Child of materialism and positivism, Courbet was without a doubt one of the most complex painters of the nineteenth century. Symbolising the rejection of traditions, Courbet did not hesitate to confront the public with the truth by liberating painting of conventional rules. He became from then on the leader of pictorial realism.

"This extraordinary book is the first in a projected series of specialized catalogues documenting the permanent collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. The collection of Italian paintings, a total of sixty works, is a representative one for the years 1300-1800 with significant examples from all major schools." "Each catalogue entry, written by Eliot W. Rowlands, includes a thorough and lively biography on the artist; complete technical notes and a detailed description; a fully documented commentary with a discussion of attribution, date, subject, and function; an exacting list of references that also summarizes the critical history of each work; and a full account of exhibition history and provenance. All the Italian paintings in the Nelson-Atkins collection are reproduced in full color, and there are over 200 black-and-white comparative illustrations."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The impressive collection of 18th-century French paintings at the National Gallery, London, includes important works by Boucher, Chardin, David, Fragonard, Watteau, and many others. This volume presents over seventy detailed and extensively illustrated entries that expand our understanding of these paintings. Comprehensive research uncovers new information on provenance and on the lives of identified portrait sitters. Humphrey Wine explains the social and political contexts of many of the paintings, and an introductory essay looks at the attitude of 18th-century Britons to the French, as well as the market for 18th-century French paintings then in London salerooms. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Odette du Puigaudeau is best known for her major ethnographic work, Arts et Coutumes des Maures, a detailed study, in words and drawings, of the cultural world of the nomads of Mauretania. The present work explains how she came to write it. Barefoot Through Mauretania is an account of her first journey across the country by camel in 1933-4, with her life-long companion, Marion Senones. The book records the adventures of the two women during that year, often with a touch of humour. Above all, however, it presents a picture of a way of life that has, as they feared, almost vanished, and their determination that it should be recorded. Odette du Puigaudeau wrote a number of other books on different aspects of nomad life, such as the salt caravans and date markets, as well as articles on prehistoric rock-drawings, and a charming tribute to her pet leopard, Rachid."