Life in Pictures – serie

Art as life: Artemisia Gentileschi’s life story, told through her greatest works. The story of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654) is one of remarkable triumph of talent and force of personality over apparently insurmountable obstacles, and one of the most compelling in the entire history of Western art. Artemisia Gentileschi: A Life in Pictures traces the artist’s astonishing rise through twenty-eight defining works, revealing how her art was shaped by both the grandeur of Rome and the personal trials she endured. From early promise to international acclaim, each painting marks a moment of defiance, resilience or reinvention. Through this vivid, image-led journey, Artemisia emerges not only as one of the greatest painters of her age but also as a figure of extraordinary determination – transforming adversity into a body of work that still resonates with power, drama and emotional intensity today. Life in Pictures This title is part of the ‘Life in Pictures’ series, which offers a bold new way to discover the world’s greatest artists. Each book focuses on one iconic figure – from Munch to Monet, Cassatt to Caravaggio – with their life and work unfolding through a vivid, image-led timeline. Masterpieces take centre stage, presented in chronological order so readers can see how the art and the life intertwine. Featured artworks range from early sketches and self-portraits to intimate depictions of friends and lovers, pivotal paintings created at moments of personal or historical change, and the masterpieces that secured lasting fame. Accessible, engaging and visually striking, the series is both an essential introduction to the most celebrated names in art and a captivating showcase of their work.

Art as life: Vincent van Gogh’s life story, told through his greatest works. ‘How could a man who loved flowers and light so much and depicted them so well have managed to be so unhappy?’ So asked Claude Monet when reflecting on the contrast between the brilliance and positivity of Van Gogh’s art and the tragedy of his short life. Vincent van Gogh: A Life in Pictures sets out to answer that question, but not in the traditional way of recounting his biography and dropping in some paintings as illustrations. Instead, it puts the pictures front and centre, devoting each chapter to one of Van Gogh’s thirty key works. Van Gogh’s early self-portraits, for instance, take on new meaning when we realise they were painted at a time when he was uncertain about his future as an artist. The Sunflowers series was intended to decorate the bedroom in Arles where he hoped Gauguin would stay, while Irises was painted in the gardens of the asylum shortly after his admission for treatment. A few weeks later, Starry Night captured the view from the window of his room before dawn. Ultimately, Van Gogh’s extraordinary achievement and profound originality are best understood through close attention to the paintings themselves. As he wrote in a letter to his brother Theo – found unsent on his body after his death – ‘We cannot speak other than by our paintings.’ Life in Pictures This title is part of the ‘Life in Pictures’ series, which offers a bold new way to discover the world’s greatest artists. Each book focuses on one iconic figure – from Munch to Monet, Cassatt to Caravaggio – with their life and work unfolding through a vivid, image-led timeline. Masterpieces take centre stage, presented in chronological order so readers can see how the art and the life intertwine. Accessible, engaging and visually striking, the series is both an essential introduction to the most celebrated names in art and a captivating showcase of their work.

Art as life: Hokusai’s life story, told through his greatest works. Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) enjoyed one of the longest and most prolific careers of any Japanese artist of the 19th century. Living to the age of ninety was itself exceptional for the period, yet what is most striking is not his longevity, but the youthful vitality of his imagination to the very end of his life. Hokusai: A Life in Pictures traces Hokusai’s life and introduces his artistic vision through a chronological exploration of twenty-eight of his most-loved works. In following the stages of his career, each marked by a change in the name he adopted, the evolution of his visual language is revealed. Seen in this way, Hokusai emerges as an artist of continual reinvention, whose work remained dynamic and responsive throughout his life, shaped by rigorous self-discipline and an enduring drive for renewal. Life in Pictures This title is part of the ‘Life in Pictures’ series, which offers a bold new way to discover the world’s greatest artists. Each book focuses on one iconic figure – from Munch to Monet, Cassatt to Caravaggio – with their life and work unfolding through a vivid, image-led timeline. Masterpieces take centre stage, presented in chronological order so readers can see how the art and the life intertwine. Accessible, engaging and visually striking, the series is both an essential introduction to the most celebrated names in art and a captivating showcase of their work.