Modern GraceLyrical forms from FinlandAlvar Aalto (1898–1976) made a unique modernist mark. Influenced by both the landscape and the political independence of his native Finland, he designed warm, curving, compassionate buildings, wholly set apart from the slick, mechanistic, geometric designs that characterized much contemporary European practice.Whether a church, a villa, a sauna, or a public library, Aalto’s organic structures tended to replace plaster and steel with brick...
Light up your lifeLuminary design of the 20th centuryDesigned to be a companion to our classic title 1000 Chairs, this edition contains an awesome selection of over 1000 lights. Presented chronologically by decade are the 20th century’s most interesting electric lights, from Tiffany’s beautiful leaded-glass shades to completely outrageous designs from the late 1960s and 1970s to the latest high-tech LED lamps. All major styles are represented here—Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, ...
Volume two of the definitive exploration [br]of the [i]Star Wars[/i] galaxy From the moment Star Wars burst onto the screen in 1977, audiences have been in equal parts fascinated and appalled by the half-man/half-machine hybrid Darth Vader. In 1999, creator George Lucas began the story of how Anakin Skywalker grew up to train as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, found love with the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, before turning to the dark side of his nature and becoming more machi...
Die tun was: Henry Ford gab 1908 dem Automobilzeitalter mit seinem Model T, dem ersten Auto vom Fließband, den entscheidenden Impuls. Im Laufe des 20. Jahrhunderts wandelte sich das Auto von einer knatternden Arbeitsmaschine zu einem Hingucker mit Heckflossen und schließlich zum rollenden Statussymbol nebst Kühlerfigur. Das anfangs als technische Innovation bestaunte Auto wurde zum Inbegriff des modernen Lebens und Garanten von Freiheit und Mobilität schlechthin.20th Century ...
Compact in format but no less magnificently endowed, The Big Penis Book will delight even the most hardened aficionado of the male member. No half-cocked measures here, as we celebrate the rampant hardware of 150 models from the 1940s to the '90s, including photos by Bob Mizer of AMG, David Hurles of Old Reliable, and Rip Colt of Colt Studio.
Helmut Newton’s unforgettable images, at once sophisticated and provocative, constitute a rich and ever-relevant artistic legacy. This book presents a compact but wide-ranging and impactful portfolio of his work, supported by an insightful introduction and a detailed biographical chronology. Newton’s images straddle the knife-edge of ambiguity, teasing out allusions and social observations that both entice and challenge their viewers.In this portfolio, Newton’s unique perspec...
Loved by travelers for its lush tropical scenery and charming people, Bali is one of the most magnificent places on Earth. Spirituality and nature are integral parts of everyday life for the Balinese, so one can easily see why the island’s traditional architecture has a peaceful presence to it, mimicking its surroundings and sometimes blending in with them. When it comes to Balinese houses, walls are not compulsory, wood is everywhere, earth tones are dominant, and thatched r...
The deceptively simple lemon takes center stage in the second volume of TASCHEN’s collaboration with The Gourmand, masters of the rich intersection of food and art. The star of Renaissance gardens, that shaped the Medici dynasty, have the power to ward off scurvy, had a hand in forming the mob, and whose juice has been used as an invisible ink since 600 CE to pen covert messages, these joyful yellow orbs are ripe with intrigue. The Gourmand charts the fruit’s astonishingly in...
Up close and suspenseful with Alfred Hitchcock The name Alfred Hitchcock is synonymous with suspense—that is to say, masterful, spine-tingling, thrilling, shocking, excruciating, eye-boggling suspense. With triumphs such as Rebecca, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Psycho, Hitchcock (1899–1980) fashioned a new level of cinematic intrigue and fear through careful pacing, subtlety, and suggestiveness. This complete guide traces Hitchcock’s life and career from his earliest silent film...
Sophisticated Sojourns100 tours to inspire and delight from The New York Times’ celebrated travel columnSome travelers dig deep, with a sharp appetite for knowledge and minds wide open to what’s old and what’s new. In Cultured Traveler, the latest in the travel book collaborations between The New York Times and TASCHEN, these adventurers hum to Mozart in Vienna and tap their toes to dance music in Dar es Salaam. They pursue Hamlet in Elsinore, Picasso on the French Riviera, a...
Few devotees of the form can approach Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s radical contributions to self-portraiture. Challenging the conventions enshrined by his predecessors, Rembrandt transformed the art into a fully realized medium capable of communicating emotional depth rather than favorably immortalizing one’s likeness in the finest trappings of luxury. With more than 80 works spanning paintings, etchings, and drawings, the Dutchman’s lifelong practice of self-portraiture ...
Hailed the “Prince of the Impressionists”, Claude Monet (1840-1926) transformed expectations for the purpose of paint on canvas. Defying the precedent of centuries, Monet did not seek to render only reality, but the act of perception itself. Working “en plein air” with rapid, impetuous brushstrokes, he interrogated the play of light on the hues, patterns, and contours and the way in which these visual impressions fall upon the eye.
Heaven on EarthMasterpieces of botanical illustrationIn pursuit of both knowledge and delight, the craft of botanical illustration has always required not only meticulous draftsmanship but also a rigorous scientific understanding. This new edition of a TASCHEN classic celebrates the botanical tradition and talents with a selection of outstanding works from the National Library of Vienna, including many new images.From Byzantine manuscripts right through to 19th-century master...
Behind the scenes of Nic Roeg’s 1976 sci-fi masterpiece starring David BowieFirst advertised as a “mind-stretching experience,” Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 The Man Who Fell to Earth stunned the cinema world. A tour-de-force of science fiction as art form, the movie brought not only hallucinatory visuals and a haunting exploration of contemporary alienation, but also glam-rock legend David Bowie in his lead role debut as paranoid alien Newton.Based on Walter Tevis’s 1963 sci-fi fable ...
Backstage pass to the Fab FourIn early 1964, photographer Harry Benson received a call from the photo editor of London’s Daily Express, who asked him to cover the Beatles’ trip to Paris. It was the beginning of a career-defining relationship, which would both make Benson’s name and produce some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the Beatles.In Paris, Benson captured the Fab Four in the midst of a pillow fight at the George V Hotel, a spontaneous moment which came ...
Als der Schweizer Galerist Bruno Bischofberger 1983 Andy Warhol, den farbentsättigten Übervater of Pop, und Jean-Michel Basquiat, Shootingstar des Wild-Style!-New-Yorks, zusammenbrachte, war das eher als Marketingag gedacht, doch es funktionierte: Warhol und Basquiat taten sich zusammen, um einander zu lieben, zu achten, voneinander zu profitieren und gemeinsam Kunst zu machen. Die komplexe Beziehung zwischen dem etablierten Altmeister und dem jungen Wilden Basquiat, der sich...
Since the 90s, Sandro Vannini has created complete photographic reproductions that reveal murals and artifacts in unprecedented detail. Marking the centenary of Howard Carters first expedition and a series of international exhibitions, this comprehensive guide combines contemporary understanding of ancient Egyptian afterlife with Vanninis...
The 2010s saw Netflix take on Hollywood, indie movies make history, and Star Wars strike back. Look back on the very best of film from 2011-2020 in this new compendium distilling the big-screen spirit of the decade. Entries featuring stills, detailed synopses, and trivia guide us across the Marvel Universe and through landmark projects such as...
An homage to fashion’s most beloved photographerPeter Lindbergh photographed Dior’s most exceptional muses, Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron among them, and signed campaigns for Lady Dior and J'Adore with his inimitable style. Throughout his career, the photographer was one of the house’s closest collaborators. This final book was an original cocreation that was close to the artist’s heart—and to ours.Seventy years of Dior history projected against the effervescence of Ti...
Deconstructing perspective with Picasso and peersPioneered by Picasso and Braque, Cubism has been described as the first avant-garde art movement of the 20th century. With inspiration from African and Native American art and sculpture, its practitioners deconstructed European conventions of viewpoint, form, perspective to create flattened, fragmented, and revolutionary images.Picasso’s celebrated painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is typically regarded as the original cubist ...
50 of the most legendary and coveted motorcycles of all timeDream Rides: The most spectacular bikes on the planet. From the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller to the 2020 Aston Martin AMB 001, this book lavishly explores 50 of the most desirable motorcycles to have ever sped thrillingly around a circuit or along an open road. From pioneering record-breakers, luxury tourers, and legendary roadracers to GP-winning machines, iconic superbikes, and exotic customs, this book celebrates ...
Zaha Hadid is a wildly controversial architect, who for many years built almost nothing, despite her designs winning prizes and critical acclaim. Some even said her work was unbuildable.Yet over the past decade she has completed numerous structures including the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati (which the New York Times called “the most important new building in America since the Cold War”), the MAXXI Museum in Rome, the Guangzhou Opera House, her first com...