CraftsmanshipThe book itself is a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Munich artist Florian Böhm has come up with a lavish design, and the book is presented in a cloth-bound case. On the cover is a whole-page embossed text alluding to a Commedia play that was performed in Munich in 1568 at the wedding of the Duke. In its costly make-up, this book is a further example of the Manufactory's awareness of its role as a culture-creating institution. more... |
Selected SpreadsThe book that celebrates this edition mixes mediaeval market scenes, Madonna, masked balls, delightful juxtapositions such as Heath Ledger as Pierrot in his last film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, sad clowns such as first Watteau and then Picasso painted, David Bowie and Buster Keaton, the court of the Bavarian dukes and the court of Christian Dior, what's lost, what's dependable, the legacy - everything intermingles in the pictures of the book, which works almost like a film. more... |
ExtractsAn interview with Alfred Ziffer, a world authority on Nymphenburg porcelain, provides a vivid portrait of Bustelli and his age. An essay by Rolf Hughes on the Commedia dell’Arte traces its history and explores its wide influence on theatre, literature, art, music, film, advertising and even pop culture. Georg Diez discusses the role of gestures and masks in art and life, and Tan Lin reveals the intriguing and largely unsuspected parallels between porcelain manufacture and information technology. more... |
