Long, lazy summer days with heads buried in a book are high on our agenda with wild holidays globe-trotting temporarily being put on hold. We caught up with Taschen for their ultimate summer reading list, five absolute page turners to inspire you.
What Great Paintings Say. 100 Masterpieces in Detail
If you thought these paintings were familiar, look again, and look closer. Part art history, part detective work, this fascinating collection explores 100 world-famous works of art through enlarged details, revealing the fashions and lifestyles, the loves and intrigues, politics and people that truly make a masterpiece. | Available here. £15
Listri. Cabinet of Curiosities
Cabinets of Curiosities fascinated people of the 16th and 17th centuries. From crocodiles, minerals and corals to paintings, ivory trophies, measuring instruments, and incredible automata, it was a glimpse into a world full of natural wonders and treasures that aimed to reflect the order of the universe. This magnificent volume takes us through the world’s most beautiful collections, into the Medici treasury or the Green Vault (Grunes Gewolbe) of Dresden, and offers no less than a brief cultural history of the miraculous. | Available here. £100
Mario Testino. Ciao. Omaggio all’Italia
Venezia, Roma, Napoli, Firenze. This is Italy as we’ve never seen before. By the sea and on the streets, from Torino to Montepulciano, discover an intimate portrait of the Italy that Mario Testino knows and loves. Gathering personal, previously unpublished photographs, this is an ode to Italy’s people, art, food and fashion. | Available here. £60
Naomi Campbell. Updated Edition
Supermodel, entrepreneur, activist, provocateur: Trace the electrifying career of the one and only Naomi Campbell. Updated and published in cooperation with Naomi, this is at once an intimate encounter with a cultural icon and a dazzling journey through fashion’s greatest moments. Jam-packed with unforgettable shoots, magazine covers and video stills, as well as an exclusive text by Naomi. | Available here. £100
Velazquez. The Complete Works
For so many champions of art history, the ultimate sounding board was – and remains – Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez. First available as an XXL volume, this accessible edition presents his complete works in beautiful reproductions, including enlarged details and photography of recently restored paintings. | Available here. £100
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