Series: 45th Edition

The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though scientists of his era often collected natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) was unrivalled in his passion. His amazing collection of animals, plants, and insects from all...

The idea of climbing a tree for shelter, or just to see the earth from another perspective, is as old as humanity. In this neat TASCHEN edition, take a tour of some of our finest arboreal adventures with the most beautiful, inventive, and enchanting tree houses around the world. From romantic to contemporary, and from famed architects to little-known craftsmen,...

Only 20 paintings and eight drawings are confidently assigned to Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), yet their fantastical visions have secured his place as one of the most cult artists in history. Five hundred years after his death, his works continue to inspire scholars, artists, designers, and musicians, influencing everything from death metal band names to designer dresses. This...

Dream Rides: The most spectacular bikes on the planet. From the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller to the 2020 Aston Martin AMB 001, Motorcycles. 45th Ed. lavishly explores 50 of the most desirable motorcycles to have ever sped thrillingly around a circuit or along an open road. From pioneering record-breakers, luxury tourers, and legendary roadracers to GP-winning machines, iconic superbikes, and...

More than 100 years ago, brothers Adolf ("Adi") and Rudolf Dassler crafted their first pair of sports shoes. Hundreds of groundbreaking designs, epic moments, and star-studded collaborations later, this book presents a visual review of the adidas shoe through almost 200 models. To further develop and tailor his products to athletes' specific needs, Dassler asked them to return their worn...

Climate, environment, history, and technology are transforming architecture worldwide. The second volume in the Homes for Our Time series documents this housing revolution and raises questions: What role do homes play in our endangered world? How can they innovate?In Sri Lanka, Palinda Kannangara created the Frame Holiday Structure on a budget of $ 40,000. Built from steel scaffolding, exposed brick,...

A building by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is at once unmistakably individual and evocative of an entire era. Notable for their exceptional harmony with their environment, as well as for their use of steel and glass to revolutionize the interface of indoor and outdoor, Wright's designs helped announce the age of modernity, as much as they secured his place in...

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein Our everyday lives are filled with a massive flow of information that we must interpret in order to understand the world we live in. Considering the complex variety of data floating around us, sometimes the best-or even only-way to communicate is visually. This unique book presents...

Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644-1720) did-commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder.Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope,...

Swiss artist HR Giger (1940-2014) is most famous for his creation of the space monster in Ridley Scott's 1979 horror sci-fi film Alien, which earned him an Oscar. Yet this was just one of the most popular expressions of Giger's biomechanical arsenal of creatures, which consistently merged hybrids of human and machine into images of haunting power and dark psychedelia....

Sky-high, ornate, and the pinnacle of glamour, both restrictive and liberating, art object and deeply ordinary, shoes tell the story of shifting attitudes toward desire, power, and wealth throughout history. Lace up for a journey through the most enviable shoe closet from the permanent collection at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology-and four centuries of fashion's hardest working...

The kind of fame and success The Rolling Stones have achieved in their 60-plus year career is without parallel; their most famous riffs and catchiest lyrics are indelibly engraved in our collective memory. With their mesmerizing on- and off-stage presence, the Stones set the standard for how a rock band should sound, pose, pout, and behave. They were the first...

First advertised as a "mind-stretching experience," Nicolas Roeg's 1976 The Man Who Fell to Earth stunned the cinema world. A tour-de-force of science fiction as art form, the movie brought not only hallucinatory visuals and a haunting exploration of contemporary alienation, but also glam-rock legend David Bowie in his lead role debut as paranoid alien Newton. Based on Walter Tevis's...

The earliest forms of human creativity - in carvings, markings, and cave paintings - bear witness to humanity's engagement with color. Almost as old as these examples is the desire to assign structure, order, and meaning to this universal yet elusive concept, and it is this fascination that unites the works compiled in this expansive edition.Gathering over 40 rare books...

From Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood, more than a century's worth of fashion greats are celebrated in this new edition of Fashion Designers A–Z. This accessibly priced and updated volume features photographs of hundreds of garments selected from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Museum's permanent collection. Elegant gowns...

Through the turbulent passage of time, graphic design-with its vivid, neat synthesis of image and idea-has distilled the spirit of each age. Surrounding us every minute of every day, from minimalist packaging to colorful adverts, smart environmental graphics to sleek interfaces: graphic design is as much about transmitting information as it is about reflecting society's cultural aspirations and values.With his...

Contemporary Japanese Architecture. 45th Ed. by Philip Jodidio explores Japan's architectural innovation, known globally for its sustainability and limitless creativity. Remarkably, eight Japanese architects have won the Pritzker Prize, highlighting the country's significant impact on world architecture. Since the Osaka World Expo '70 showcased contemporary architectural forms, Japan has emerged as a vital player in global architecture. Tadao Ando's geometric...

Among the women artists who have transcended art history, none had a meteoric rise quite like Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). Her unmistakable face, depicted in over fifty extraordinary self-portraits, has been admired by generations. Along with hundreds of photographs taken by notable artists such as Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, and Martin Munkácsi, they made Frida Kahlo...

Climate, environment, history, and technology are transforming architecture worldwide. The second volume in the Homes for Our Time series documents this housing revolution and raises questions: What role do homes play in our endangered world? How can they innovate?In Sri Lanka, Palinda Kannangara created the Frame Holiday Structure on a budget of $ 40,000. Built from steel scaffolding, exposed brick,...

From Edouard Manet's portrait of naturalist writer Émile Zola sitting among his Japanese art finds to Van Gogh's meticulous copies of the Hiroshige prints he devotedly collected, 19th-century pioneers of European modernism made no secret of their love of Japanese art. In all its sensuality, freedom, and effervescence, the woodblock print is single-handedly credited with the wave of japonaiserie that...

Loved by travellers for its lush tropical scenery and charming people, Bali is one of the most magnificent places on Earth. Spirituality and nature are integral parts of everyday life for the Balinese, so one can easily see why the island's traditional architecture has a peaceful presence to it, mimicking its surroundings and sometimes blending in with them. When it...

Under the burning Tuscan sun roll marvellous hills, vineyards, and olive groves—all postcard-perfect landscapes nestling centuries-old towns, rural villas, and contadino farmhouses. We've tracked down the best examples of such havens to paint a warm-hued picture of the look and feel of Tuscan living. Follow in Michelangelo's footsteps to the Eremo Santa Maria Maddalena, a medieval hermitage nestled in the...

In pursuit of both knowledge and delight, the craft of botanical illustration has always required not only meticulous draftsmanship but also a rigorous scientific understanding. This new edition of a TASCHEN classic celebrates the botanical tradition and talents with a selection of outstanding works from the National Library of Vienna, including many new images. From Byzantine manuscripts right through to...

Album art is indelibly linked to our collective musical memories; when you think of your favourite albums, you picture the covers. Many photographers, illustrators, and art directors have become celebrities from their album artworks—the best examples of which will go down in history as permanent fixtures in popular culture. Paying tribute to this art form, Rock Covers brings you a...

Scandinavian Design. 45th Ed. delves into the world-renowned, democratic designs of Scandinavia, characterised by the seamless integration of craftsmanship with industrial production, and the perfect synergy between organic forms and everyday functionality. This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth exploration of Scandinavian design, covering a wide range of mediums including furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, metalware, and product design from 1900...

Despite numbering at just 35, his works have prompted a New York Times best seller; a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth; record visitor numbers at art institutions from Amsterdam to Washington, DC; and special crowd-control measures at the Mauritshuis, The Hague, where thousands flock to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic and enchanting Girl with a Pearl Earring,...

On November 18, 1928, the world's most famous Mouse made his very first public debut. Today, we celebrate 90+ years of Mickey in one of the most expansive illustrated publications on the Disney universe. Starting with the first sketches of a character who was almost named Mortimer, we trace the career of Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks's most famous creation,...

Across small cottages and lavish villas, beach houses, and forest refuges, discover the world's finest crop of new homes. This cutting-edge global digest features talents such as Shigeru Ban and Marcio Kogan alongside up-and-coming names like Aires Mateus, Xu Fu-Min, Vo Trong Nghia, Desai Chia, and Shunri Nishizawa. Here, there are homes in Australia and New Zealand, from China and...

Though it lies just across the Mediterranean from Europe, barely a stone's throw from Spain's southernmost tip, Morocco couldn't possibly be farther away. With its mountainous and desert landscapes, labyrinthine souks, delectable cuisine, exquisite rugs and textiles, vibrant mosaics, fragrant odours, mesmerizing music, and welcoming people, Morocco is a most alluring and tantalisingly exotic destination. Digging a little deeper into...

German photography pioneer Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) photographed plants so beautifully, and with such originality, that his work transcends the medium itself. Over more than 30 years, he took thousands of photographs, revealing a formally rigorous talent whose precision and dedication bridge the 19th- and 20th-century worlds of image-making and bring a distinctly sculptural aspect to a firmly two-dimensional art form....

On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794-1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was carried to his grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. The fronds were a reference to his groundbreaking Natural History of Palms: a work in three volumes, published between 1823 and 1853....

Since TASCHEN released The Great American Pin-up, international interest in this distinctly American art form has increased exponentially. Paintings by leading artists such as Alberto Vargas, George Petty, and Gil Elvgren that sold for $2,000 in 1996 are going for $200,000 and more today. Pin-up drawings, paintings, and pastels of an idealised female face and figure intended for public display...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), with his timelessly charming paintings, continues to reflect our ideals of happiness, love, and beauty. Derived from our large-format volume, the most comprehensive retrospective of his work published to date, this compact edition examines the personal history and motivation behind the legend. Although he initially began painting landscapes in the Impressionist style, Renoir found his true affinity...

Decades' worth of images have been distilled down to 512 pages of photographs in this ultimate retrospective collection of Nobuyoshi Araki's work, selected by the artist himself. First published as a Limited Edition and now back in a new format to celebrate TASCHEN's 40th anniversary, the curation delves deep into Araki's best-known imagery: Tokyo street scenes; faces and foods; colourful,...

Caravaggio, or more accurately Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), was a legend even in his own lifetime. Notorious bad boy of Italian painting, the artist was at once celebrated and controversial: violent in temper, precise in technique, a creative master, and a man on the run. This edition offers a comprehensive reassessment of Caravaggio's entire œuvre with a catalogue raisonné...

The Case Study House program (1945-1966) was an exceptional, innovative event in the history of American architecture and remains to this day unique. The program, which concentrated on the Los Angeles area and oversaw the design of 36 prototype homes, sought to make available plans for modern residences that could be easily and cheaply constructed during the postwar building boom....

The legend of Jean-Michel Basquiat is as strong as ever. Synonymous with 1980s New York, the artist first appeared in the late 1970s under the tag SAMO, spraying caustic comments and fragmented poems on the walls of the city. He appeared as part of a thriving underground scene of visual arts and graffiti, hip hop, post-punk, and DIY filmmaking, which...

By the late 19th century, trademarks began to replace traditional emblems, like coats of arms, as identifying symbols for companies. At first, logos tended to be figurative, but over time they morphed into the abstract marks that we see everywhere today. Yet many iconic brands—like Rolex, BMW, Louis Vuitton, and the New York Yankees—still use logos designed 100 years ago....

"The way men are seen in photography, in fashion, and the way that men look at pictures of themselves has changed in recent years. It is a subject that has come into focus: The masculine image, a man's personal style, changing attitudes to the male face and body." - Mario Testino From Rio to London, Cusco to Seville, Mario Testino...

Fantasy art, that colourful blend of myth, muscle, and sexy maidens, took off in 1923 with the launch of Weird Tales magazine. It was reinvigorated in the 1960s with The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian paperbacks with Frank Frazetta covers, and the late '60s emergence of fantasy psychedelia. It saw significant growth in the '70s with the role-playing...

Peter Lindbergh photographed Dior's most exceptional muses, Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron among them, and signed campaigns for Lady Dior and J'Adore with his inimitable style. Throughout his career, the photographer was one of the house's closest collaborators. This final book was an original co-creation that was close to the artist's heart—and to ours. Seventy years of Dior history projected...

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...

The Polaroid Corporation's photography collection is the greatest portfolio of Polaroid images in the world. Begun by Polaroid founder Edwin Land and photographer Ansel Adams, the collection now includes some 23,000 images by hundreds of photographers throughout the world, including pieces by the likes of David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and Jeanloup Sieff. The Polaroid Book dives into these archives, paying...

Like hardly any other artist of his generation, Wolfgang Tillmans has shaped our perception of the world. From early portraits of his friends to still lifes, travel shots, nudes, landscape and sky photographs, to his abstract work, Tillmans has created a multitude of iconic works in his unmistakable visual language, opening up new paths and possibilities for both photography and...

Toward the end of his monumental career as a painter, sculptor, and lithographer, an elderly, sickly Matisse was unable to stand and use a paintbrush for long. In this late phase of his life—he was almost 80 years of age—he developed the technique of "carving into color," creating bright, bold paper cut-outs. Though dismissed by some contemporary critics as the...

As sensitive to human suffering as to the simple pleasures of life, Robert Doisneau is one of the most celebrated exponents of the Photographie humaniste that swept through the 1950s. Cherished in particular for his soulful portraits of Paris, Doisneau demonstrated a unique ability to find—and perfectly frame—charismatic characters, entertaining episodes, and fleeting moments of humour and affection. A summation...

One of the most creative minds of the 20th century, Walt Disney built a unique and unrivalled imaginative universe. Like scarcely any other classics of cinema, his astonishing collection of animated cartoons revolutionised storytelling on screen and enchant to this day across geographies and generations. This expansively illustrated publication on Disney animation gathers hundreds of images as well as essays...

Vices or virtues: drinking and smoking provided marketers with products to be forged into visual feasts. In this lush compendium of advertisements, we explore how depictions of these commodities spanned from the elegant to the offbeat, revealing how manufacturers prodded their customers throughout the 20th century to imbibe and inhale. Each era's alcohol and tobacco trends are exuberantly captured page...

After Egon Schiele (1890-1918) freed himself from the shadow of his mentor and role model Gustav Klimt, he had just ten years to inscribe his signature style into the annals of modernity before the Spanish flu claimed his life. Being a child prodigy quite aware of his own genius and a passionate provocateur, this didn't prove to be too big...

Pop artist, painter of modern life, landscape painter, master of colour, explorer of image and perception – for six decades, David Hockney has been known as an artist who always finds new ways of exploring the world and its representational possibilities. He has consistently created unforgettable images: works with graphic lines and integrated text in the Swinging Sixties in London;...

Elected the architectural book of the year by the International Artbook and Film Festival in Perpignan, France, Frédéric Chaubin's Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed explores 90 buildings in 14 former Soviet Republics. Each of these structures expresses what Chaubin considers the fourth age of Soviet architecture, an unknown burgeoning that took place from 1970 until 1990. Contrary to the 1920s and...

Following the success of Jazz Covers, this epic volume of groove assembles over 500 legendary covers from a golden era in Black music. Psychedelia meets Black Power, sexual liberation meets social conscience, and street portraiture meets fantastical comic art in this dazzling anthology of visualised funk and soul. Gathering both classic and rare covers, the collection celebrates each artwork's ability...

The life of Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man, he joined the Catalonian nationalist movement and was critical of the church. Toward the end of his life, he devoted himself completely to the construction of one single spectacular church, La Sagrada Família. In his youth, he courted a glamorous social life and the...

With an inspirational richness and diversity of styles, these homes, residences, hideaways, and studios will astound and astonish, no matter the taste; be it rustic country cottage, New York-style loft, or bohemian bungalow. This survey of contemporary interior design carefully curates homes from all over the world—from Auckland, New Zealand, to Avignon, France. Mapped out through hundreds of images by...

From the legendary Tank Girl to live-action animations with Gorillaz, a Chinese contemporary opera to an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, artist Jamie Hewlett is one of the most energetic figures of contemporary pop culture. With influences ranging from hip hop to zombie slasher movies, Hewlett emerged in the mid-1990s as co-creator of the zeitgeist-defining Tank Girl comic. With then-roommate...

Buried in the 14th century BC but unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922, the objects entombed with Tutankhamun are an invaluable window into a long-extinct belief system. Seen today, they create an intricate picture of how the ancient Egyptian people viewed the perilous journey to paradise, a utopian Egypt that could only be entered following the final judgment. When acclaimed...

Rich colours and woven textiles form a unique design aesthetic, crafted by the union of local Aztec and Mayan cultures and Spanish influences. Bold pigments and vivid patterns come together in simple and rustic spaces, resulting in a way of living that is both invigorating and homely; an authentic Mexican style. The dynamic writer and photographer duo Barbara and René...

From the mighty halls of ancient Alexandria to the coffered ceilings of the Morgan Library in New York, human beings have had a long, enraptured relationship with libraries. Like no other concept and like no other space, the collection of knowledge, learning, and imagination offers a sense of infinite possibility. It's the unrivaled realm of discovery, where every faded manuscript...

It was on a Malibu beach in 1988 that Peter Lindbergh shot the White Shirts series, images now known the world over. Simple yet seminal, the photographs introduced us to Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Rachel Williams, Karen Alexander, Tatjana Patitz, and Estelle Lefébure. This marked the beginning of an era that redefined beauty, and Lindbergh would go on to alter...

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was a German-born biologist, naturalist, evolutionist, artist, philosopher, and doctor who spent his life researching flora and fauna from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean. A vociferous supporter and developer of Darwin's theories of evolution, he denounced religious dogma, authored philosophical treatises, gained a doctorate in zoology, and coined scientific terms which have passed into common...

Frank Frazetta has reigned as the undisputed king of fantasy art for 50 years, his fame only growing in the years since his death. With his paintings now breaking auction records (Egyptian Queen sold for $5.4 million in 2019), he's long overdue for this ultimate monograph. Born to a Sicilian immigrant family in Brooklyn, 1928, Frazetta was a minor league...

From the moment Star Wars burst onto the screen in 1977, audiences have been in equal parts fascinated and appalled by the half-man/half-machine hybrid, Darth Vader. In 1999, creator George Lucas began the story of how Anakin Skywalker grew up to train as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, found love with the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, before turning to...

Star Wars exploded onto our cinema screens in 1977, and the world has not been the same since. After watching depressing and cynical movies throughout the early 1970s, audiences enthusiastically embraced the positive energy of the Star Wars galaxy as they followed moisture farmer Luke Skywalker on his journey through a galaxy far, far away. Meeting extraordinary characters like the...

Zaha Hadid (1950 - 2016) was a revolutionary architect. For years, she was widely acclaimed and won numerous prizes despite building practically nothing. Some even said her work was simply impossible to build. Yet, during the latter years of her life, Hadid's daring visions became a reality, bringing a new and unique architectural language to cities and structures such as...

Discover the unique aesthetic of Tadao Ando, the only architect ever to have won the discipline's four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize. This collection spans the breadth of Ando's entire career, including such stunning new projects as the Shanghai Poly Grand Theater and the Roberto Garza Sada Center in Monterrey, Mexico. Each project is...

Since the dawn of modernism, visual and music production have had a particularly intimate relationship. From Luigi Russolo's 1913 Futurist manifesto L'Arte dei Rumori (The Art of Noise) to Marcel Duchamp's 1925 double-sided discs Rotoreliefs, the 20th century saw ever more fertile exchange between sounds and shapes, marks and melodies, and different fields of composition and performance. In Francesco Spampinato's...

Ellen von Unwerth was a supermodel before the term was invented, so she knows a thing or two about photographing beautiful women. Now one of the world's most original and successful fashion photographers, she pays homage to the world's most delectable females in Fräulein. This celebration of our era's sexiest female icons includes Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis, Britney...

Originally from Vienna, Richard Neutra came to America early in his career, settling in California. His influence on postwar architecture is undisputed, the sunny climate and rich landscape being particularly suited to his cool, sleek modern style. Neutra had a keen appreciation for the relationship between people and nature; his trademark plate glass walls and ceilings, which turn into deep...

"It's dangerous to be an honest man." Michael Corleone, Godfather III As special photographer on the sets and locations of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, Steve Schapiro had the remarkable experience of witnessing legendary actors giving some of their most memorable performances. Schapiro immortalised Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton in...

Part design history, part trip down musical memory lane, this anthology of jazz album artwork is above all a treasure trove of creative and cultural inspiration. Spanning half a century, it assembles the most daring and dynamic jazz cover designs that helped make and shape not only a musical genre but also a particular way of experiencing life. From the...

Flower painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) devoted himself exclusively to capturing the diversity of flowering plants in watercolour paintings which were then published as copper engravings, with careful botanical descriptions. The darling of wealthy Parisian patrons including Napoleon's wife Josephine, he was dubbed "the Raphael of flowers," and is regarded to this day as a master of botanical illustration. This collection...