Lavishly illustrated volume showcasing nearly 200 objects from the collection of George Loudon relating to the nineteenth-century life sciences, revealing the artistic expression of these historic curiosities.

New York Times Bestseller

"Dolnick brilliantly re-creates the circumstances that made possible one of the most audacious frauds of the 20th century. And in doing so Dolnick plumbs the nature of fraud itself . . . an incomparable page turner." --Boston Globe

As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him centuries later. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren man...

We are no strangers today to visual representations of human suffering at sea: the refugee crisis that continues to play out in the seascape between Europe and Africa (and not only there) yields an ever-growing archive of humanitarian tragedy. As both a visual backdrop and a lethal medium of unequal mobility, maritime space and landscape play a significant role in mediating the ethical demands of this crisis. Yet there has been little exploration of the longer history of morality’s role in ...

A BOOK OF DISCOVERY

"The History of the World's Exploration, From the Earliest Times to the Finding of the South Pole"

A LITTLE OLD WORLD

No story is complete unless it begins at the very beginning. But where is the beginning? Where is the dawn of geographyâ€"the knowledge of our earth? What was it like before the first explorers made their way into distant lands? Every day that passes we are gaining fresh knowledge of the dim and silent past.

Every day men are patiently digging in the...

Discover the dynamic connection between art history and social media

How are the Holy Trinity and social media related? Why do we love colour filters so much? What makes hashtags so powerful? And why do we experience digital images so differently from their analogue counterparts?

In Instagrammable – What Art Tells Us About Social Media, Koenraad Jonckheere delves into the surprising similarities between 2,500 years of European art history and our modern image culture on social media. He rev...

Discover the Enchanting Garden of Rubens

The garden of the Rubenshuis is a hidden gem in the heart of Antwerp. This is where the world-famous artist lived and relaxed with his family and entourage. Here Rubens chatted with Isabella and later with Helena. This is also where he welcomed his guests and where his children played, enveloped in the potent fragrance of orange and lime trees.

Thanks to the colour consultancy of fashion designer Dries Van Noten, visitors can now enjoy 365 days of colo...

How did objects move between places and people, and how did they reshape the Republic’s arts, cultures and sciences?

‘Objects’ were vitally significant for the early modern Dutch Republic, which is known as an early consumer society, a place famous for its exhaustive production of books, visual arts and scientific instruments. What happens when we push these objects and their materiality to the centre of our research? How do they invite us to develop new perspectives on the early moder...

– Antonio Muñoz Molina, El País

"This wonderful and wise book made me look at the artwork without intimidation or any confusion. It is a great pleasure to be guided by the experienced eye of Alejandro Vergara."

— Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

Throughout history, human beings have excelled at creating art of the highest quality. Aristotle wrote that Homer “surpassed all others” while Pliny the Elder referred to “masterpieces that we never tire of admiring�...