Books

Booksreview

Demanding artists and receptive architects in book about design and function of the studio

This book shows how, from the end of the 19th century to the Second World War, artists collaborated with architects to craft an image of themselves

Hidden daily lives of Hasidic Jews in Jerusalem are captured in marvellous book of photographs

Photographer was given privileged access to document scenes and to make portraits among the people of this conservative group

Culture of chivalry is not quite dead, but it certainly is not what it used to be, new book shows

Essays on the concept are useful for their discussions of arms, heraldry, castles and gardens as well as its long lasting effect on European culture

Book of discarded family pictures reminds us of our mortality

Personal collection of anonymous photographs made from Kodachrome slides shows the transience of our lives

Booksreview

‘If I don’t like your pictures, I can destroy everything': a photographer's intimate—but risky—shoots with Louise Bourgeois

In his new book the photographer Jean-François Jaussaud details how he gained the trust of the late French artist

Methodical, well read and—above all—human: what we learn from the myth-busting edition of Van Gogh’s letters

A decade after the publication of Vincent's trove of correspondence, here is how the remarkable project has contributed to scholarship on his art

a blog by Martin Bailey

Scholarly book on European coronation rituals supplies sound background to 11th-century art history

This book corrects the misleading impression given by historians that the High Middle Ages were a transition to secularisation of the royal state

New York's Morgan Library receives ‘transformational’ trove of manuscripts and bindings

Bequest comes from New York collector Jayne Wrightsman, who amassed an 18th-century library to complement her celebrated French furnishings

New book on Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi aims to be a definitive study—but it's not the last word on the controversial painting

Ahead of the blockbuster at the Musée du Louvre, we get an exclusive first read of the publication written by Martin Kemp, Robert Simon and Margaret Dalivalle

History of Dubrovnik before, during and after Yugoslav Wars is recorded in photo book

Contrast of city's devastated buildings and monuments and some of their remarkable restorations is heartening

Catalogue of Colmar Treasure conjures up picture of 14th-century bourgeois Jewish life in France

Hoard of objects loaned by Paris's Musée de Cluny to the Metropolitan Museum of Art tells a complex tale

Booksreview

Titan of Turin: Italy's greatest interior decorator receives definitive scholarly book

Bertrand de Royere provides a thorough examination of the life the 19th century decorator and furniture designer Pelagio Palagi

Booksreview

Back to scuola: book series provides accessible introduction to Italian and Northern Renaissance art

The five volumes offer a range of perspectives and chronological breadth for budding scholars of the field

'We want the Babylonian Palace of Tiglath-Pileser!': new book reveals Boris Johnson's thwarted vision for new V&A East

Nicholas Coleridge, the chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, tells how Boris laid down the law on his plans for the project

Not all about nudes: volume uncovers new area of Lucian Freud’s work

Best known as a portrait painter, the artist was also fascinated by plant life

Booksreview

National Gallery definitively catalogues 'small but perfectly formed' collection of French 18th century paintings

Humphrey Wine’s lavishly illustrated book details the London museum's 60 authentic works and 12 replicas, copies or pastiches

Stories of New Orleans's opulent cemeteries collected in unusual book of photographs

The urban graveyards of New Orleans are rich in commemorative monuments and sculpture

Booksreview

'The guardian of Vincent’s legacy': new biography details devoted life of Van Gogh's sister-in-law Jo Bonger

Bonger's encounter with Trotsky and her tireless effort to preserve the artist's work are explored in the new book by Hans Luijten

Beyond Europe: book on illuminated manuscripts reveals worldwide nature of the Middle Ages

New academic concept of "Global Middle Ages" explored through a survey of illustrated texts from around the world

Glam rock: alabaster was not medieval England's 'poor man's marble' new book finds

Used in high status projects and throughout the continent, Kim Woods's detailed study challenges misconceptions of the carving rock's status

This ancient book tells you all about the people you hate

This amusingly illustrated edition of Theophrastus’s Characters is as fresh today as it was centuries ago

Booksreview

A clever book for clever people: Marina Warner's sensitive artist essays dimmed by too many words

The brilliance of the scholar's examination of artists such as Paula Rego and Sigmar Polke is evident despite name dropping and verbose language

Booksgallery

Hello, kitties: new book celebrates the work of Walter Chandoha, cat photographer

Taschen publication charts the long and influential career of the late artist who inspired Warhol

Booksreview

The scientific brotherhood: Pre-Raphaelite art put under the microscope

The Victorian artist group explored the connections between art and scientific observation to enhance art’s moral purpose

Booksreview

New catalogue presents virtuosity of Neo-Classicist goldsmith Luigi Valadier

Alvar González-Palacios’s book on the Italian decorator is a peak in his distinguished career

Booksreview

Fit for a king: book lays out the vast scale of the Orléans collection

The second Duke of Orléans’ assembly of his famous art collection may have been a covert preparation for seizing the throne of France

Booksreview

The Arts and Crafts special relationship: how the British movement permeated US design culture

Companion book to an exhibition at the University of Texas at Austin offers new dimensions on the vast subject

This book gives a first-hand account of Second World War art and propaganda

A vivid account of the art arising from the experiences of the artist, George Plante

This catalogue succinctly surveys Leon Kossoff’s London life paintings

Cityscapes and portraits, along with his Old Master transcriptions, feature in this book that accompanies an exhibition at London's Piano Nobile Gallery

Thomas Bernhard’s Old Masters as a graphic novel

The Austrian writer’s bilious attacks are neutralised by the cartoons