BELLAS ARTES

Celebrating the magick of the natural realm, Volume IV of The Library of Esoterica, delves into the symbolism, ceremony, and our ritual relationships with the botanical world. A visual journey through our interdependent evolution with nature, Plant Magick celebrates botanicals as creative muse – from ancient Greek sculptures to Renaissance paintings to visionary art inspired by psychoactive plants, cacti, and mushrooms.Our myths, beliefs, and shared stories are continually reflected in nature; purity represented by the white lily or spiritual awakening by the bloom of the lotus. Our joys and laments are mirrored in the cycle of the seasons, in the seed birthing sprout, or in the dead leaf falling softly from winter branches. Plants, trees, and flowers as signifiers of transition are also deeply embedded within rites of passage rituals across global cultures. Rose petals strewn along the wedding aisle mark the evolution into womanhood and marriage. A wreath of lilies stands sentinel over an open grave. A lover’s bouquet awaits on the doorstep. The wooden May Day pole is circled by girls wearing crowns of woven daisies, celebrating the coming of spring. Birth, unions, and burials – cycles of joyful celebration and deep grieving, all are marked symbolically with herbs, flowers or branches of a tree – the integration of nature into ceremony our method of signifying catharsis.Since time immemorial, plants have also served as potent symbols within the religions of the world; Buddha attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, Eve plucking the Apple of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. From root to vibrant blossom, Plant Magick explores the fertile, interconnected history between plants and people, the multitude of ways in which we embrace plants in spiritual ceremony, as healing medicine, as creative muse and as gateways into deeper explorations of consciousness.

La Plaza, feliz combinación de arquitectura y urbanismo.Un extraordinario viaje por el `Gran archivo de piedra de una comunidad`. La Plaza ha sido una de la más genuina expresión de la libertad de la comunidad, del poder religioso de la iglesia y de la fuerza de los comerciantes y mercaderes...etc. Este libro recoge las mejores fotografías de diferentes Plazas de Europa, América, Asia y Oceania.

En Please, Please Tell Me Now, el reconocido biógrafo de rock Stephen Davis cuenta la historia de Duran Duran. Su apariencia de niños buenos les convirtió en estrellas, pero fue su brillante maestría musical lo que los llevó a una serie de éxitos número uno. A finales de la década habían vendido 60 millones de álbumes; a día de hoy, más de 100 millones. Davis remonta sus raíces al austero malestar británico de la década de los 70. Guapos, británicos y jóvenes, Duran Duran fueron quienes encabezaron el concierto Live Aid y la banda se movía en los círculos más glamurosos: Nick Rhodes (teclista) se hizo cercano a Andy Warhol y a la princesa Diana y John Taylor (bajista) salió con la chica mala por excelencia, Amanda De Cadanet. Con éxitos atemporales como «Hungry Like the Wolf», «Girls on film», «Save A Prayer» o el tema más vendido de James Bond, «A View To a Kill». Con entrevistas exclusivas con la banda y fotos nunca antes publicadas de sus archivos personales, este libro ofrece el relato definitivo de una de las bandas más importantes en la historia de la música.

Con largos años a sus espaldas, el cine de terror guarda en su sombría morada muchos de los grandes momentos de la historia del séptimo arte, ahí está el monstruo de Frankenstein, Norman Bates o el sibarita de Hannibal Lecter para dar fe de ello. En el interior de este libro podrás revivir algunas de las mejores secuencias del género rodadas desde los albores del cine hasta nuestros días, y lo harás en compañía de los directores, actores y equipo técnico que las convirtieron en pequeñas obras de arte, en locuras sangrientas o en verdaderos análisis de la mente humana.

In art history, we tend to be on first name terms only with the most revered of masters. The Renaissance painter and architect Raphael Santi (1483–1520) is one such star. The man we call simply Raphael has for centuries been hailed as a supreme Renaissance artist. For some, he even outstrips his equally famous, equally first-named, contemporaries, Leonardo and Michelangelo. From 1500 to 1508, Raphael worked throughout central Italy, particularly in Florence where he secured his reputation as a painter of portraits and beautifully rendered Madonnas, archetypical icons within the Catholic faith. In 1508 he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II and later embarked on an ambitious mural scheme for the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. Within this room, Raphael’s The School of Athens is considered a paradigm of the High Renaissance, merging Classical philosophy with perfected perspectival space, animated figures, and a composition of majestic balance. This essential introduction explores how in just two decades of work, Raphael painted his way to legendary greatness. With highlights from his prolific output, it presents the mastery of figures and forms that secured his place not only in the trinity of Renaissance luminaries but also among the most esteemed artists of all time.