One of my favorite pastimes is collecting inspiring non-fiction art books. Below is a short list of what makes up a portion of my personal library. You can see excerpts of quite a few of them on amazon.com.
Graham Rust is truly a modern master of trompe l'oeil mural painting. This is the second in his "Painted House" series and is well worth paging through. Vivid photos are found on almost every page, and the works featured are not duplicates of his previous book (see below).
There is little text, but the stunning photographs make up for the lack of words. Yannick Guegan's strength lies in his marbling and faux bois (wood graining) ability, and these are beautifully illustrated in this book. If you want to add it to your personal library, buy it for it's inspiration and "eye candy" and not for instruction. This is not a how-to book.
The Painted Ceiling is a must have book by Graham Rust. It deals almost exclusively with ceiling murals, as the title indicates. The photos are large, and the accompanying descriptions help one to realize the hard work that goes into such paintings. Also shown are the design renderings for some of the works, which is of interest when you can see the progression from the beginning stages to the end result.
For anyone interested in the fresco paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum, this is the book for you. It features 350 color illustrations (with three foldouts) not to mention extensive historical information. It is a bit expensive, but there is just nothing like it out there.
In a word, or should I say four, "one of a kind"! It features the unique art of Italian born artist Carlo Marchiori. The mural paintings adorn his home in Napa Valley, California which he fittingly calls "Villa Ca'toga". As a side note, the villa and gallery can be toured. For more information visit his website.
Out of Print Books
This is the only book I've been able to find on the subject, being most feature the more well known Sistine Chapel murals. If anyone knows of a better book, please feel free to comment.
Another of Graham Rust's books, this earlier work is very similar to his other book "Revisiting the Painted House" in layout and amount of paintings featured. His titles also make for nice, medium sized, coffee table books. Although not in print, you can currently find it at a great price used...last I checked for under $10.00!
This is by far my favorite book to date. It's a shame it's no longer in print, but you can still find some nice used copies thankfully. The text is elaborate and informative, but honestly I like it for it's beautiful photographs. The book features stunning pictures of all forms of fresco and mural painting, including my favorite, grottesca.
(For a complete list of books I recommend, visit my amazon.com profile page.)
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