Art Kaleidoscope

Between art and craft

Category Archive: Books

2015 Art Calendars

2015 Art Calendars

Paintings of classics featured in the 2015 Art Calendars

2015 Art Calendars
The Metropolitan Museum of Art store offers vibrant eye-catching calendars, inspired by world famous artists, whose paintings included in the Museum’s collection. The finely illustrated calendars provide a lot of beautiful reproductions of paintings of various artistic movements – Cubism, Impressionism, Post Impressionism, and Art Nouveau. Among reproductions paintings of such world famous artists as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and Gustav Klimt. And 2015 Art Calendar is like art museum at your fingertips, full of inspirational masterpieces right on your desk.
More »

Golden Book by Charley Harper

Golden Book by Charley Harper, American modernist artist

Yellow bird. Illustration from Golden Book by Charley Harper (4 August 1922 – 10 June 2007)

Golden Book by Charley Harper
Born in Frenchton, West Virginia on August 4, 1922, Harper is a talented modernist artist best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations. During his career, Harper illustrated numerous books, notably The Golden Book of Biology. As his subjects are mainly natural, with birds prominently featured, Charley often created works for many nature-based organizations. In particular, the National Park Service, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Nature Center, Hamilton County (Ohio) Park District, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Also, Harper designed interpretive displays for Everglades National Park. Charley Harper died on Sunday, June 10, 2007 after contending with pneumonia for some months.
More »

Uggie the artist

Uggie the artist

The amazing story of Uggie the artist

Uggie the artist
Born in the U.S. state of Florida in 2002, the dog has a distinctive energetic character, because of which his first owners would take him to a dog shelter. But fortunately, a professional Californian dog breeder Omar von Muller spotted the dog and took the temperamental dog with him.
The dog was very smart and very willing to work. Officially retired from show-business, the world’s most famous dog has appeared with memoir “Uggie, My Story”. The book, published in the US, UK and France in October 2012 tells the story of Uggie’s rise from abandoned puppy to one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. So the ten-year-old Jack Russell terrier, who starred in The Artist, has taken a path well-trodden by many retired Hollywood bipeds – writing his memoirs.
More »

Magnificent Book of Hours of Duc de Berry

Page 60. Magnificent Book of Hours of Duc de Berry

Page 60. Magnificent Book of Hours of Duc de Berry

Magnificent Book of Hours of Duc de Berry
The Limbourg brothers – Herman, Paul, and Johan were French painters, miniaturists, native of Nijmegen, the Northern Netherlands. They became famous thanks to the creation of “The Magnificent Book of Hours of Duc de Berry” (Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry). The Book of Hours is one of the most beautiful books in the history of world culture. The manuscript was launched by Limburg brothers between 1409 to 1416. The text itself, uppercase letters, decorations and gilding, most likely made ​​by other mastrers. The Limbourg brothers did not finish the book. According to some reports, they died in 1416 of the plague. Of 129 miniatures of the manuscript during the life of the Limburg brothers were performed 65.
More »

Antique botanical drawings with moralizing instructions

Antique botanical drawings with moralizing instructions

Antique botanical drawings with moralizing instructions

Antique botanical drawings with moralizing instructions. In the XVI century in Germany and the Netherlands appeared the most popular publications: books posters. They were allegorical (in our case, on botanical subjects) drawings with captions containing moralizing instruction. These figures were collected in the collections of books, which have become a kind of synthesis of wisdom and beauty. A perfect example of two trends of the time – the predominance of botanical subjects and passion epigrams – we can see in the works of the Flemish engraver and publisher Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623).
More »

Medieval Miniature books by Ericka VanHorn

Medieval Miniature books by Ericka VanHorn

Deliberately made old pages, gilded images and time consuming work. Medieval Miniature books by Ericka VanHorn

Medieval Miniature books by Ericka VanHorn is a real piece of art. American artist of applied art Ericka VanHorn is from Denver, Colorado. She has been creating miniatures of various kinds since 1997, but became known for her Books. All these fabulous collectible books are handmade in miniature 1″ to 1′ dollhouse scale, or in 1/12th scale. Books are aged and stained to give an ancient medieval look. So there may be some burnt or stained spots for effect. Ericka VanHorn’s collection consists of handmade leather bound books with a steam-punk, a wizard, a vampire, or religious theme.
More »

Fore-edge painting Art

Shakespeare - painted on the edges of the pages of a book

Shakespeare – painted on the edges of the pages of a book

Fore-edge painting Art, or painting on the edges of pages, has been a traditional English book art existing for centuries and continues today by only a few artists. The edges of book are gilded or “marble” decorated, because of what the picture is not visible when the book is closed. But when you slightly open and push pages, you will see the stunning painting.
More »