Sun the Moon and the Stars

"Since the dawn of human consciousness, the sun, the moon, and the stars have inspired awe, curiosity, fear, and delight. In virtually every culture, great works of art have conveyed the sense of wonder and magic that attend these cosmic presences. Such works ranging from Tintoretto's painting of the mythical origin of the Milky Way to Japanese prints of poets gazing at the moon, from Claude Monet's "Impression: Sunrise" (the painting from which Impressionism got its name) to Italian Renaissance tarot cards of the planets, from a golden Inca sungod to medieval illuminated manuscripts, and from Indian miniature paintings to a star map by Albrecht Dürer are superbly reproduced in these pages..." with quotations from Milton, Dickinson, Shelly, Emerson, Whitman, and others; and Richard Whelan's essays which complement the visual and enrich this cosmological tour through art history.