A new, significantly revised edition of Julian Bell’s 1999 book, taking a fresh, focused look at the situation of painting in contemporary culture.

Explores specific categories of materials glass and ceramic, altered naturals, high-performance composites, digitally fabricated metals and polymer films applied to an extensive range of projects, from the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision to the Ordos Art and City Museum in Mongolia.

What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena? This book explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects.

This second litter of cultured cats delves further into the work of Susan Herbert, with another possé of our feline friends in much-loved works of art.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) felt a profound empathy with the natural environment, and considered the spiritual essence of trees to be comparable with that of human figures. This book traces Van Goghs development as a painter of trees in the natural landscape from his home province of North Brabant, through Paris to Provence.

From the 1860s through to the early 20th century the rise of Japonisme and the Art Nouveau movement meant that few could ignore or resist the obsession with all things Japanese. This book includes examples of the designed and executed decorative arts of the Meiji periods from the Khalili Collection.

'I perhaps owe it to flowers', wrote Claude Monet (1840-1926), 'that I became a painter.' One of the leading figures of the Impressionist movement and perhaps the most celebrated landscape painter of his age, Monet dedicated his life to capturing the subtleties of the natural world. Trees - willows enveloped in the eerie mists of the Seine, palm trees beneath the bright Mediterranean sun or poplars heavily laden with snow - became a significant motif in his work, and he used them to experimen...

Gives you an understanding of the ways in which modern art differs from realistic works of earlier centuries. This book examines 100 works of modern art that have attracted critical and public hostility from Cy Twomblys scribbled "Olympia", Jean-Michel Basquiats crude but spontaneous "LNAPRK", and more.