The volumes in this bibliophile series provide unique portraits of European art history. Readers gain fascinating insights into the artists' biographies and their styles of working. Durer and his famous portraits and altarpieces, the vivid farm scenes of Pieter Bruegel, the great painters of the Italian Renaissance, the symphonies in colour of Titian, the mysterious chiaroscuro paintings of Caravaggio, the rococo worlds of Antoine Watteau and the great historical paintings created by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Competent texts illustrate the decisive stages in the artists' lives and the development of their styles, explaining their impact against the background of their social context as well as their significance for following generations of artists. Plentiful large-sized illustrations showcase each artist's oeuvre. Each volume contains a comprehensive appendix providing information on the artists' biographies in tabular form as well as an extensive bibliography. Each of the authors of the individual volumes is renowned in his or her field.

"His imagination was so powerful, that his hands were unable to execute the great and awesome ideas which were portrayed in his soul, so that he often abandoned or spoiled work he had started. I know, for example, that shortly before his death he burned many of the sketches, drafts and cartoons by his own hand so that no one would discover the efforts he had made and the difficulties against which he had pitted his talent, in order never to present himself other than perfect."
Giorgio Vasari

-ILLUSTRATIONS : Approx. 150 mainly colour