Meet desert modernist Albert Frey, the Zurich-born architect who brought notes of Bauhaus, De Stijl, and Le Corbusier to the West Coast. From his European beginnings, Frey developed a unique architectural brand, one that would redefine midcentury California through sleek, leisurely structures nestled among the arid landscapes of Palm Springs and beyond. View Rating and Reviews Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
Shimmering, pulsating color masses characterize the Abstract Expressionist masterpieces of Mark Rothko. Like no other artist in his generation, Rothko developed his own stylistic vocabulary, creating ceiling-high canvases that were to be experienced as much as seen, submerging viewers in the drama, intimacy, and tragedy of the human condition. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
French architect and designer Jean Prouvé innovated crisp, economical construction designs, marrying inexpensive materials and mass production with aesthetic elegance and technical brilliance. His simple, graceful style is an inimitable expression of midcentury innovation, expansion, and growth, and secured his place as one of the century’s most influential designers. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
From the ubiquitous Knoll “Tulip” chairs and tables to the TWA terminal at JFK Airport in New York, Eero Saarinen was one of the 20th century’s most prominent space shapers, merging dynamic forms with a modernist sensibility across art and architecture. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
Get to know the Pre-Raphaelites, an undercover brotherhood of poets, painters, and critics, often regarded as Britain’s first modern art movement. With key works by leading artists, this book explores the group’s rejection of Classical beauty ideals, and its reactionary immersion in nature, medieval culture, and literary emblems of love and death. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
In canvases vivid with movement, light, color, and speed, the Futurists created one of the most lively documents of the technological turn of the 20th century. This monograph covers the key protagonists, influences, and controversies of the movement which at once championed progress and glorified war, scorned femininity, and undermined the academy elite. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
Discover the magical and unconventional world of the iconic master and pioneer in Dada and Surrealist movements, Max Ernst. His captivating work stands out for its varied style and technique and illustrates not only his brilliant and extraordinary ideas but also pushes against the constraints of the rational mind. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
Explore the lyrical seven-decade career of Catalan-born Joan Miró, a towering figure of 20th-century art, whose highly individual style reflected Surrealist, Dadaist, and abstract elements in dazzling colors and unique symbolic narratives. From automated drawing to sculptures made of gas, this modernist legend abandoned categorization and approval in favor of his own dreamlike worlds. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
“Painting with scissors” is how Henri Matisse referred to his cut-outs. Produced towards the end of his life, when the artist was confined to a wheelchair, these brilliant bursts of color and form delight to this day as joyous celebrations of life, nature, and boundless creativity. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.59 kg, 96 pages
The self as a subject is one of the most fascinating and fruitful of artistic enterprises. From the 15th century to today, this collection brings together some of the best examples of self-portraiture to explore the genre’s evolution over the centuries as well as the enduring questions of selfhood and self-representation that have besieged human experience for centuries before social media and the selfie. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
Painter, Marxist activist, and husband of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera is renowned as much for his active politics as for his monumental mural paintings. This introduction explores his unique and visionary renderings of a modern Mexico, combining communist passion, pre-Columbian heritage, and the influences of European modernism. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Less was more for Piet Mondrian. With his strictly limited pictorial elements—the colors red, yellow, and blue, black lines, white space—he sought a ‘universal harmony’ and created a whole new domain of avant-garde abstraction. This essential guide presents Mondrian's pioneering oeuvre, as well as his works of fashion and design, from White Stripes album covers to haute-couture dresses. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Renowned for his distinctive, elongated female nudes, Amedeo Modigliani is a legend of early modernism. His unique figuration corresponded to his own personal idea of beauty, but drew upon a rich variety of visual influences, including contemporary Cubism, African carvings, Cambodian sculptures, and 13th-century painting from his native Italy. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Nicknamed “il divino,” Renaissance genius Michelangelo combined body, spirit, and God into visionary masterpieces across sculpture, painting, and architecture. From The Pietà to the extraordinary ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, this book provides the essential introduction to the artist’s revolutionary ideas and awe-inspiring artworks. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Through eye-popping colors and simple forms, rejoice in the restless creativity and infectious energy of Henri Matisse, the artist who never stopped making art, and whose vivid palette gave nudes, landscapes, and interior views a whole new modernity. This compact yet comprehensive monograph includes preparatory sketches, full-page reproductions, and enlarged details, produced in collaboration with the artist’s estate. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pages
Brace yourself for the blues: Declaring that a “new world calls for a new man”, showman-artist Yves Klein made his name with his large monochrome canvases, International Klein Blue, and “living paintbrushes,” in which naked women, daubed in paint, made imprints of their bodies on large sheets of paper. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German Expressionist pioneer, a prolific painter and printmaker, and cofounder of Die Brücke movement. Through vivid landscapes, stark nudes, and dynamic urban scenes, this introductory book explores his radical painting in pre–World War I Germany and his leading influence on 20th-century art. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
Discover Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the artist duo who were born on the same day, met in Paris, fell in love, and became a unique creative partnership that took on Central Park, the German Reichstag, Biscayne Bay, and beyond with their vast and extraordinary environmental interventions. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
From prairie houses to skyscrapers and the Guggenheim Museum, explore the life and work of one of the greatest pioneers in the history of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright. Sketches, plans, and photographs chronicle all of Wright’s major works, celebrating his organic architecture philosophy, innovative use of industrial materials, and vision for a new way of American living. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pages
As one of the first, true masters of oil painting, Jan van Eyck was also one of the most important Renaissance artists of the 15th century. Just 25 surviving works are attributed to him, yet his realism heavily influenced Early Netherlandish painters. Explore Jan van Eyck’s life and masterful oil works in this hardcover introduction. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
With just 35 known works, Johannes Vermeer is credited with prompting a New York Times best seller, a film starring Scarlett Johansson, and record attendances at art institutions around the world. Discover the craftsman of one of the most important portfolios in art history, in which light, textures, and a sense of unspoken secrets dazzle in their realism and intrigue. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Enter a world of ravishing light and color. English Romanticist J. M. W. Turner transformed the essence of landscape painting from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life, as if the sun itself were gleaming out of his canvases. Discover the shimmering works and wide repertoire of the “father of light,” who pit the Industrial Revolution against the scorching forces of nature. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
Explore a unique blend of structure and surroundings in this essential architectural introduction to Richard Neutra, pioneer of a particularly holistic brand of modernism which incorporated the ragged lines of a landscape as much as the sleek surfaces and pared down geometries of 20th-century cool. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Meet the Belgian Surrealist forever on the hunt for magic and mystery. This introduction to Magritte presents key works from the artist's vast repertoire of visual humor, paradox, and surprise which makes us look and look again, not only at the painting, but at our sense of self and the world. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
Meet the pioneer of Pop art in this introduction to Roy Lichtenstein, whose high-impact cartoon-based images exploded onto the art scene at the end of the 1950s and transformed the notion of fine art forever. Appropriating the form and content of mass media, Lichtenstein reveled in American consumer culture while elevating it for critique at the same time. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Painter, inventor, architect, scientist, and engineer: Leonardo da Vinci stands to this day as one of the most accomplished human beings ever to have lived. Whether the smallest arteries of the human heart, exquisite biblical scenes, or far-flung constellations of the universe, explore his insatiable quest for knowledge, invention, and beauty. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Discover the shimmering and sensual oeuvre of Gustav Klimt, the Austrian symbolist painter who polarized the art world by combining decorative finesse with erotic thrill. From landscape paintings to glistening renderings of the female body, the founding member of the Vienna Secession continues to fascinate with his works of mosaic-like patterns, curvaceous forms, and radiant color. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pages
Hiroshige was one of the last great artists of ukiyo-e, the woodblock print genre that flourished between the 17th and 19th century and did much to determine the world’s visual concept of Japan. This dependable introduction leads you through the blossoming cherry trees, beautiful women, and dramatic ocean views that made Hiroshige a household name and became exemplary of Japonisme. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pages
Keith Haring spent little more than a decade in the spotlight, but in his singular blend of street art, graffiti, a Pop sensibility, and cartoon elements, he created stalwarts of modern pop culture as much as vivid social and political statements. From his first subway drawings through to his Pop Shop in SoHo, this concise introduction explores Haring’s innovation and activism at the heart of the 1980s New York art scene. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.57 kg, 96 pages
From impossible staircases to tesselated birds, explore the graphic genius of M.C. Escher, master of quirky vantage points, mathematical puzzles, and the transition from paper flatness to illusory volume. This essential introduction presents key Escher works, exploring the evolution of a unique pictorial style that has captivated scientists and hippies alike. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.61 kg, 96 pages
With his enchanting roster of musicans, roosters, flowers, and floating lovers, Marc Chagall is celebrated to this day as one of the most readily identifiable modern masters and one of the most influential Jewish artists of all time. This dependable artist introduction explores the dreams, tales, colors, and cultural traditions that made up Chagall’s rich and intricate tapestry. Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pages
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Architecture series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)