Born in 1912, in a small town in Wyoming, Jackson Pollock embodied the American dream as the country found itself confronted with the realities of a modern era replacing the fading nineteenth century. Pollock left home in search of fame and fortune in New York City. Thanks to the Federal Art Project he quickly won acclaim, and after the Second World War became the biggest art celebrity in America. For De Kooning, Pollock was the "icebreaker." For...

Opium, once used for ritual purposes, is a substance, which dulls pain and offers access to an artificial world, and has long been idealized by artists and markets. Baudelaire, Picasso, and Dickens were all inspired to create by the blue clouds of smoke. Known as either a sacred drug or the worst of poisons, opium rapidly became popular in Great Britain and a source of commerce with Imperial China. This illustrated work presents the history and quasi-religious...

In the Middle Ages, navigation relied upon a delicate balance between art and science. Whilst respecting the customs and the precautions of their forbearers, sailors had to count on their knowledge of the stars, the winds, the currents, and even of migratory flights. They also used hand-painted maps, which, although certainly summary, were marvellously well-drawn. In following the saga of old sailors, from Eric Le Rouge to Robert Peary, Donald Wigal...

En el comienzo, el lienzo es blanco, vacío; luego el inicio cauteloso, y, después, el vertido de la pintura del tarro sobre el blanco de la superficie... Hans Namuth Nacido en 1912 en un pequeño pueblo de Wyoming, Estados Unidos, Jackson Pollock encarnó el sueño americano en el momento en que el país se enfrentaba a las realidades de la era moderna, que apenas empezaba a reemplazar al concluido siglo XIX. Como en una novela, Pollock abandonó...

Paul Klee nació en 1879 en Münchenbuchsee, Suiza, y creció en una familia de músicos. En vez de seguir la tradición musical de la familia, decidió estudiar arte en la academia de Munich. Sin embargo, el amor que durante su niñez sintió por la música siempre fue parte importante en su vida y su obra. En 1911 Klee conoció a Alexei Javlensky, Vasily Kandinsky, August Macke, Franz Marc y otras figuras de vanguardia y participó en importantes...

Sargent was born in Florence, in 1856, the son of cultivated parents. When Sargent entered the school of Carolus-Duran he attained much more than the average pupils. His father was a retired Massachusetts gentleman, having practiced medicine in Philadelphia. Sargent's home life was penetrated with refinement, and outside it were the beautiful influences of Florence, combining the charms of sky and hills with the wonders of art in the galleries and...