‘Essays in Context’: all results of the investigations into Bruegel’s drawings and paintings collected in a special anniversary edition
 

The focus is on insights derived from the artworks themselves. The results of the investigations into Bruegel’s drawings and paintings using modern imaging techniques, the natural sciences and dendrochronology, as well as the observations by the paintings’ restorers, provide brand-new information. The analysis of Bruegel’s compositions and what he actually depicted (objects, clothes, gestures) is seen within the wider context of the life and times of the artist and his patrons. Rounded up by the latest research into Bruegel’s life, the historical art market and previous attitudes to his oeuvre, the entire volume is intended to offer new directions for future study.

Bruegel’s inventions and stories create artworks with a timeless power, and this volume, containing 24 essays and more than 500 illustrations, provides a comprehensive survey of the artist’s oeuvre and will be an indispensable resource for Bruegel fans and scholars alike.

The Bari people, who settled on the banks of the White Nile, remained closed off from the outside world until the dawn of the 19th century. The earliest contact dates back to the “scientific” expedition commissioned in 1840 by Ismail Pascha, followed by repeated forays by explorers in search of the sources of the Nile during the closing decades of the Ottoman period in Egypt, interspersed with the often competing efforts of slave hunters.

This book places the collection of Bari statues known today in the historical context of the Egyptian Sudan, from the earliest contacts with explorers Joseph Pons d’Arnaud and Wilhelm Werne in 1841 to the final stages of the pre-colonial era described by Wilhelm Junker. Many museums founded during the 19th century embarked on a frantic scramble to collect ethnographic objects, relying in particular on explorers, but also on traders and adventurers. This book catalogues the roughly 63 Bari statues that are known today and offers a comprehensive overview of historical sources and current knowledge of the Egyptian Sudan that provide the context for these works, their use and stylistic diversity.

Text in English and French.

“Mesmerizing and unputdownable – a virtuoso translation of what must surely be one of the best Thai novels to make it into English.” – Lawrence Osborne, author of Hunters in the Dark and Only to Sleep

”At its core, this novel from Veeraporn Nitiprapha has a simple dynamic: the tension between two sisters, and the young man whose life interweaves with each of theirs. What makes this novel unique is its attention to the granular, whether it’s the music that several of its characters obsess over or its author’s tendency to fill in the history or future of a specific character at a moment’s notice.” – Words Without Borders, February 2019

Watchlist On the day Chareeya is born, her mother discovers her father has been having an affair with a traditional Thai dancer. From that moment, Chareeya’s life is fated to carry the weight of her parents disappointment. With her sister, Chalika, she grows up in an insular world, until joined by the laconic orphan, Pran, and together they navigate the labyrinth of their own making, each trying to escape their fate.

Photographer Monika Rittershaus is regarded as an inspiring interpreter of today’s musical theatre in all its diversity, opulence, and drama, but also in its human profundity, uniqueness, and veracity. As a highly sensitive observer, she looks out over the on-stage activity, uncovering gentle, touching, and peripheral moments. Barrie Kosky: “I have often observed Monika at work through the corner of my eye as I sit behind the production desk … She seems to sense the inner world of a moment and to know at exactly the right moment when to click her camera.” In her highly stringent visual compositions, Rittershaus depicts in a personalized and decisive way many influential directors and operas such as:
DAS RHEINGOLD, Richard Wagner, Los Angeles Opera (2009), director: Achim Freyer
COSI FAN TUTTE, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburger Festspiele (2020), director: Christof Loy
TANNHÄUSER, Richard Wagner, De Nationale Opera, Amsterdam (2019), director: Christof Loy
CARMEN, Georges Bizet, Oper Frankfurt (2016), director: Barrie Kosky
SALOME, Richard Strauss, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow (2021), director: Claus Guth
ELEKTRA, Richard Strauss, Staatsoper Hamburg (2022), director: Dmitri Tcherniakov
IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Opernhaus Zurich (2020), director: Andreas Homoki
CENDRILLON, Jules Massenet, Opéra National de Paris Bastille (2022), director: Mariame Clément

Text in English and German.

It is no longer words that narrate great historic events but photographs which in an instant can capture the drama of an event and impress its power and significance on us forever. This book features a collection of the 100 most contemporary historic photos that have revealed to the world epoch-making moments and points of no return, images whose expressive power has stirred people’s conscience and given rise to significant changes in politics and customs.

The Darnley jewel, a masterpiece of the goldsmith’s art on display at Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace, has been deemed a love token, but has also been labelled an emblem of political ambition. Taking the shape of a heart, the jewel was produced at a moment (1565-75) when such objects worn by courtiers were a primary means of asserting status and proclaiming allegiances. With a deep medieval history – originally the fleshly power centre of the human body, the seat of the soul, and place of memory and emotion – the heart has many aspects to offer. This book shows how the understanding of the heart changed during the Middle Ages, from spiritual locus of the body, to source of devotion to country, and finally, to the font of love and sentimentality.

The National Holocaust Museum tells the story of the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews of the Netherlands. Before the Second World War, Jews and non-Jews lived side by side. They had the same rights. But during the war, the Nazis and their collaborators killed around six million Jews in Europe. That was the Holocaust or Shoah. This is the first and only museum to relate the history of the persecution of the Jews of the entire Netherlands. Including the day-to-day life of Jews on the eve of the Second World War, the liberation as Jews experienced it, and how the Holocaust has been treated in our national culture of remembrance: all this is examined in the museum and this book.

Text in English and Dutch.

The Story of the America’s Cup 1851-2021 tells the chronological history of 150 years of the most exciting and exhilarating yacht race, open the pages and you can almost feel the wind in the sails and the salt spray.

Full page colour illustrations bring the yachts alive, set as they are in their natural element, at sea, on the waves; detailed descriptions give an amazing insider’s view of the construction of individual boats, the routes sailed, the crews, the highs and lows of what was undoubtedly, extremely tough and competitive sailing, the victories and the defeats.

Paintings by Tim Thompson, a leading marine artist are an integral part of the book’s appeal; he has captured the pure essence, the spirit of the race and its place in history.

During the heyday of the Japanese coloured woodblock print around 1800, an ordinary print filled the same purpose as modern commercial graphic art. Mainly because of European art lovers’ growing enthusiasm for these subtle, refined compositions, some artists and their work soon gained worldwide recognition and fame. Capturing the fugitive moment is a key element of Japanese woodblock prints, for which Japanese language has the term ukiyo-e, “images of the fluid, transient world”. Bijin-ga, “images of beautiful women” is a specific kind of such prints, paying tribute to women by capturing a moment of irretrievable beauty. The graceful look of a self-assured beauty or a very private situation’s intimacy have stimulated many artists to their greatest works. The new book The Beauty of the Moment presents around 100 Bijin-ga by the best known masters of Japanese woodblock printing. Included are particularly exquisite pieces using kirazuri, a technique using powdered brass or mica dust highly polished on a light film of glue to imitate gold dust on the surface of the print. Text in English and German.

The London Press Exchange (LPE), founded in 1892, grew out of an agency set up by two young reporters in London to supply news items to provincial papers. It was to grow to become the biggest and most profitable advertising agency in Britain. Yet it never was to attract the publicity as did lesser fry as Crawford’s or Colman, Prentis, Varley. It’s policy was actually declared to be one of reticence, which is not what advertising is all about. Yet some of the characters it conceived were to become household familiars as Mr.Therm for the gas industry and ‘the little man’ for Double Diamond. And in carrying out the first major readership survey in Britain, under the aegis of Mark Abrams, LPE kick-started market research here, The Market Research Society being founded in its offices. This tribute is to establish LPE as ‘leader of the field’.

In 1856, just months after Britain and Siam had finalised the historic Bowring trade treaty that would prevent the countries colonisation, the violent death of a Siamese official at the new British consulate threatens to scuttle the deal and lead to war. The King and the Consul explores UK and Thai archives to reveal the twists, turns and tensions of this little-known episode that pitted Thailand’s renowned King Mongkut, Rama IV, against the first British Consul, Charles Hillier. The crisis was resolved without war, but not without cost for the participants who suffered unintended tragic outcomes. By examining the background to this tragedy, the book reveals how history has often overlooked the importance of an issue that lay behind it the right of foreigners to own land in the country, and issue that continues to be a thorn in the side of Thailand’s foreign relations to this day.

“The tragic deaths in 1856 of the first British consul to Siam and a Siamese official had an unusual impact on Thailand‘s property law and Britain’s diplomatic presence in the country. This intriguing book could only be written by someone with long residence in Bangkok, through knowledge of Thailand’s property law, and enthusiasm for history. Simon Landy gives us a slice of legal and diplomatic history with close attention to its human dimensions. An unusual and lovely read” – Chris Baker

A cute board book with pages that look like a little chalkboard and illustrations that look as if they were drawn with coloured chalk! This simple, yet adorable board book will become a favourite with the littlest ones, who will be inspired to try copying the charming, colourful, chalklike designs. Dive deep down into the sea, and meet a variety of interesting creatures that swim below the waves. All appear on a chalkboard-like surface in bright colours, including an orangey crab, a blue dolphin, a pink jellyfish, a striped clownfish, and an octopus, shark, and golden starfish. Ages: 0 to 3

The last work of Burne-Jones: a series of woodcut illustrations to the first chapters of Genesis, making a perfect epitome of his art. Reprinted from the original edition of 1902.

“‘The Fox and the Hare’ is Yuri Norstein’s take on an old Russian folk tale and as in all of his films, we are pulled into the characters’ lives through the beautiful simplicity of the character designs, done by the artist Francesca Yarbusova. They create personalities full of soul and emotion. I’ve always admired Yuri for his honesty and absolute devotion to the art of animation and his talent of creating an enchanted and very unique world for each of his masterpieces. I like to take time and study his beautiful graphics, discovering new details each time I look at them.” Helena Giersz, Designer/Co-creator of Nickelodeon series Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go, Founder of Funline Animation, Inc

The Fox and the Hare is a Russian folk tale retold by Vladimir Dal. This book is based on Francesca Yarbusova’s sketches for the award-winning animated film directed by Yuri Norstein.

This beautiful tale is a simple story about the insidious Fox who takes over the Little Hare’s house when her own palace of ice melts in the Spring. After enlisting the help of several animals, still the ferocious fox remains in the Little Hare’s house. Is there anyone who can help him?

Also available in the Norstein & Yarbusova Collection – a beautiful series of children’s picture books based on the art of famous Russian artists and animators Yuri Norstein and Francesca Yarbusova are: Mishmash ISBN: 9780984586745 and The Hedgehog in the Fog ISBN: 9780984586707.

From the 2nd century CE to the 19th century, the people of the fertile estuary of the great Mekong River created treasures of sacred art, architecture and accomplished feats of water engineering that are coming to light in Vietnam’s vigorous new archaeological research programmes. The large stilted wooden houses of Oc Eo, the early Venice of the maritime routes of the East in the earliest centuries of the first millennium, drew in ships with precious cargoes from Rome, India and China to trade while waiting for the change of the monsoon wind to continue their voyages.

Chinese annals record that the early polity they called ‘Funan’ ruled 1,000 km of coastline along the shipping route. Among the earliest Mekong Delta Buddhist icons are a breathtakingly elegant 2.7m tall Buddha carved in hardwood that has survived more than 1000 years in the delta mud and a 29cm bronze Buddha that arrived on a trading ship from the 6th century Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. Very early Vishnu statues wear high, floral mitres and clasp war conch-trumpets on their left hip, and Shiva’s face stares out from stone lingas.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum collection conserves diverse masterpieces of the art from Vietnam, from the prehistoric Dong Son drums of the Red River Delta in the north to the vibrant Hindu and Buddhist statuary of the former kingdoms of Champa in Central Vietnam. In addition, there is an immense array of art and imperial furnishings of the last Vietnamese dynasty, the Nguyen, which was founded in the Mekong Delta at the beginning of the 19th century. There are refined inlaid wooden cabinets, sets of the finest blue and white ceramics and embroidered silken court costumes worn by the royal family, as well as huge wooden and ceramic Buddha statues which played crucial social and political roles in establishing the dynasty and quelling its foes.

A Sino-Chinese family find their destiny is inseparably entangled with that of the country they have adopted as a home. Not long before the Communist revolution, Tong, sent by his peasant-parents in impoverished rural China to work with a relative in Siam, has risen to become a rice-trading tycoon in Bangkok’s Chinatown, married a former palace cook and built a large family in the town of Pad Riew. Haunted by the dream of returning to his true home in China, Tong, along with his wife and their five children, are swept along by the torrents of history as World War II breakout and China turns red, while the military strongman in Thailand act out the interminable cycle of power struggle, rebellion and coup d’état.

Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat, the award-winning second novel by Veerapon Nitiprapha, is a generations-spanning family saga that explores the roots of the Chinese diaspora in Siam and how the tragedy of ruined love, maternal betrayal and futile ambition shape the lives of Tong’s clan members, each of them hounded by their own ghosts and burdened by their own sins. All of this is played out against the backdrop of Siam’s mid-century social and political history, the most chaotic period the formation of the nation.

The opening of celebrated British architect David Chipperfield’s extension building of Kunsthaus Zürich in the fall of 2021 will make this renowned institution Switzerland’s largest art museum. In the run-up to this milestone in the museum’s development, this new book looks back at its architectural history. It tells a lively story that starts in 1847 with the Zurich Artists’ Society’s initial gallery building and had its first culmination in 1910, when distinguished Swiss architect Karl Moser’s Kunsthaus was opened. Over the past century, three major additions were carried out in 1925, 1959, and 1976, and many attempts for a visionary large-scale extension were made. Illustrated with historic images, reproductions of plans and drawings as well as newly drawn floor and site plans, the book documents all stages of constructing Kunsthaus Zürich.

Maria Lai always had a special relationship with fairy tales. She considered them a metaphor for art and a way of communicating with the public in a simple, straightforward way. Starting in the 1980s, fairy tales became central to her art. Tenendo per mano il sole, Tenendo per mano l’ombra, Curiosape and Maria Pietra, are her most famous “sewn fairy tales” – books created by the artist using castoff textiles.

Maria Lai’s fairy tales are not merely children’s stories, but profound reflections on life and what it means to be a human being. They are often inspired by Sardinian myths and legends, to which the artist gives a personal twist, adding autobiographical details and philosophical reflections.
This edition of Tenendo per mano l’ombra is a printed version of Maria Lai’s 1987 tale. The original consists of fabric pages sewn together and collages of dyed textiles, on which the artist has embroidered geometric figures, yarn and other materials. The fairy tale tells the story of a human being (and his double) who must learn to accept shadows, the dark part of the world and of himself. The figure’s shadow, in Maria Lai’s fairy tale, is not a negative element to be rejected, but an integral part of his personality. To live an untroubled and complete life, one must learn to accept and live with it.

Elena Pontiggia’s concluding essay accompanies the reader in a fascinating page by page interpretation of the fable, and discusses Lai’s artistic and stylistic approach in the context of an extensive network of philosophical, literary and artistic references: from Kant and Manzoni to Klee and Malevič.

Text in English and Italian.

The need for a pillow, a headrest or a neck rest is one of the most widely spread among humans, as is the need for a seat. They may not be an exclusively African invention, but the oldest known carved headrests nonetheless come from Africa, for the most part from the Egypt of the Pharaohs. Their use is attested in prehistoric times in the Neolithic Sahara and several centuries ago in West, Central and Southern Africa. It continued until the early 20th-century in the savannah and the forested regions along the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea, in the Congo and Zambesi basins and until nowadays in the Horn of Africa, in the regions of the Omo Valley and the Jade Sea. In this work, the author sets out to tell its history spanning several millenia. He takes the opportunity to invite himself to the controversy regarding the links and relations between Ancient Egypt and Black Africa, a controversy that has been livening up the world of Egyptologists and historians of Africa for more than a century.

Furthermore he sets about breaking down a few generally accepted ideas regarding the actual use of these magnificent objects. The author illustrates his words with an exceptional election of items chosen from the finest public and private collections.

Text in English and French.

The Scholar’s Vision, The Photographer’s Eye has at its core a dialogue between Chung Yangmo—expert scholar and former director of the Korean National Museum—and contemporary artist Koo Bohnchang. Their subject is Joseon-dynasty white and blue-and-white porcelain. These masterpieces, now in museums across the world, captivate with their stark minimalism. Koo Bohnchang’s sensitive portraits of the vessels meet Chung Yangmo’s commentary to provide a unique perspective on Korean ceramics.

International interest in Korean art and culture has boomed in the past decade, but literature on traditional Korean art forms in English remains scarce. This book is a timely resource for an English-speaking audience. In its pages, art-historical expertise combines with aesthetic interpretation, exploring the contemporary meaning of a classical porcelain tradition that blossomed for over five centuries.

Darwishi Ur-atum Msamaki Minkabh Ishaq Eboni, the son of an Egyptian pharaoh, is only nine years old when he dies. He is mummified and laid to rest in a tomb, with the powerful Golden Scarab of Mukatagara hanging around his neck. Thousands of years later, during a transport of three precious sarcophaguses, there is a terrible storm. Lightning strikes, the lorry plunges from a flyover and the sarcophaguses are hurled through the air. During all this, a little white shape escapes the wreckage unnoticed…

Angus Gust is ten and has a perfectly normal life. Then one night a little mummy appears in his room! Life changes completely. Angus and Dummie (short for his real name) become best friends. One dreadful day, Dummie’s scarab goes missing. Without the scarab Dummie falls terribly ill. Angus must now do everything he can to find the scarab, so Dummie doesn’t have to face death again. Can Dummie be saved in time?

In this second book in the Dummie the Mummy series, Dummie, Angus and Nick travel to Egypt. It’s Dummie’s great wish to return to his country to visit the grave of his father, Pharaoh Akhnetut. Unfortunately, Egypt has completely changed in four thousand years and Akhnetut’s grave seems untraceable. To make matters even worse, Nick falls ill and Angus and Dummie set off without him. Then something terrible happens – Dummie has to give everything he’s got to save his best friend. Yet he is also determined to find his father’s grave. Fortunately, he remembers more and more about his life long ago and this proves to be very handy!

The Tekkieh Moaven is a significant religious monument in Kermanshah and one of the most important national memorials in Iran. Following the building’s destruction in the early 20th century, it was rebuilt and furnished with exclusive tiles, the focal point of this publication. Since 1975, it has also been a popular museum visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year. The tiles illustrate the fascinating world of art in the Persian empire and Islamic era and are distinguished by colourful illustrations featuring floral, calligraphic, and also figurative motifs. Author Hadi Seif weaves the recollections of the ancient guardian Sojdehpur into his narratives, contributing valuable insights into the evolutionary history of these impressive tiles. This is the first major English-language publication dedicated to this outstanding cultural monument.