staircase, Bernini’s main staircase and the huge ceiling frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.

“Haunting photographs” – The Wall Street Journal. “Henk van Rensbergen is a hero for urban explorers around the world” – Flanders Today. “As an airline pilot, Belgian-born Henk Van Rensbergen was used to travelling the world. But he found a great way to supersize that passion: hunting for the most wonderful, secret, haunting abandoned places” – CNN. While his crew is resting at the pool, pilot and photographer Henk van Rensbergen explores deserted city palaces, overgrown factories or desolate areas of nature, finding beauty in the decay. This engaging book of photographs, a revised edition with new material, lets us wander through abandoned places, including Abkhazia, a break-away region bordering Georgia and Russia and the newest must-visit for every urban explorer.

“Fusion gardening embraces an exciting mix of different styles, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts”. – Erik van Gelder “My ambition is to extend the living space beyond the interior. And to create outside spaces that enhance the lives of those who use them” – Erik van Gelder Creative spirits colour outside the lines. They draw inspiration from a variety of domains that they then combine and craft into a single harmonious unit. Erik van Gelder’s work is the embodiment of this. He integrates a range of styles into grand garden designs, in which everything has its own place. The book XTRRDNR Gardens gathers a carefully-chosen selection of his most enchanting projects. Its richly illustrated pages lay bare the designer’s soul and vision, casting light on his background and working methods. A generous visual biography that will inspire all lovers of exceptional gardens, this coffee-table book is one to treasure: an homage to good taste. Text in English and Dutch.

Did you know that Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen was the first public art institution in the Netherlands to acquire a painting by Vincent Van Gogh for its collection? And that 20,562 litres of water are needed for Olafur Eliasson’s installation Notion motion? Or that Gerard Reve once sent an admiring letter to the museum about Geertgen tot Sint Jans’s small panel The Glorification of the Virgin? These and many more fascinating facts can be found in a lavishly illustrated publication featuring more than 150 highlights from the collection.

For over 170 years, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has been building up a very varied collection of art and design from the Middle Ages to the present day. Best of Boijmans presents the collection as a unity in diversity. Detached from time, place and medium, surprising connections are made between the different areas of the collection. A sculpture of a human figure by the contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan bears an unexpected resemblance to a drawing of John the Baptist by Raphael; a 19th‐century landscape by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek sits extraordinarily comfortably alongside a work by the Rotterdam artist Daan van Golden. This handy little book takes you on a thematic, visual journey through the collection.

This book, designed and edited by the Italian-Swiss artist Vivianne van Singer, is an ode to Italian sculptor Luciano Fabro (1936-2007), a well-known Informalist artist and one of the founders of the Arte Povera movement. Having been long acquainted with his work and then having met the artist in person, Van Singer reflects upon his untimely death and pays homage to his career in a collection of texts, images, and works. The starting point of the project is a letter Van Singer sent artists, critics, and prominent figures of the art world in which she invited them to submit a work of art or a text exemplifying what Luciano Fabro had represented for them. Among the contributors to this collection: Giovanni Anselmo, Izzo Arcangelo, Gianni Caravaggio, Rudi Fuchs, Von Fürstenberg, Giovanni Lista, Alessandra Lukinovic, Massimo Minini, Giulio Paolini, Margit Rowell, Sarkis, and Ettore Spalletti.

Text in English, German, French, and Italian.

The Belgian architectural firm Van Damme – Vandeputte was founded 5 years ago but their portfolio is impressive, featuring a wide range of architectural projects: new residential constructions tailored to the client’s needs, sustainable and high-quality renovations, interior design with special detailing, offices and corporate sites built with, among other things, great attention to the integration into the surroundings, and restorations of (protected) heritage sites. In this coffee-table book, compiled and designed with the greatest care, the architects present a selection of projects and shed light on the process and philosophy behind their oeuvre. The book is like an extension of their work and exemplifies the firm’s passion and dedication, captured in the amazing photos by Thomas De Bruyne (Cafeine). He specialises in architecture and interior design photography and works for renowned clients and firms in Belgium and abroad.

How do you portray sin, evil and foolishness in humans? Religious and political tensions and even the weather – we are talking about the depths of the Little Ice Age – contributed to a boom in representations of the Seven Deadly Sins in the Low Countries and immediate surroundings in the long sixteenth century. In this publication, four accessibly written essays highlight different sides of the pictorial tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, with the renowned print series of the same name designed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder at its centre. A fifth, literary essay describes the feverish visions of one of the victims of a true 16th-century series of murders permeated by the deadly sins.

From the mythical De Dion Bouton Type K1 to the Delahaye, from the Jeep Willys to the combi Volkswagen, from the Mercedes Benz to the Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500, from the Aston Martin DB7 to the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, and from the Austin Mini to the Range Rover.

A hundred years of innovation, inventiveness and triumphs are condensed in this book, which reads as easily as a novel, and is illustrated with a rich and rare iconography.

“It’s very hard for me to accept that Sukita-san has been snapping away at me since 1972, but that really is the case. I suspect that it’s because whenever he’s asked me to do a session, I conjure up in my mind’s eye the sweet, creative and big-hearted man who has always made these potentially tedious affairs so relaxed and painless. May he click into eternity.” – David Bowie

For Sukita, the creative mastermind behind the iconic cover for David Bowie’s album ‘Heroes’, photography is an expression of a ‘fundamental secret’ shared between artists: a spiritual communication that transcends the minutiae of language. Born and raised in Kyushu, Japan, Sukita’s reverence of American and Western counter-culture lured him to New York and London. He immersed himself in the western music scene which he loved, while his relaxed photo sessions endeared him to many celebrity figures, including David Bowie and Iggy Pop (with both of whom Sukita had a 40-year long professional relationship), Marc Bolan, and Japanese musician Hotei, best known for his work on the Kill Bill soundtrack. His work spans the early US and UK seventies rock scene, the London punk-rock era to the present crop of emerging Japanese rock artists.

This photo book is the first time the photographer has collaborated on a major retrospective of his career and includes some of his early documentary work and his rarely-seen travel and street photography. It introduces the artist through two essays that explore his place within the wider context of both Western and Japanese photography, presented alongside the many iconic shots of both Western and Japanese artists that earned him his eternal reputation.

The National Galleries of Scotland comprises three galleries: the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Gallery. Together these galleries house one of the finest collections of art to be found anywhere in the world, ranging from the thirteenth century to the present day. Many of the greatest names in Western art are represented by major works, from Titian, Rembrandt and Vermeer through to Picasso, Hockney and Warhol. This lavishly illustrated book contains one hundred of the National Galleries of Scotland s greatest and best-loved treasures. The selection made by the Director-General Sir John Leighton is intended to evoke the special character of the collection at the National Galleries with its distinctive interplay between Scottish and international art as well as the many conversations that it establishes between the art of the past and the present.

2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The work carried out in these hundred years has contributed to the construction and consolidation of the image of Spain as a cultural power in the international arena, projecting, in one of the best world artistic showcases, the excellence of Spanish contemporary art. In this first century of history, the Spanish Pavilion has seen different styles, evolutions and artistic changes pass through its walls, whose dynamics have been possible thanks to the work of the curators who promoted and continue to promote a “pluralism of voices” that characterises the essence of the Biennale.
This book includes extensive graphic documentation that is the result of exhaustive research work. Never before has so much documentation of interest on the history of the building and the exhibitions that took place within its walls over these years been jointly published.

Text in English and Spanish.