Free summaries
Art — page 11
888 public-domain art books, summarised. Page 11 of 19.
Photo-Lithography
Georg Fritz
This manual serves as a definitive bridge between nineteenth-century photographic science and the practical requirements of the printing press, offering a precise methodology for translating visual art into reproducible stone or metal plates.
The kaleidoscope
David Brewster
A brilliant intersection of geometry and artistry, this foundational text chronicles the invention and mechanics of an instrument that forever changed how we perceive symmetry and light.
Happy England
Marcus B. (Marcus Bourne) Huish
A visual and narrative tribute to a quintessential English landscape, this volume captures the quiet, vanishing beauty of countryside cottages, blooming gardens, and the enduring rhythm of rural life through the lens of a singular artist.
Religion and Art in Ancient Greece
Ernest Arthur Gardner
This exploration examines the profound, shifting relationship between the divine and the sculpted form in the classical world. It traces how Greek religion and art moved from primitive symbolism to sophisticated, human-centered idealism.
A Treatise on Etching
Maxime Lalanne
This is a foundational, practical guide to the art of etching, written by a master of the craft to strip away unnecessary complexity and focus on the essential relationship between the artist’s needle and the copper plate.
American painting and its tradition
John C. Van Dyke
Painting is a craft of the eye and hand, and those who master it build the bedrock upon which all future art must stand. This historical survey chronicles the professionalization of the American painter between 1878 and 1915.
Engravings of Lions, Tigers, Panthers, Leopards, Dogs, &c
Unknown
This collection serves as a visual and critical bridge between the idealized animal portraits of the Old Masters and the rigorous, observation-based naturalism championed by nineteenth-century artists.
Ex Voto: An Account of the Sacro Monte or New Jerusalem at Varallo-Sesia: With Some Notice of Tabachetti's Remaining Work at the Sanctuary of Crea
Samuel Butler
The Sacro Monte at Varallo-Sesia is a remarkable mountain sanctuary where art and faith collide in a series of life-sized terra-cotta tableaux. This guide offers an immersive, idiosyncratic journey through those chapels, blending art criticism with historical investigation.
Van Eyck
J. Cyril M. (James Cyril M.) Weale
This concise study traces the lives and technical evolution of two towering figures of early Netherlandish art, exploring the transition from medieval mysticism to the precise, humanistic realism that defined their legacy.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 35, September, 1860: A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics
Various
This September 1860 issue of a prominent literary magazine captures the intellectual pulse of the mid-nineteenth century. It weaves together diverse threads of American culture, from serious social commentary to the nuances of fiction and literary critique.
The Earlier Work of Titian
Phillips, Claude, Sir
The young mountain boy from Cadore masters the vibrant, sensuous language of Venice, evolving from an apprentice of Giorgione into the unrivaled titan of the High Renaissance.
The Uses of Italic: A Primer of Information Regarding the Origin and Uses of Italic Letters
Frederick W. (Frederick William) Hamilton
Italic type serves as a refined tool for emphasis and distinction in printing. This guide clarifies its origins and establishes the professional standards for its appropriate application in modern composition.
Old and rare Scottish tartans
Donald William Stewart
This scholarly record illuminates the origins and evolution of Highland textiles, tracing the transition from practical, regional patterns to the codified, symbolic clan tartans recognized today.
Photogravure
Henry R. Blaney
This technical manual offers a precise window into the late-nineteenth-century craft of translating light into permanent copper-plate engravings. It serves as both a historical record of a sophisticated artistic process and a practical guide for the dedicated practitioner.
Stained Glass Tours in France
Charles Hitchcock Sherrill
This is a practical, enthusiastic guide for the traveler who wishes to move beyond the surface of French cathedrals to study the hidden, shifting brilliance of their medieval and Renaissance stained glass.
The Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt
W. M. Flinders (William Matthew Flinders) Petrie
Surrounded by vast deserts and harsh sunlight, ancient artisans turned stone, metal, and clay into enduring monuments of human character.
Fifty Great Cartoons
Frank Beard
A provocative collection of editorial cartoons from the turn of the 20th century, these works transform the satirical pen into a sharp instrument for Christian moral instruction and social reform.
War Posters Issued by Belligerent and Neutral Nations 1914-1919
Unknown
A visual archive of the Great War’s propaganda, this collection captures how nations transformed art into a weapon of morale, finance, and recruitment between 1914 and 1919. It serves as both a critique of government messaging and a testament to the power of the printed image.
Blackboard drawing
Frederick Whitney
Mastering the simple, expressive power of chalk allows a teacher to turn a blank slate into a dynamic classroom tool, transforming abstract lessons into vivid, shared visual experiences.
Photographic Amusements, Ninth Edition: Including A Description of a Number of Novel Effects Obtainable with the Camera
Walter E. Woodbury
This collection of early twentieth-century photographic techniques offers a playground for the curious, transforming the camera from a tool of record into an instrument of illusion, wit, and artistic experimentation.
Reminiscences of the South Seas
John La Farge
A painter’s meditative journey through the Pacific, this chronicle captures the vanishing customs and natural splendor of the South Seas at the close of the nineteenth century.
A Child's Guide to Pictures
Charles H. (Charles Henry) Caffin
A painter sitting under a white umbrella converts a sweeping countryside into deliberate patches of flat color. Art, he demonstrates, does not copy nature; it creates an entirely new harmony.
![Cover of John Leech, His Life and Work, Vol. 2 [of 2]](https://cdn.myebooksbuy.com/c/john-leech-his-life-and-work-vol-2-of-2-william-powell-frith.webp)
John Leech, His Life and Work, Vol. 2 [of 2]
William Powell Frith
A artist of gentle humor and keen observation captures the essence of nineteenth-century English life, turning everyday triumphs, social absurdities, and quiet tragedies into an enduring visual record of his era.
Catalogue of a collection of early drawings and pictures of London: With some contemporary furniture
Burlington Fine Arts Club
A curated assembly of historical views and physical artifacts reveals how London transformed from an idealised Tudor capital into a bustling, masonry-bound metropolis of the nineteenth century.
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, No. 03, March 1891: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
A varied anthology of Victorian literature, profiles, and art commentary offers a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century life, storytelling, and public figures.
Modern Illustration
Joseph Pennell
An art form that touches millions every day deserves to be judged by its highest achievements rather than its cheapest manifestations.
The Art of Theatrical Make-up
Cavendish Morton
A quiet study of how grease-paint, paste, and hair transform the human face, this manual turns stagecraft into a fine art of psychological self-transformation.
Watteau
C. Lewis (Charles Lewis) Hind
A delicate painter transforms his own terminal illness into liquid light, capturing the bittersweet transience of human pleasure.
Anecdotes about Authors, and Artists
John Timbs
These collected sketches capture the fleeting, often eccentric moments that define the lives of creators, revealing the human fragility behind enduring works of art and literature. They serve as a cabinet of curiosities, preserving the reputations and follies of the figures who shaped cultural history.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
Various
A grand canvas of nineteenth-century European culture unfolds through high-minded artistic debate, rowdy frontier satire, imperial war reporting, and sharp literary biography.
Dante Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite movement
Esther (of Hampstead) Wood
A revolutionary circle of young artists emerges in nineteenth-century England, seeking to reclaim the purity of nature and the seriousness of the soul against the cold, mechanical traditions of their day.
Impressions of Ukiyo-ye, the school of the Japanese colour-print artists
Dora Amsden
This exploration of Japanese color prints illuminates the vibrant "Floating World," a school of art that turned away from aristocratic formality to capture the spirit and daily life of the common people.
The Decoration of Leather: From the French of Georges de Récy
Georges de Récy
This practical guide demystifies the tactile art of leather decoration, offering a bridge between historical techniques and modern artistic expression. It serves as both a manual for the artisan and a record of a disappearing craft.
The Doré Bible Gallery, Volume 8
Unknown
A central figure moves through teaching, betrayal, and execution, leaving those around him to grapple with the divine and the human in their midst.
The true history of the ghost
John Henry Pepper
This chronicle offers a revealing look behind the curtain at one of the nineteenth century’s most famous optical illusions. It details the mechanical ingenuity and legal rigor required to bring a phantom to the stage.
Correggio: A Collection of Fifteen Pictures and a Portrait of the Painter with Introduction and Interpretation
Estelle M. (Estelle May) Hurll
This collection of masterworks offers a focused window into the luminous, atmospheric world of one of Italy’s most technically daring Renaissance painters. It serves as an accessible bridge for those who find the major art galleries daunting or the history of Parma obscure.
Millais
A. L. (Alfred Lys) Baldry
A master of the brush whose precocious talent ignited a revolution in Victorian art, this painter navigated the tempest of early public scorn to achieve a lifetime of celebrated, commanding success.
One Hundred Cartoons
Unknown
These stark, haunting illustrations capture the mounting horror of the Great War through a lens of biting political satire and profound moral judgment. They stand as a visual archive of a world fracturing under the weight of empire.
The Art of Aubrey Beardsley
Arthur Symons
A life marked by fatal speed and an absolute, uncompromising devotion to the line, this portrait examines the meteoric career of an artist who lived in the shadow of his own impending death.
An embroidery book
Anne Knox Arthur
The needle is an instrument of both utility and artistic expression, capable of transforming simple, humble textiles into objects of enduring beauty through thoughtful design and disciplined technique.
Essays on Life, Art and Science
Samuel Butler
A curious mind navigates the boundaries between biological evolution, art history, and the quiet absurdities of daily existence with sharp, contrarian wit.
Japanese Colour-Prints and Their Designers
Frederick W. Gookin
The vibrant world of Ukiyoé, or the "floating world," reveals an exquisite artistic evolution that captured the everyday joys and theatrical brilliance of a bygone Japan. This survey documents the rise of these master designers, whose ephemeral color prints transformed into enduring masterpieces of composition and…
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 6, May, 1896
Various
A time capsule of the late Victorian era, this collection captures the shifting frontier between traditional craftsmanship and the rapid, often unsettling, arrival of modern science and global political intrigue.
The Relation of Art to Nature
John W. (John Wesley) Beatty
The true purpose of art, stripped of mysticism and myth, is the faithful representation of nature’s inherent character and beauty.
Batik and other pattern dyeing
Walter Davis Baker
A practical guide to the artistry of textile decoration, this work bridges the gap between historical craft traditions and the burgeoning American arts-and-crafts movement of the early twentieth century. It offers a blend of cultural history, technical instruction, and pedagogical theory for those seeking to master…
Gainsborough
Max Rothschild
A young boy’s illicit sketches in the Suffolk woods grow into a towering artistic legacy, defining a golden age of British painting. This account traces the life of a master whose brushwork captured the soul of a nation.
Masters in Art, Part 79, Volume 7, July, 1906: Ingres: A Series of Illustrated Monographs
Unknown
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the 19th-century French master, navigated a volatile career of intense artistic devotion, enduring poverty, and ultimate acclaim. This monograph traces his journey from a struggling artist in Paris to the revered director of the French Academy in Rome.
Puvis de Chavannes
François Crastre
A life dedicated to noble beauty, this account traces the evolution of a painter who endured years of obscurity to eventually redefine monumental art through serenity, synthesis, and a profound devotion to the human form.