Seven contributors examine how the best thinkers and artists of each historical epoch in the West have treated old age. Full of surprising and fascinating facts, this is an uplifting companion for those who, like it or not, are beginning to understand the inevitability of their own aging process.
No other weapon so characterizes the Malay world as the kris, an elongated dagger. Surrounded by a wealth of lore, it has always been an object of intense curiosity and interest to outsiders. In this definitive account, Edward Frey examines the various aspects of its legends, probable origins, and current preservation, and provides a detailed exposition of the craftsmanship which goes into the kris's manufacture. In this third edition, the aut...
When the prolific British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) died at the age of 76, his contemporaries held a generally negative view of his recent work, describing it as indulgent, eccentric, and even repulsive. But over the past century, a number of curators and critics have reassessed Turner's late paintings. Instead of finding his employment of shimmering color to evoke light unpleasant or unskilled, they have seen it as a p...
The quest is the essence of medieval romance. Either the Holy Grail or the jewel of Love could be the goal, but love might also be a snare along the path. This richly illustrated book explores the two distinct but related themes of love and romance, comparing their verbal and visual display in the Middle Ages.
A selection of extracts translated from the original texts of poems and chansons are prefaced by brief plot summaries and juxtaposed wi...
This handy, portable reference is a guide to more than 40 of the most frequently represented gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as related mythical creatures. 55 color illustrations.
This colorful introduction to world art brings together seemingly unrelated objects--such as an Aztec calendar stone and a Flemish still life--to help children make connections between the world of art and their own lives. The art is divided into chapters on Time and Space, Other Worlds, DailyLife, History and Myth, and the World of Nature. Ancient Egyptian mummies accompany a native Alaskan mask to illustrate how various cultures have express...
