The natural beauty of seashells has enchanted cultures around the world since time immemorial. The "recreation of the eye and mind" inspired by them has been celebrated in literature and throughout humanist circles across Europe since antiquity: in his De oratore, the classical scholar Cicero extolled the value of the leisure and friendship cultivated by two friends who spent their leisurely hours collecting shells. These wonderful marine forms - "the artifice of nature" - were considered capable of elevating the spirit and stimulating the senses, as well as refining the taste and creativity of artists. Throughout history, their innumerable shapes, crenulations, and vast variety of colors and patterns have inspired painters and jewelers, architects and textile designers, sculptors and furniture makers, gunsmiths and glass-blowers.
Taschen`s complete reprint of these 80 splendid hand-colored copper engraved plates, rendered in exquisite detail and the subtlest colors, is taken from one of the finest original copies.
Формат: 26 см x 35 см.