"The eighteenth-century Venetian painter Giambattista Tiepolo spent his life executing commissions in churches, palaces, and villas, often covering vast ceilings like those at the Würzburg Residenz in Germany and the Royal Palace in Madrid with frescoes that are among the glories of Western art. The life of an epoch swirled around him--but though his contemporaries appreciated and admired him, they failed to understand him. Few have even attempted...

"In books lauded as brilliant, exhilarating, and profound, Roberto Calasso has revealed the unexpected intersections of ancient and modern through topics ranging from Greek and Indian mythology to what a legendary African kingdom can tell us about the French Revolution. In this first translation of his most important essays, Calasso brings his intellect and elegant prose style to bear on the essential thinkers of our time, providing a sweeping analysis...