WBooks – serie

In 'Discover the Modern' Benno Tempel, director of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, tells us a story about modern art. Though the different themes the reader gets an atmospheric picture of the dynamic development of fine art, from the 19th-century until modern day. Steeped in political and social events, the book presents correlations between photography and painting, between space travel and utopian projects. This leads to fascinating comparisons, for example, between Claude Monet and Wasssily Kandinsky, Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter or Anton Heyboer and Vincent van Gogh. This incredible publication is more than a book about modern art...it reads like an exciting exploration of modern times.

There is no city in history more evocative than Troy. Since the famous poet Homer wrote his Iliad and Odyssey in the 8th century BC, many others have studied, reinterpreted, sung about and laid claim for themselves to the city, the war between the Greeks and the Trojans, and the famous Wooden Horse. Troy became a legendary lieu de memoire, and thus a city of poetry, painting, opera and film. But Troy actually existed as well: in 1871 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found the remains of the city while excavating in Turkey. Archaeologists have exposed the city's history since the end of the 19th century. Troy. City, Homer and Turkey presents the latest insights and discoveries relating to both the historical and the legendary Troy.

Paul Gauguin's "Vision of the Sermon" (1888), one of the iconic works of the late nineteenth century, continues to provoke profound reassessment and interpretation by art historians, and it is central to this third volume of "Van Gogh Studies". Dario Gamboni discusses the painting as a self-reflexive work dealing in visual terms with issues of perception, cognition and representation; Juliet Simpson addresses the art critic Aurier's contribution to the promotion of Gauguin as the exemplary symbolist artist; while Rodolphe Rapetti examines Emile Bernard's artistic response to 'Vision of the sermon' in the context of Rosicrucianism; the Belgian art world's critical reaction to this and other works by the artist is meticulously described and analysed in Elise Eckermann's essay; while June Hargrove presents a challenging vision of Gauguin's portraits of his 'alter ego' Meijer de Haan.Other contributions include Sandra Kister's examination of the way the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen functioned as a role model for the Musee Rodin in Paris; Richard Thomson's discussion of the diverse ways in which French artists working in the early Third Republic responded to contemporary concepts of 'la psychologie nouvelle'; and, finally, a fresh view of nineteenth-century illustrations, including caricatures, offered by Patricia Mainardi.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is world-famous for his scenes of daily life, such as a kitchen maid pouring milk, a woman having a music lesson, or a lady writing a letter. However, when Vermeer began painting around the age of 21, he focused primarily on traditional subjects derived from the Bible and classical mythology. Not only do these early works differ greatly from his later paintings in terms of subject matter, they also differ in style. The exhibition unites three paintings from the beginning of Vermeer's artistic career: the Mauritshuis' "Diana and her nymphs" of c. 1653-1654, is joined by "Christ in the house of Martha and Mary" (c. 1655) from the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, and "The Procuress" (1656) from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. These three paintings afford an image of the artist seeking his own style. All three paintings have recently been restored. Within this context, the differences between Johannes Vermeer's early and late work also emerge clearly. "The Young Vermeer" is organised in collaboration with the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

More than four centuries ago, the small Republic of the United Netherlands embarked on an economic boom. Contacts were established with the four corners of the world. Many of these centuries-old relationships have left traces in museums and archives, in the open fields or in the city, in stories and in pictures. 'Footsteps and Fingerprints', the Legacy of a Shared History presents an image of the legacy the contacts between Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, Sri Lanka, Surinam and South Africa have produced over the last 400 years. Various 'top pieces' and other remarkable items designated Mutual Cultural Heritage are described: from Vingboons' View of Table Bay, Henkes Schnapps in Ghana to the Dutch Church in St Pertersburg.

A sweet fluffy mouse or an appealing little dog, winter landscapes or a summer scene with shepherds. This catalogue of Dutch paintings from the collection of Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo presents some of the finest paintings from the Golden Age. The collection includes beautiful scenes by famous painters such as Rembrandt and Frans Hals as well as countless other artists, with examples of all main genres of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. These masterpieces are usually inaccessible to public view. This is the first time that a representative selection from this magnificant collection has been exhibited in public. This richly-illustrated book contains reproductions of the highlights from the collection of the Dutch-American couple. The catalogue of paintings is preceeded by an introductory essay on the origins of the collection. In all, this publication provides a superb opportunity to become acquainted with the qualities and varied choice of subject of dozens of painters from the Golden Age.

Van der Helst (Haarlem ca. 1613 - 1670 Amsterdam) was a, by the Amsterdam elite, highly appreciated Portrait painter in the early years of the Dutch 17th Century. His most important work Schuttersmaaltijd (1648-1650), a group portrait of 'The Cornelis Jansz. Witsen Company' is still one of the most important masterpieces of the 17 th Century in Holland. Text in Dutch.

About half of the work Rembrandt did in Leiden consisted of paintings, etchings and drawings showing older people. In these works an old woman is frequently portrayed who has traditionally been held to be Rembrandt's mother, Neeltje Willemsdr. van Zuijdtbroek. Whether Rembrandt really depicted her or whether this is a myth which has persisted for centuries is still not clear. This book discusses the creation of this myth, which although not firmly based on facts, has been an essential part of Rembrandt's image for centuries. The works for which Rembrandt's mother was the model and which are reproduced in this book give an idea of the young artist's iconographic interests. For instance, Rembrandt depicted her as a prophetess, attentively reading a book. Sometimes she plays an active role in religious or allegorical pictures. A similar model can also be recognised in paintings by Rembrandt's friend Jan Lievens and his first pupil, Gerrit Dou. By showing the paintings of these young masters the book examines the artistic relationships between them. If offers a unique opportunity to compare early, closely related works and to gain a clearer picture of the collaboration among these artists. 115 colour & 123 b/w illustrations

Rembrandt is an atist who touches people. His pictures testify to deep psychological insight, and his technique is dazzling. This book is about the Rembrandts in the Mauritshuis, the most famous of which is undoubtedly The anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp. Also very popular, however are the Portrait of an old man and what is perhaps Rembrandt's very last Self-portrait, painted in 1669, the year of his death. This volume sheds light not only on Rembrandt's masterpieces but also on his eventful life: his obsession with work, his compulsive collecting, his undeniable success and his artistic crises. This, in short, is an overview of Remmbrandt, based on one of the most splendid collections of Rembrandts in the world.

"Jasper Krabbe - 100 Selfportraits" includes an impressive number of self-portraits made in the period between the Summer of 2004 and the Summer of 2005. The portraits' formats have been determined by the measurements of an old bookkeeping book in which Krabbe made his self-portraits - one dating from the nineteen-fifties with squared and blank pages. Even the paint he uses for this project is from the same period. This corresponds with the idea that the self-portrait is a typical nineteenth-century activity. The book has been reproduced as a facsimile, which means that the reader has the feeling of looking at the original sketchbook of the artist. Krabbe wanted to explore what the self-portrait can still be in today's age. He wanted to gauge changing emotions, capture a moment and find the right tone. The selection in the book shows the diversity of solutions and styles he used. The self-portraits reveal there is no such thing as a fixed identity but maybe rather a 'core', a soul that is unchangeable. The text is in Dutch and English.

The new scholarly series, "Van Gogh Studies" offers an international platform for research into nineteenth century, West European art history. The contributions focus on Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries and are written by internationally acclaimed scholars and provide a richly variegated impression of this area of study. The first issue reveals the diversity of the Eminence grise series. Robert Herbert presents a major study about decorative arts; the nineteenth century French art market and the Salon system is the centrepiece of Robert Jensen and David Galenson's contribution, while Elise Eckermann, June Hargrove and Caroline Boyle-Turner provide remarkable monographs about Gauguin as a painter and sculptor. Joan Greer elucidates in great detail on the publication of Van Gogh's letters in the Flemish journal "Van Nu en Straks" ("Today and Tomorrow") in 1893, while Louis van Tilborgh researches and dates Van Gogh's stay in French painter Fernand Cormon's studio.

Judith Pfaeltzer describes her sculpture terra incognita - an unknown landscape asking to be discovered. Exploration, searching for the unknown, is a constant in her work. She draws inspiration from the wonderment of her environment, whether drawing a flower in Amsterdam's botanical garden, making a sculpture or photographing a rugged landscape. This splendid photography book offers an insight into this wonderment and acquaints us with Pfaeltzer's landscape and with the artist herself. In an interview she describes her first encounters with art, her method of working and her fascination with her surroundings. The right combination of text and image has produced an intriguing book, both for art lovers as well as landscape enthusiasts.

This book gives a fascinating account of fifteen centuries of European glass art based on the Gemeentemuseum's dazzling collection in The Hague. This is the first time the collection has been described and illustrated so fully and in such depth. The publication, which with all due modesty, is more like a standard work, has some five hundred illustrations. It is the latest in a series of books - the other three were on Delft pottery and porcelain and silver from The Hague - highlighting the museum's major core collection of decorative arts.

For many people Vermeer's paintings form the highlight of a visit to the Maurithuis. This museum holds three of his paintings; Diana and Her Companions, the exquisite View of Delft and the Girl with a Pearl Earring, all of which have become some of the world's most beloved paintings. Vermeer in the Mauritshuis is aimed at those who want to find out more about these three works of art. This beautifully designed book displays many of the meticulous details that appear in these paintings and explores their relationship with the rest of Vermeer's impressive oeuvre. Selected fragments from the paintings draw attention to aspects that might otherwise go unnoticed; such as the moist lips of the girl in Girl with a Pearl Earring, the play of sunlight on the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft as well as one of the most stunning water reflections in art history. This is the first volume in a series of publications about prominent pieces in the rich collection of the Mauritshuis. 60 colour illustrations

Piet Paris' gift is to be able to stylise the frivolous. His work derives its power from the balance between the outer line and what it contains. "Illustration is such a beautiful way of telling about my all-time love affair with fashion", he admits. And so each of his artworks is presented as a valentine. With 115 illustrations this book shows us Piet Paris' powerful images of fashion from the nineties until now. His illustrations are colourful compositions of beauty, humour and intelligence that capture the essence of fashion in timeless works of art.

Spijkers and Spijkers is part 6 in a series showcasing important Dutch and internationally influential Fashion Designers. Dutch twin sisters Spijkers and Spijkers create flattering womenswear that rebels against society's stereotypical image of feminity. Known for their Art Deco-inspired striking graphic prints and fluid tailoring, they have been championed for creating both couture and ready-to-wear collections that are accessible to all. This book presents their career history, which so far has spanned 11 years.