PIE Books – förlag

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech graphic designer and decorative artist best known for his distinctive Art Nouveau style. He produced many illustrations, advertisements, postcards, packages and paintings throughout his life. The popularity of Mucha’s unique style and demand for his beautiful works has continued to grow since the strong revival of interest in Art Nouveau during the 1960s.

This book is the very best collection of Mucha’s characteristic works, covering his entire career, from his beginnings in Paris to his final days in Czech after four years in the United States. His most representative works are featured, not only in the field of fine art but also in editorial design and graphic design. As a special feature, this book introduces more typography and package design works compared to other publications on Mucha’s work. And, of course, Mucha’s masterpiece the 'Slav Epic’ is also covered in detail, along with an interpretation and its historical background.

This beautifully-designed book will be a valuable reference for graphic designers and illustrators alike, and is sure to become a must-have book for Mucha’s fans around the world to treasure. Bilingual text, in both Japanese and English.

This is the first art collection by the young Canadian artist/illustrator Koyamori (also known as Maruti_Bitamin). Over the past five years, she has gained attention through regularly sharing her fascinating illustrations on her Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter accounts. This work has been collected in grow and accompanied by a selection of specially created new illustrations.

Using mostly watercolor ink, Koyamori's highly imaginative but intimate illustrations incorporate colorful natural elements such as plants, creatures, water and stars, and also feature super-cute manga-inspired characters. A reversible dust jacket includes the cover from the Japanese edition on the reverse side. Both covers are new illustrations exclusively drawn for this long-awaited book.

In this book, a photographer based in Germany walks through Japan’s 47 prefectures taking pictures to capture the beauty of Japan this time from a fresh point of view. Enjoy both “traditional Japan,” including scenic Mt. Fuji, shrines and temples, cherry blossoms, and snow scenes, and “contemporary, everyday Japan,” with its futuristic night views and the glimmering neon lights of bustling downtown areas. The dynamic compositions and captivating color schemes that the photographer creates make the scenes feel like something from another world, even though they are real places. Active oversees, Yuto Yamada expresses Japan as seen from the outside through his vivid photographs. This is a collection of photographs that shows beautiful scenery that even Japanese people don’t know about. 

The author, Yuto Yamada, who began photographing ruins, photographs landscapes in various places. His bold compositions are impressive, and his Instagram account, showcasing his work, has more than 110,000 followers. Yamada is an acclaimed photographer both in Japan and around the world who has also worked for internationally renowned companies. This book is great for anyone interested in Japan and those interested in photography. Why not catch a glimpse of one of Japan’s many facets?

Across time and space, the motifs and images of Decadence are repeatedly depicted in literature, fine arts, music and other art forms. This book presents numerous historically important art works spanning from the 19th century to Surrealism, including notable European illustrators such as Odilon Redon, Gustav Klimt, and many more.

Each chapter comprehensively showcases such art works, grouping them by stylistic category or artistic movement: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Symbolism in France, Germany and Belgium; Wiener Secession; Art Nouveau and Art Deco; Eroticism; book illustrators; Surrealist artists and so on. This collection also explores the theme of the femme fatale through representations of Sirens, mermaids and witches, as well as characters from Greek mythology, modern literary works, and so on.

Approximately 370 great art works are presented in a stylish layout designed by Reiko Harajo, the renowned book designer and creator of the gorgeous book designs of past PIE titles: George Barbier, William Morris and Harry Clarke. These art titles are available in English and include columns on themes related to these works.

The Art of Decadence is sure to become a most treasured book for artists and illustrators, especially those with a keen interest in 19th-century European art. (English/Japanese Bilingual text.)