Rila Monastery is the stateliest historical monument of the Bulgarian's spirit. It's intricate and expressive architectural ensemble has been a treasure-house of priceless aesthetical relics and at the same time a living center of the nascency and evolution of the most progressive cultural-and-historical processes through the centuries. Viewed against th background of the rich architectural structure and of Bulgaria's church construction, it is not a solitary summit, but beyond all questions the highest one among the peaks of the country's national architecture. A permanent object of patriotic pride and of ... |
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Icon painting in Bulgaria is closely connected with the historical destiny of the Bulgarian people and with Christianity adopted in 865 as official state religion. That was the time of the emergence of a new pictorial system, interpreted and evolved on the basis of a rich ancient artistic heritage of the Graeco-Roman and Thracian cultures, but subordinated to the traditions and lifestyle of the proto-Bulgarian and Slavonic tribes, a fact which makes it so original. The ceramic icons made in the late 9th and early 10th century in Preslav, the capital of the First Bulgarian state and the surrounding monasteries reveal the ... |
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A century after his death, Viennese artist Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. This monograph gathers all of Klimt's major works alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged access to the artist's archive. With top quality illustration, including new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze, the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the Secessionist movement of 1897, his candid rendering of the female body, and his lustrous golden phase when gold leaf brought a shimmering tone and texture to ... |
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Multilingual Edition (English, French, German). ... A survey of Japan's contemporary architecture scene. Japan's contemporary architecture has long been among the most inventive in the world, recognized for sustainability and infinite creativity. No fewer than eight Japanese architects have won the Pritzker Prize. Since Osaka World Expo'70 highlighted contemporary forms, Japan has been a key player in global architecture. Tadao Ando's geometry put Japanese building on the map, bridging East and West. After his concrete buildings, figures like Kengo Kuma, Shigeru Ban, and Kazuyo Sejima pioneered a more ... |
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"This book presents not only the traveler Getov’s absorbing account of Uzbekistan. This is a kaleidoscope of meetings with interesting people, marvelous cultural and natural landmarks, historical references... This book can serve as your tour guidebook if you haven’t visited the country yet, but it is much more than that. You have the accounts of a person who wants to discover what lies underneath the superficial exotics. I can assure you that after four years as a European Union Ambassador in Uzbekistan, I am impressed by the author’s penetrating stories. May this book be as “hospitable” to its readers as the way ... |
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Multilingual Edition: English, French, German. ... Time-travel through the Automobile Age with a collection that puts you in the driver’s seat. 20th Century Classic Cars offers a lush visual history of the automobile, decade by decade, via 400-plus print advertisements from the Jim Heimann Collection. Using imagery culled from a century of auto advertising, this book traces the evolution of the auto from horseless carriage to rocket on wheels and beyond. With an introduction and chapter text by New York Times automotive writer Phil Patton, as well as an illustrated timeline, this volume highlights the technological ... |
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What is an imaginary number? Can two parallel lines ever meet? How can maths help us predict the future? Charting the development of maths around the world from Babylon to Bletchley Park, this book explores big questions like these and explains how the answers help us understand everything from patterns in nature to artificial intelligence. Written in clear English, The Maths Book is packed with short, pithy explanations that cut through the jargon, step-by-step diagrams that untangle knotty theories, memorable quotes, and witty illustrations that play with our ideas about numbers. This diverse and inclusive account of ... |
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An English-language edition of History of Bulgarian Diplomatic Relations. Published in 2005, the book traces back and documents the historical development of Bulgaria's diplomatic relations and the institutions engaged in its foreign policy. The English edition was published by the Bulgarian Bestseller publishing house. History of Bulgarian Diplomatic Relations is authored by Maria Mateeva, and Peter Konstantinov has edited and updated it. ... |
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Over 200 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and conceptual pieces trace the story of modern art's innovation and adventure. With explanatory texts for each work, and essays introducing each of the major modern movements, this is an authoritative overview of the ideas and the artworks that shook up standards, assaulted the establishment, and trailblazed new ideas. A blow-by-blow account of groundbreaking modernism. Most art historians agree that the modern art adventure first developed in the 1860s in Paris. A circle of painters, whom we now know as Impressionists, began painting pictures with rapid, loose brushwork. ... |
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"It is well know to all how much daily problems the Bulgarian people has in these days. However, more dangerous than anything is the tendency to loose identity and national selfconfidence. This is a clearly visible tendency in the inscriptions of foreign languages, mass emigration and the wish for imitation of foreign culture. At other side, the answer to the question, "Why are you ashamed to call youself Bulgarian?" is more than obvious: there is in the present time to be proud of. The above-described situation makes preservation and popularization of Bulgarian History extraordinarily important. If it ... |
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Considered by many to be Dickens' finest novel, Great Expectations traces the growth of the book's narrator, Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dickens' most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Haversham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted room-mate Herbert Pocket and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own 'great expectations' ... |
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An Era of the Invincible. The making of household heroes and mythological universes. It was an age of mighty heroes, misunderstood monsters, and complex villains. With the publication of Fantastic Four No. 1 in November 1961, comics giant Marvel inaugurated a transformative era in pop culture. Through the next two decades, the iconic Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the X-Men leapt, darted, and towered through its pages. Captain America was resurrected from his 1940s deep-freeze and the Avengers became the World’s Greatest Super Heroes. Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and dozens more were added to the pantheon, each with ... |