The papers in this volume were presented at the CATS international technical art history conference Trading Paintings and Painters' Materials 1550-1800 which explored international markets for paintings and artists' materials in the early modern period and their implications for artistic production. Questions central to these papers include: did preferences exist for artists' materials and paintings from specific geographical areas in particular places and if so why? How did the import of painting materials and artworks impact local production, connoisseurship and art theory? In what conditions were these artists' materials and finished artworks produced and traded in early modern Europe and beyond? The lavishly illustrated contributions in this volume deal with the above questions and shed light on different trades, products, countries and timeframes by combining a large variety of methods and sources, including visual analyses, written sources, pigment analyses and archaeological excavations. This fourth CATS Proceedings will be of interest to scholars and students, museum professionals, curators, conservators, art historians and conservation scientists.

A “heroic” biography of John Cage and his “awakening through Zen Buddhism”—“a kind of love story” about a brilliant American pioneer of the creative arts who transformed himself and his culture (The New York Times) Composer John Cage sought the silence of a mind at peace with itself—and found it in Zen Buddhism, a spiritual path that changed both his music and his view of the universe. “Remarkably researched, exquisitely written,” Where the Heart Beats weaves together “a great many threads of cultural history” (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings) to illuminate Cage’s struggle to accept himself and his relationship with choreographer Merce Cunningham. Freed to be his own man, Cage originated exciting experiments that set him at the epicenter of a new avant-garde forming in the 1950s. Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Allan Kaprow, Morton Feldman, and Leo Castelli were among those influenced by his ‘teaching’ and ‘preaching.’ Where the Heart Beats shows the blossoming of Zen in the very heart of American culture.

A stunning introduction to the material culture of some of the great civilizations of Asia Iran was the home of some of the greatest civilizations of both the ancient and medieval worlds, but these achievements remain poorly known and largely misunderstood outside the country. Epic Iran tells the story of Iran from pre-Islamic through modern times and provides an opportunity to see pieces from key museum and private collections. This book combines the ancient and Islamic periods and continues the narrative into the contemporary world. It shows how civilized life emerged in Iran around 3,200 BC and how a distinctive Iranian identity formed 2,500 years ago has survived until today, expressed in the Persian language and in religious affiliations. Lavishly illustrated, some 250 images showcase pieces including goldwork, ceramics, glass, illustrated manuscripts, textiles, carpets, oil paintings, drawings, and photographs. Alongside the historical sweep are examples from contemporary artists and makers, demonstrating the rich antecedents still influencing some modern-day practitioners.

2016 marks exactly 500 years since the English humanist and statesman Thomas More published in the city Leuven his world-famous book Utopia. Leuven is celebrating this milestone with a major city festival featuring exhibitions, street art, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, lectures and city walks. The cornerstone is the international, art historical exhibition 'In Search of Utopia' at M - Museum Leuven. The festival will officially start on Monday, 26 September 2016 after a festive opening weekend on 24 and 25 September and will end on 17 January 2017. In the book 'In Search of Utopia' the reader is introduced to the world of More and his friends, with the ideals and dreams of the times. The desire of far-away horizons and the cobweb of new sciences that patiently layed upon the reality. Magnificent works of the 15th- and 16th Century artists: Quinten Metsijs, Hans Holbein, Jan Gossaert en Albrecht Dürer are being brought together in this exciting and intriguing story. It shows in an unexceeded way the imagination of an ideal world.

A beautiful book that reveals the world of art collecting from home, featuring exquisite examples of Hollingsworth and Morris family furniture. Start with House, Finish with a Collection is the story of how a couple's use of American art and antiques evolved from furnishing a house into a full-blown passion for collecting. Featuring exquisite examples of Hollingsworth and Morris family furniture, Weber boxes, Pennsylvania clocks and Kirk-Stieff silver, as well as American paintings by the Peale family, Edward Hicks, Edward Redfield and Horace Pippin, this museum-calibre collection reveals a pride in the early American sensibility. The combination of text and extraordinary photographs traces this remarkable journey and demonstrates that life can be more than comfortable living among these collections. The compendium catalogues the diversified and important collection, making this a valuable scholarly reference as well as a reading pleasure.

"Throughout his long career, Henri Matisse (1869-1954) continually expanded the boundaries of his art. By repeating images in pairs, trios, and series, he conducted an ongoing dialogue with his earlier works in order to, as he put it, "push further and deeper into true painting." In this fresh approach to a much-studied artist, prominent scholars from the United States and Europe examine more than sixty works in concise chapters that focus on this aspect of Matisse's working process. From early pairs such as Young Sailor I and II (1906) and Le Lexe I and II (1907-8) through a series of late studio scenes from Vence (1946-48), Matisse is shown revisiting a given theme with the aim of devising innovative, often radical, solutions to such problems as how to portray light, handle paint, select colors, and manipulate perspective. New technical studies of the early paired works and photographs documenting the evolution of his later paintings help to elucidate Matisse's complex evolution. In numerous excerpts from letters and interviews, he is revealed as an artist who regularly questioned himself and his methods, a man of powerful intellect who regarded each new painting as an adventure. A significant addition to art historical literature, Matisse: In Search of True Painting is a revelatory study of a seminal figure in 20th-century modernism."--Page 4 of cover.