what books to offer to Art and architecture lovers?

1 History of Art, Meeting the Renaissance painters of the 19th century, François Maret

Transmission is an art, and François Maret, professor of visual arts and art history, understands that well! In History of art, Meeting painters, the teacher and comic book writer intends to convey his love for art by returning to the main artistic trends, as well as their leading figures, through a lively and amusing feature.

Between reproduction of the most emblematic artistic works, and staging of the artists, François Maret offers a comic strip which takes us back to the past with humor and passion. Above all, with this edition, it gives art enthusiasts and novices alike the opportunity to (re)discover the history of art like never before!

2 Faces to the wall, the portrait in urban artby Cyrille Gouyette

Urban art is increasingly invading our streets; an all-out contemporary creation that Cyrille Gouyette has chosen to compile in Facing the wall by questioning in particular the art of portraiture. Long confined to the homes of the elite and museums, before being abandoned, it is on the walls of our cities that the portrait is reborn today. A new trend that Cyrille Gouyette deciphers in this beautiful work published by Alternatives.

In the age of selfies and the oppressive need to take a photo of oneself, the portrait, and more particularly the urban portrait, is intruding more and more into our society. Several artists thus reappropriate historical figures, while imagining new icons on unique supports which require increased mastery, and have sociological and symbolic significance.

In Facing the wallCyrille Gouyette explores this trend through memory markers, different typologies, but also staging mechanisms, or even the reappropriation of more modern portrait techniques. A very rich panel illustrated with impressive images which shows a new form of art, accessible to everyone.

3 Regardsunder the direction of Quentin Bajac

For its 70th anniversary, Fnac has revealed part of its photographic collection in a beautiful book. Closely linked to the 9th art, the brand wanted to make its anniversary a special occasion in order to look back on a century of images. In a fascinating panorama looking back at the greatest photographs of the 20th century, Regards shows photos by Brassaï and Martin Parr, while Annie Leibovitz rubs shoulders with the creations of Williams Klein, and even those of Robert Capa.

Directed by Quentin Bajac, art historian and director of the Jeu de Paume, this volume invites pure contemplation. Through a chapter organized by theme, accompanied by some explanatory texts, readers will be able to discover clichés that are as cult as they are new in order to let themselves be captivated by their own interpretation of the image.

Over 300 pages, the book published by Editions Gallimard compiles a collection of 250 photographs in black and white or color, testifying to the evolution of this fascinating medium, witness through its lens, to the evolution of our world.

4 The Gallery of Florence told by Alexandre Dumasby Jocelyn Fiorina and Cristina Farnetti

On the occasion of the Christmas holidays, the publishing house du Chêne has unearthed a true treasure of literature and art. Published in a box set comprising seven volumes – although only a few copies remained – this volume retraces the history of the Medici, but above all eight centuries of painting in Italy, from the pen of Alexandre Dumas.

It was during a trip to Italy in 1840, alongside his wife, that the writer of Three Musketeers began writing a text devoted to the Medici collections and the founders of the famous Uffizi Gallery. From this first text will be born a real collection, plunging its readers into the heart of the history of art. From the beginnings in Egypt and Greece, to the paintings exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery through the artists of the Renaissance, the author retraces in this exhumed collection, and augmented by original works in color as well as unpublished texts from experts, the cultural history of Florentine Italy. A release which could offer a new look at the work of the famous author, but above all create an event during the Christmas holidays for lovers of art, history and literature.

5 Rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris, by Mathieu Lours

Notre-Dame de Paris will reopen to the public on December 7, 2024, five years after the fire of March 15, 2019 which left the whole world in disbelief. That day, the frame and spire of the cathedral were transformed into a blazing inferno before disappearing. Since then, many people have worked to rebuild one of the most iconic monuments of the French capital. A monster project, and a prodigious challenge recounted in the book by Mathieu Lours, through 250 photographs.

Also enriched with plans and exclusive testimonies from craftsmen, architects and engineers who worked together on this epic reconstruction, the official book of this unprecedented 21st century project offers a new look at this historic monument of art Gothic and primitive. Thanks to him, readers will be able to go behind the scenes of this historical resurrection combining architecture and art.