Alchi: Treasure of the Himalayas Hardcover

As beautiful and rigorous as an escher work itself, this book is the classic study of a great maverick who so memorably linked the world of image making with Geometry and paradox. Escher’s works, from the great master prints to numerous drawings, are brilliantly arranged to form a cinematic journey of discovery that reveals the magical world of the artist’s mind, an uncharted realm lush with exotic conceptions and inventions.

Review

One of the finest art books ever produced. . . . Working in extremely challenging conditions, particularly in the narrow, almost unreachable second and third stories of the Sumtsek, van Ham put together a masterpiece. The true achievement, however, lies not merely in the completeness of the photographic record but–as with his previous books–in his ability to convey the interlacing layers of light and shadow, the uneven textures of surface and color, and the emotional punch these images from a thousand years ago are still able to deliver, even to a viewer who knows nothing of Buddhist iconography and ritual practice. . . . At the heart of van Ham’s artistic enterprise is his uncanny gift for showing us, in the paintings he has photographed, this continuous, ravishing evanescence. Once one takes in this truth of transience and sees, with open eyes, its logic and inherent wonder, the most remarkable feeling of freedom and happiness sets in.” –David Shulman “New York Review Daily ”

About the Author

Peter van Ham is a Frankfurt-based author and photographer who has been researching Himalayan culture for nearly thirty years. He is the author of Guge and Tabo, both also published by Hirmer Publishers.