Best Art Books to Read This Christmas

What better way to get in the holiday spirit than with a good Christmas art book? A mix of classic tales and modern art, these books are sure to please every reader this holiday season. Each one is a perfect gift for displaying and for reading cover to cover. Let’s discover all of the wonderful holiday gift coverage with very special discount right in the below links:

For US readers: 

https://www.kobo.com/p/boxingweek18

https://www.scribd.com/books/Lifestyle/Arts-Languages (particular for Christian titles)

For UK readers: 

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/p/christmas2018

For Australia and New Zealand readers:  

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/p/boxingweek2018ANZ

Besides the list, we also encourage you to pick up a few new releases and make some time to read by the fire.

Angels 

Even today, the splendid appearance of angels remains undiminished. Images of these heavenly and powerful messengers convey protection, innocence and calm, and have been an inspiration to religious artists throughout the history of art. This book illustrates the most impressive representations of angels, from delicate, whimsical cupids to majestic depictions of the archangel Michael, and from medieval to modern times.

 

Christ in Art

Since the dawn of Christianity, artists have been fascinated and stirred by the figure of Christ. His likeness appears in frescoes on the walls of catacombs that date from Roman times; he is featured in the stained glass windows of Gothic churches; and he can be found in various forms in today’s pop culture. The Biblical Saviour is not a static, immaterial deity: Christ’s mortal birth, unusual life and dramatic death make him an accessible subject for religious and secular artists alike.Whether they show the spirituality of God Incarnate or the earthly characteristics of a flesh-and-blood man, artistic depictions of Christ are the most controversial, moving or inspirational examples of religious art.
This richly illustrated book explores the various ways that Christ is rendered in art, from Cimabue’s Nativity scenes and Fra Angelico’s paintings of the Crucifixion to the provocative portraits of Salvador Dalí and Andres Serrano. Author Joseph Lewis French guides the reader through the most iconic representations of Christ in art – tender or graphic, classical or bizarre, these images of the Messiah reveal the diverse roles of the Son of God in the social milieus and personal lives of the artists.

Gothic Art

Gothic art finds its roots in the powerful architecture of the cathedrals of northern France. It is a medieval art movement that evolved throughout Europe over more than 200 years.
Leaving curved Roman forms behind, the architects started using flying buttresses and pointed arches to open up cathedrals to daylight. A period of great economic and social change, the Gothic era also saw the development of a new iconography celebrating the Holy Mary – in drastic contrast to the fearful themes of dark Roman times. Full of rich changes in all of the various art forms (architecture, sculpture, painting, etc.), Gothic art paved the way for the Italian Renaissance and International Gothic movement.