"Robert Hillenbrand explores the range of public architecture in the Middle East and North Africa from the medieval period to 1700, focusing on the relationship between architecture and society." "Included are chapters on religious and secular architecture and the architecture of tombs, each one providing a lucid and penetrating overview of a characteristic building type. Buildings are discussed in terms of form and function, the roles of specific building types in the Islamic order and the expression of different sociocultural groups in architectural terms."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Travel Guide and Art Guide in one. Each volume of the Art & Architecture series is opulently illustrated.

Contains excellent notes on the 100 works shown in color.

The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, holds one of the world's finest collections of French art from 1860 to 1950. Now, for the first time, art lovers can marvel at the full scope of the museum's magnificent holdings in this field, & read about how the collection was created.

Serious visual artists can now easily understand and apply the secret geometry that masters used to create remarkable art. Superior mathematical skills aren’t required because there are hundreds of excellent step-by-step diagrams to explain everything with simplicity. Learn how the ancient and modern masters used dynamic symmetry to promote unity, movement, rhythm, and strength. These qualities, along with many others, allowed their art to have visual clarity, impact, and stand the test of time. This is an essential book for painters, photographers, sculptors, and cinematographers that hold composition and design with a high priority. For far too long, artists have been stuck with the basic tools of artistic composition, like the rule of thirds and leading lines. Unfortunately, we’re incapable of reaching the master level if all we know are the basics. Powerful tools like dynamic symmetry and other composition techniques have been kept a secret from all of us. It’s time to learn of them, push past any plateau that stands in our way, and finally unlock our true potential!

The ultimate book on King Tut and his tomb—the most exciting archaeological find the world has ever known—now in a compact edition The tomb of Tutankhamun, with its breathtaking treasures, remains the most sensational archaeological find of all time. This brilliantly illustrated volume takes the reader through Tutankhamun’s tomb room-by-room in the order that it was discovered and excavated by Howard Carter, illuminating the tomb’s most magnificent artifacts and objects. Leading authority Dr. Zahi Hawass imbues the text with his own inimitable flavor, imagining how the uncovering and opening of the tomb must have felt for Carter, while Sandro Vannini’s extraordinary photographs reproduce the objects in infinitesimal detail. Now available in a compact edition, and published to coincide with a global touring exhibition that begins in Los Angeles in March 2018 and ends at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2023, this sumptuous volume is the definitive record of Tutankhamun’s legacy.

Discover a new side of Paris, hidden in plain sight, with this beautifully illustrated guide to the city's smaller collections and best-kept secrets, from artists' studios to scientific museums. A visit to Paris can often seem like a highlight reel -- the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower. But Paris isn't only about the big attractions; in fact, some might say it's the offbeat destinations that hold the greatest treasures. The Little(r) Museums of Paris takes a whimsical journey through these smaller destinations, from the fantastical to the bizarre, offering both a guide to the city and inspiration for armchair travelers. Rather than traveling by neighborhood, this charming guide explores the different types of institutions nestled within Paris, from time capsules like the Musee Nissim de Camondo to explorations of the world beyond the city limits, including the Institute of the Arab World. Readers will peek behind the curtains of artists' apartments and into the microscopes of collections of scientific oddities. Each entry opens up a new world of adventure, with a description of the museum's collection, as well as a short history, watercolor illustrations, and a miniature map. For residents and visitors alike, the captivating illustrations and deeply-researched yet approachable writing will encourage greater appreciation of the cultural diversity, history, and colorful characters that give Paris that je ne sais quoi.