Ross King – författare

For more than five centuries The Last Supper has been an artistic, religious and cultural icon. The art historian Kenneth Clark called it 'the keystone of European art', and for a century after its creation it was regarded as nothing less than a miraculous image. And yet there is a very human story behind this artistic 'miracle'. Ross King's Leonardo and the Last Supper is both a 'biography' of one of the most famous works of art ever painted and a record of Leonardo da Vinci's last five years in Milan.

Ancient Rome gave rise to the Roman Empire, one of history’s greatest civilizations. It flourished for roughly five hundred years and, at its height, made up at least 20 percent of the world’s population. It left an indelible mark on the world, shaping politics, laws, philosophy, and architecture, and gave us Roman numerals, the calendar, aqueducts, and concrete. Alongside the Greeks, the Romans laid the groundwork for Western civilization.In this fast-paced history, Ross King introduces the emperors and warriors, the madmen and upstarts, and the artists and gladiators responsible for the empire’s rise, reign, and ruin. King’s vivid narrative offers fresh context for key political and religious events and paints lively portraits of Rome’s most formidable and notorious leaders. Spanning over one thousand years of Roman history, The Shortest History of Ancient Rome brings an ancient civilization to vibrant life, elucidating why the Romans still matter to us today.The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

Giuseppe Garibaldi was praised for his military genius, his courage, and his charisma. Known as the "Hero of Two Worlds," Garibaldi's military prowess extended to the Americas, where he played a major role in the Brazilian struggle for independence. During his fight for Italian unification Garibaldi personally led an army of local untrained rebels to victory in Palermo, Naples, and Sicily. His forces suffered from lack of equipment, food, and money, and yet Garabaldi commanded their fierce loyalty. Christopher Hibbert reveals how this iconic figure earned the adulation of not only his fellow Italians, but people across the globe.

The fourth in a series that documents architectural conservation in different parts of the world, Architectural Conservation in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands: National Experiences and Practice addresses cultural heritage protection in a region which comprises one third of the Earth’s surface.In response to local needs, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands have developed some of the most important and influential techniques, legislation, doctrine and theories in cultural heritage management in the world. The evolution of the heritage protection ethos and contemporary architectural conservation practices in Australia and Oceania are discussed on a national and regional basis using ample illustrations and examples. Accomplishments in architectural conservation are discussed in their national and international contexts, with an emphasis on original developments (solutions) and contributions made to the overall field.Enriched with essays contributed from fifty-nine specialists and thought leaders in the field, this book contains an extraordinary breadth and depth of research and synthesis on the why’s and how’s of cultural heritage conservation. Its holistic approach provides an essential resource and reference for students, academics, researchers, policy makers, practitioners and all who are interested in conserving the built environment.

The most comprehensive book on the paintings and frescoes of Florence -- with nearly 2,000 beautifully reproduced artworks from the city's great museums and churches -- is now available in a practical and elegant paperback format. From the paintings on display at the Uffizi Gallery, to the Pitti Palace, to the Accademia, to the Duomo and more, Florence: The Paintings & Frescoes is a rich and magnificent collection of some of the finest art in the world. This stunning book provides a thorough look at the masterpieces housed in the Renaissance art capital of the world including the art of Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, Correggio, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Titian, Rembrandt, van Dyck, El Greco and hundreds more. Explore the history of art in Florence through seven introductory essays by Ross King, bestselling author of Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, which connects how the paintings, politics, and every-day lives of Florentines influence one another. Art historian Anja Grebe, author of The Louvre and The Vatican, also highlights 250 of the most iconic and significant paintings and frescoes in the historic city.

Seoul is a colossus both in its physical presence and the demand it places on any intellectual effort to understand it. How did it come to be? How can a city this immense work? Underlying its spectacle and incongruities is a city that might be described as ill at ease with its own past. The bitter rifts of Japanese colonization persist, as does the troubled aftermath of the Korean War and its divisions; the economic “Miracle on the Han” that followed is crosscut by memories of the violent dictatorship that drove it.In Seoul, author Ross King interrogates this contested history and its physical remnants, tacking between the city’s historiography and architecture, with attention to monuments, streets, and other urban spaces. The book’s structuring device is the dichotomy of erasure and memory as necessary preconditions for reinvention. King traces this phenomenon from the old dynasties to the Japanese regime and wartime destruction; he then follows the equally destructive reinvention of Korea under dictatorship to the brilliant city of the present with its extraordinary explosion of creativity and ideas—the post-1991 Hallyu, the Korean Wave. The final chapter returns to questions of forgetting and memory, but now as “conditions of possibility” for what would seem to underlie the present trajectory of this extraordinary city and culture.Seoul can be read, King suggests, in the context of the hybrid ideas that have characterized Korean cultural history. It may be their present eruption that accounts for the city of contradictions that confronts the contemporary observer and that most extraordinary of Korean phenomena: the rise of an alternative, virtual world, eclipsing both city and nation. Has the very idea of Korea been reinvented even as the weakly defined nation-state slips away?

Claude Monet’s water lily paintings are among the most iconic and beloved works of art of the past century. Yet these entrancing images were created at a time of terrible private turmoil and sadness for the artist. The dramatic history behind these paintings is little known; Ross King’s Mad Enchantment tells the full story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and original portrait of one of our most popular and cherished artists.By the outbreak of war in 1914, Monet, then in his mid-seventies, was one of the world’s most famous and successful painters, with a large house in the country, a fleet of automobiles and a colossal reputation. However, he had virtually given up painting following the death of his wife Alice in 1911 and the onset of blindness a year later. Nonetheless, it was during this period of sorrow, ill health and creative uncertainty that – as the guns roared on the Western Front – he began the most demanding and innovative paintings he had ever attempted. Encouraged by close friends such as Georges Clemenceau, France’s dauntless prime minister, Monet would work on these magnificent paintings throughout the war years and then for the rest of his life. So obsessed with his monumental task that the village barber was summoned to clip his hair as he worked beside his pond, he covered hundreds of yards of canvas with shimmering layers of pigment. As his ambitions expanded with his paintings, he began planning what he intended to be his legacy to the world: the ‘Musée Claude Monet’ in the Orangerie in Paris.Drawing on letters and memoirs and focusing on this remarkable period in the artist’s life, Mad Enchantment gives an intimate portrayal of Claude Monet in all his tumultuous complexity, and firmly places his water lily paintings among the greatest achievements in the history of art.

Score One for the Dancing Girl presents more than a hundred stories from an early-nineteenth-century collection of yadam stories, the Kimun ch’onghwa (“Compendium of Records of Hearsay”). Prose tales that feature historical people and places but may also include fantastical elements, the yadam stories in this volume feature ghosts and magic, courtesans and sex, and court politics. They constitute both an entertaining literary collection and a rich treasure trove of information about life in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Korea.The first volume in an ongoing series of translations of classic Korean literature by the Canadian missionary James Scarth Gale (1863–1937), Score One for the Dancing Girl includes the original literary Sinitic (hanmun) text and Gale’s English translation. Both the hanmun and English are extensively annotated.  Introductory essays by Ross King and Si Nae Park discuss the yadam genre, Gale’s life and career, and the ways in which his background as a Christian missionary affected the translations.

Every painted work that is on display in the Uffizi Gallery, The Pitti Palace, the Accademia, and the Duomo is included in the book, plus many or most of the works from 28 of the city's other magnificent museums and churches. The research and text are by Ross King (best-selling author), Anja Grebe (author or The Louvre and The Vatican), Cristina Acidini (former Superintendent of the public museums of Florence) and Msgr. Timothy Verdon (Director of the artworks for the Archdiocese of Florence).

'A marvel of storytelling and a masterclass in the history of the book' WALL STREET JOURNALThe Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's artists and architects. But equally important were geniuses of another kind: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars and booksellers. At a time where all books were made by hand, these people helped imagine a new and enlightened world. At the heart of this activity was a remarkable bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci. His books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. With a client list that included popes and royalty, Vespasiano became the 'king of the world's booksellers'. But by 1480 a new invention had appeared: the printed book, and Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge faced a formidable new challenge.'A spectacular life of the book trade's Renaissance man' JOHN CAREY, SUNDAY TIMES

The start of a thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and Strictly Come Dancing's Ross King ✨When we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers. But it was also the end of their friendship.Over the next twenty years, Mirren McLean would become one of the most powerful writers in the movie industry.Zander Leith would break box-office records as cinema’s most in-demand action hero.And Davie Johnson would rake in millions as producer of some of the biggest shows on TV.For two decades they didn’t speak, driven apart by a horrific secret. Until now…Their past is coming back to bite them, and they have to decide whether to run, hide, or fight.Because when you rise to the top, there’s always someone who wants to see you fall.An exciting glamorous thriller for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo Spain Previously published in the UK as TAKING HOLLYWOOD by Shari King.Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

The start of a thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and Strictly Come Dancing's Ross King ✨When we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers. But it was also the end of their friendship.Over the next twenty years, Mirren McLean would become one of the most powerful writers in the movie industry.Zander Leith would break box-office records as cinema’s most in-demand action hero.And Davie Johnson would rake in millions as producer of some of the biggest shows on TV.For two decades they didn’t speak, driven apart by a horrific secret. Until now…Their past is coming back to bite them, and they have to decide whether to run, hide, or fight.Because when you rise to the top, there’s always someone who wants to see you fall.An exciting glamorous thriller for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo Spain Previously published in the UK as TAKING HOLLYWOOD by Shari King.Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

The start of a thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and Strictly Come Dancing's Ross King ✨When we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers. But it was also the end of their friendship.Over the next twenty years, Mirren McLean would become one of the most powerful writers in the movie industry.Zander Leith would break box-office records as cinema’s most in-demand action hero.And Davie Johnson would rake in millions as producer of some of the biggest shows on TV.For two decades they didn’t speak, driven apart by a horrific secret. Until now…Their past is coming back to bite them, and they have to decide whether to run, hide, or fight.Because when you rise to the top, there’s always someone who wants to see you fall.An exciting glamorous thriller for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo Spain Previously published in the UK as TAKING HOLLYWOOD by Shari King.Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

The thrilling second instalment in the gripping Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They’ve made it to the top but someone is determined to make them pay...At a glittering after-party on the night of the Academy Awards, author Mirren McLean celebrates her win with her childhood friends Davie Johnston and Zander Leith by her side.Three kids from a tough street in Glasgow, the dazzling trio rose from the ashes to become Hollywood stars with global fame and vast fortunes.This is their moment in the spotlight.But by morning, there’s only darkness.A secret from their past has come back to haunt them and the shield of stardom can’t protect them from the horrors of their old lives.Someone is out to destroy them… and unlike the movies, there’s no guarantee that the good guys will win.Three stars, three tales of struggle and success. Now they’re discovering that in Hollywood, happy endings don’t last for ever. Sometimes they’re just the calm before the storm…Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter'A gritty raunch thriller. A page turner that lifts the lid on Hollywood!' - *Catherine Zeta-Jones *

The thrilling second instalment in the gripping Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They’ve made it to the top but someone is determined to make them pay...At a glittering after-party on the night of the Academy Awards, author Mirren McLean celebrates her win with her childhood friends Davie Johnston and Zander Leith by her side.Three kids from a tough street in Glasgow, the dazzling trio rose from the ashes to become Hollywood stars with global fame and vast fortunes.This is their moment in the spotlight.But by morning, there’s only darkness.A secret from their past has come back to haunt them and the shield of stardom can’t protect them from the horrors of their old lives.Someone is out to destroy them… and unlike the movies, there’s no guarantee that the good guys will win.Three stars, three tales of struggle and success. Now they’re discovering that in Hollywood, happy endings don’t last for ever. Sometimes they’re just the calm before the storm…Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter'A gritty raunch thriller. A page turner that lifts the lid on Hollywood!' - *Catherine Zeta-Jones *

The thrilling second instalment in the gripping Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They’ve made it to the top but someone is determined to make them pay...At a glittering after-party on the night of the Academy Awards, author Mirren McLean celebrates her win with her childhood friends Davie Johnston and Zander Leith by her side.Three kids from a tough street in Glasgow, the dazzling trio rose from the ashes to become Hollywood stars with global fame and vast fortunes.This is their moment in the spotlight.But by morning, there’s only darkness.A secret from their past has come back to haunt them and the shield of stardom can’t protect them from the horrors of their old lives.Someone is out to destroy them… and unlike the movies, there’s no guarantee that the good guys will win.Three stars, three tales of struggle and success. Now they’re discovering that in Hollywood, happy endings don’t last for ever. Sometimes they’re just the calm before the storm…Praise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter'A gritty raunch thriller. A page turner that lifts the lid on Hollywood!' - *Catherine Zeta-Jones *

The explosive finale in the thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They climbed up from the streets of Glasgow to the top of the world. Now these Hollywood icons are heading for a fall.Twenty-five years ago, three friends from Glasgow shocked the world when they became Oscar-winning legends.But now, they are all fighting for survival.A-list actor Zander Leith has finally found happiness with his adored wife, Hollie. But a stalker with a familiar face is determined to take away the only peace he’s ever known.Mirren McLean is one of the most powerful women in the industry. Successful. Respected. Untouchable. Until one mistake threatens to destroy her marriage and her career.And Davie Johnston was once the king of late-night television. Now, his only chance to reclaim his crown is to gamble everything on himself.The grand finale to the glamourous Hollywood Thriller Trilogy for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo SpainPraise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

The explosive finale in the thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They climbed up from the streets of Glasgow to the top of the world. Now these Hollywood icons are heading for a fall.Twenty-five years ago, three friends from Glasgow shocked the world when they became Oscar-winning legends.But now, they are all fighting for survival.A-list actor Zander Leith has finally found happiness with his adored wife, Hollie. But a stalker with a familiar face is determined to take away the only peace he’s ever known.Mirren McLean is one of the most powerful women in the industry. Successful. Respected. Untouchable. Until one mistake threatens to destroy her marriage and her career.And Davie Johnston was once the king of late-night television. Now, his only chance to reclaim his crown is to gamble everything on himself.The grand finale to the glamourous Hollywood Thriller Trilogy for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo SpainPraise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

The explosive finale in the thrilling and glamourous Hollywood series from multi-million copy bestselling author Shari Low and TV's Ross King.They climbed up from the streets of Glasgow to the top of the world. Now these Hollywood icons are heading for a fall.Twenty-five years ago, three friends from Glasgow shocked the world when they became Oscar-winning legends.But now, they are all fighting for survival.A-list actor Zander Leith has finally found happiness with his adored wife, Hollie. But a stalker with a familiar face is determined to take away the only peace he’s ever known.Mirren McLean is one of the most powerful women in the industry. Successful. Respected. Untouchable. Until one mistake threatens to destroy her marriage and her career.And Davie Johnston was once the king of late-night television. Now, his only chance to reclaim his crown is to gamble everything on himself.The grand finale to the glamourous Hollywood Thriller Trilogy for the fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Liane Moriarty and Jo SpainPraise for The Hollywood Thriller Trilogy‘Brilliant, a white-knuckle ride of a novel. Gripping and wildly glamorous - Tilly Bagshawe‘It's a real slice of Hollywood and a brilliant read’ - Gerard Butler‘A glam, edgy thriller, just the way I like them’ - Martina Cole‘Sex, scandal and secrets galore’ - the late Jackie Collins'A high-stakes thriller with a dark, moving story at its core. Page-turning entertainment at its very best' - TJ Emerson‘It's a thriller that’s gritty, sexy and a sensational page turner. You won't be able to put it down. I loved it!’ - Lorraine Kelly'I loved this Hollywood tale with deep Scottish roots. It’s dark, sinful, glittering and thrilling. An absolute adventure from the very first page'- Carmen Reid'The mean streets of Glasgow meet the glitz of Hollywood. A riveting read!' - Evie Hunter

In 1863, the French painter Ernest Meissonier was one of the most famous artists in the world and the darling of the 'Salon' - that all important public art exhibition held biannually in Paris. Manet, on the other hand, was struggling in obscurity. Beginning with the year that Manet exhibited his ground-breaking Déjeuner Sur L'Herbe and ending in 1974 with the first 'Impressionist' exhibition, Ross King plunges into Parisian life during a ten-year period full of social and political ferment with his usual narrative brillliance.These were the years in which Napoleon III's autocratic and pleasure-seeking Second Empire fell from its heights into the ignominy of the Franco-Prussian war and the ensuing Paris Commune of 1871. But it was also a period in which a group of artists, with Manet in the vanguard began to challenge the establishment by turning to the landscapes and ordinary people they saw around them. The struggle between Meissonier and Manet to get their paintings exhibited in pride of place at the Salon was not just about art, it was about how to see the world.

In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The thirty-three-year-old Michelangelo had very little experience of the physically and technically taxing art of fresco; and, at twelve thousand square feet, the ceiling represented one of the largest such projects ever attempted. Nevertheless, for the next four years he and a hand-picked team of assistants laboured over the vast ceiling, making thousands of drawings and spending back-breaking hours on a scaffold fifty feet above the floor. The result was one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. This fascinating book tells the story of those four extraordinary years and paints a magnificent picture of day-to-day life on the Sistine scaffolding - and outside, in the upheaval of early sixteenth-century Rome.