The Atlas Collection
Travel posters
For places worth remembering. Modern prints inspired by favourite coastlines, towns and landmarks.
New destinations added regularly
Posters from the places you love
Over 2,700 curated artists
Browse all artists
Curated by Artists
Museum Quality Prints
Crafted to Last
Designed for Interiors
Style It Your Way
Popular prints available framed or on canvas
![Green and Maroon - Mark Rothko - Poster [HQ 3c667201b8de]](http://www.solisprints.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/Rothko-Poster-none-fe6a126ae048.jpg?v=1791244683&width=3840)
Timeless Art For Beautifully Designed Homes
Why Choose Us ?
What customers say
Over 5000
Happy Art Lovers
From Our Journal
The Persian Garden in Miniature Painting
Persian miniature painting transformed the depiction of nature into an idealized vision of divine paradise. Developed across major manuscript traditions from the Mongol period to fifteenth-century Herat, these garden settings combined stylized botanical motifs, gold backgrounds, and poetic symbolism. Lyrical Settings and Divine Paradise An organised period in Persian manuscript painting began around 1396 with the Khwaju Kermani manuscript. This stylistic direction culminated between 1420 and 1440 in the Herat school. Timur's son Shah Rokh created an academy in Herat, which his son Baysunqur Mirza developed to codify, copy, and illustrate classical Iranian literature. Paintings from this period shifted the tone of manuscripts such as the Shah-nameh of Ferdowsi from epic narratives to lyrical compositions. Puppet-like figures engage in activities within idealized garden or palace environments, frequently positioned against backgrounds of solid gold leaf. These rendered settings represented a divine paradise presented through the form of a royal palace or garden rather than an exact copy of the physical world. The compositions embodied themes from mystically interpreted lyrical poetry, such as the writings of Nezami, Rumi, and Hafez. While later artists repeatedly executed standardized formulas, the finest miniatures achieved a controlled lyricism that expressed a search for the divine. Illustrated manuscripts of Nezami held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York demonstrate this approach, using precise execution to articulate complex spiritual ideas. Early Compositional Conventions and Chinese Influences In the early fourteenth century, manuscript painting in Mongol Iran introduced new conventions for depicting outdoor settings. The Small Shahnama manuscripts, including examples housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., demonstrate a synthesis of regional styles. Painters incorporated traditions from pre-Mongol Central Asia and thirteenth-century Mesopotamia alongside elements brought from Chinese pictorial art under the Il-Khanid dynasty. These compositions maintained a pattern-like appearance against gold backgrounds, using two-dimensional arrangements to construct the environment. Specific botanical features defined the outdoor depictions in manuscripts like the Freer Small Shahnama. Artists painted green, gently sloping hillocks at the feet of standing or hunting figures to indicate grassy ground. These hillocks did not include detailed individual blades of grass or receding perspective lines to convey spatial distance. Instead, painters arranged bunches of flowers across the slopes, relying on decorative formulas derived from thirteenth-century Mesopotamian painting techniques. Different regional workshops across Ilkhanid territory adapted these imported and existing conventions in varying measures. The poet Sa'di converses by night with a young friend in a garden. Miniature from Gulistan Sa'di. Herat, 1427. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. f.3r. Public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Botanical Motifs and Architectural Integration Miniature paintings established harmony between natural elements and architectural structures. Lawns of dark green suggest the presence of living water, surrounded by abundant floral motifs. Flowers appear across lawns, within foliage, and on embroidered carpets where figures sit in robes of green or red silk. Trees in bloom rise against gold backgrounds, while birds with bright plumage populate the branches. Water jets flow into porphyry vases near terraced structures, reflecting sunlight across cupolas rendered in pink, azure, or white hues. Palace architecture within these painted gardens features enameled walls, damascened surfaces, and crystal ceilings. Porticos and light-filled gates open onto terraced courtyards where golden peacocks display emerald tails. Figures gather on embroidered carpets to listen to musicians along blue waters or consume candied flowers from small cups of coral and porcelain. Night scenes maintain visibility through illuminated architecture, preserving the light of day across white terraces and cupolas. The fine details of execution in these scenes parallel the calligraphy on delicate paper surrounding the images. Regional Developments and Narrative Painting The Mongol era introduced major stylistic shifts to Iranian painting, moving away from Seljuq models while establishing new forms of text illustration. Masterpieces of literature, including Ferdowsi's Shah-nameh and Nezami's lyrical poems, were systematically illustrated alongside historical chronicles. Rashid al-Din's Jami al-tawarikh, produced in the early Il-Khanid period, contains historical narrative scenes that reflect the direct impact of Chinese painting traditions introduced under Mongol rule. Provincial workshops maintained distinct approaches to depicting natural settings. The British Library copy of Kalila wa Dimna, dated to 1307, presents natural elements without naturalistic rendering, continuing earlier Mesopotamian conventions. In scenes depicting animals, backgrounds contain tooth-shaped rocks built up in dense layers and balloon-like trees housing haloed birds. These features drew from models developed by the pre-Mongol Mosul school rather than Chinese sources, demonstrating how regional Iranian centres retained earlier Arab visual traditions while developing manuscript illustration. Observational Detail and the Later Herat Style A major change occurred in Persian painting during the second half of the fifteenth century at Herat under the rule of Husayn Bayqara. This transition is closely associated with the master painter Behzad. Moving away from purely idealized garden formulas, Behzad introduced realistic poses and direct observations of his physical environment into manuscript illuminations. His compositions incorporated numerous details of daily life and genre elements, altering the structural layout of painted settings. Behzad also introduced psychological interpretation into the depicted events and figures. His work preserved the fine execution and spatial clarity characteristic of Iranian manuscript art while adding individual expression to the human figures within the scenes. Earlier pastoral works, such as Junayd's border paintings for the Diwan of Sultan Ahmad from around 1405, had established lyrical pastoral settings. Behzad expanded upon these foundation techniques, balancing decorative geometry with observed human behaviour.
Heracles and the Last of His Labours
Heracles captured Pylos after defeating Neleus, his sons, and the city’s defenders, while Hades aided the Pylians and was wounded in the fighting. Periclymenus changed shape during combat, yet Heracles killed him, leaving Nestor as the sole surviving son of Neleus. Heracles Attacks Pylos After taking Elis, Heracles marched against Pylos. Neleus and the Pylians resisted him, and a battle began for the city. Heracles overcame the defenders and captured Pylos. Periclymenus, the bravest of Neleus’ sons, fought against him. Periclymenus could change his shape during combat, but Heracles killed him despite this power. Neleus also fell in the fighting. Heracles killed all of Neleus’ sons except Nestor, who was still a boy and was being raised among the Gerenians. Another account says that Neleus had twelve sons and that Heracles killed eleven of them. Nestor was therefore the sole survivor of the family. He remained the only son of Neleus to live beyond the destruction of Pylos. Hades came to the aid of the Pylians during the battle. Heracles wounded him while fighting for the city. After Pylos had fallen and Neleus and his sons had been defeated, Heracles later marched against Lacedaimon. The sons of Hippocoon had supported Neleus, so Heracles attacked them in a separate campaign. That expedition followed the capture of Pylos and was not part of the fighting for the city itself. Source note: Primary text: Homer, Odyssey. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); War in Greek Mythology. The Belt of Hippolyta Heracles set sail in a single ship with a group of volunteers to obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Eurystheus had ordered this as Heracles’ ninth labour because his daughter Admeta wanted the belt. The Amazons lived by the River Thermodon and were skilled in war. Hippolyta kept the belt as a sign of her supremacy among them. It had once belonged to Ares, the war god. When Heracles and his companions reached the land of the Amazons, Hippolyta went to ask what they wanted. Heracles told her that he had come for the belt. She promised to give it to him. In some accounts, the two champions were attracted to each other, and Hippolyta offered the belt freely. Hera then intervened. Disguised as an Amazon, she spread a rumour that the newcomers intended to seize their queen. The Amazons believed her and attacked Heracles and his men. The peaceful meeting became a battle. In the account where Hippolyta is killed, Heracles struck her down, took the belt from her body, and fled towards his ships. One version also says that he took her battle axe. The belt was a prized war belt rather than an item of intimate clothing. It was heavy protective armour worn over clothing, with ornaments and fittings of gold and bronze. Euripides described it as embroidered with gold. Other accounts give a different course to the fighting. Orosius says that the Amazon queen Orithyia was away at war, leaving Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe with a small force. Heracles then attacked by surprise while the Amazons were unprepared. In every version preserved here, he obtained the belt and returned with the object sought by Admeta. The Belt of Hippolyta. Original MythSource illustration created for this story; not a historical artwork. Source note: Primary text: Apollodorus, The Library. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); Greek Myths & Tales. Heracles on Mount Oeta As the tunic grew warm during the sacrifice, the Hydra poison within it began to act. Heracles was seized by terrible pain, as if he were burning. He tore at the garment, but it clung to his body and brought away pieces of his flesh. The suffering did not kill him. He remained alive, though he was in torment. In his first agony, he seized Lichas, who had brought the tunic, and hurled him from Mount Oeta into the Euboic Sea. The tunic had been sent by Deianeira. Heracles had captured Iole after sacking Oichalia and killing Eurytos and his sons. He then remained at Cenaion to sacrifice to Zeus, while Lichas went to Trachis for fine clothing. Deianeira feared that Heracles loved Iole more than her. She rubbed the tunic with what she believed was a love potion made from the blood of Nessos. In fact, the blood had been poisoned by the Hydra venom carried into Nessos by Heracles’ arrow. Deianeira learned what the garment had done and killed herself. Heracles could still kill others, but he could not die from the poison. Since death would not come to him, he decided to go to death. He ordered those around him to build a great pyre on Mount Oeta and carry him to it. When he reached the pyre, he knew that he could now die and welcomed the end. He lay upon the pile with his head resting on his club and the lion’s skin spread over him. His face was calm, as if he were taking his place at a feast. Heracles commanded that the torch be applied. The flames spread across the pyre and covered it. The gods were troubled as they watched him perish. The immortal part of Heracles was then taken to Olympus by Zeus, and Heracles ascended through the flames to the gods. The site on Mount Oeta later held a fire festival with ox sacrifices and contests. Source note: Primary text: Ovid, Metamorphoses. Corpus check: The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics); War in Greek Mythology.
Arthur Rackham: How a Tree Became a Character
Arthur Rackham's approach to transforming a tree into an expressive character relies on draughtsmanship principles developed by historical master artists. Giving a tree individual character requires rendering muscular bark growth, wayward branch curvatures, and observed natural textures rather than applying rigid compositional rules. Muscular Trunk and Anatomical Growth A drawn tree achieves individual character when an artist records its physical structure instead of relying on generic shapes. In his studies of tree stems, John Ruskin examined Albrecht Dürer’s engraving of Adam and Eve as a prime example of factual draughtsmanship. Dürer rendered the wrinkles of bark, smooth wood emerging beneath, and the anatomy of growth at the root of an apple tree. Every line in that drawing contributes directly to facts of natural structure, showing how timber anchors itself into the soil. This anatomical approach requires depicting the internal muscular forces of the trunk. Stripping a pine trunk of its bark reveals wood fissured along its grain in precise directions. At the point where a bough joins the main trunk, the wood displays contortions similar to human muscle. Dürer and Rembrandt rendered woody texture with notable accuracy, though both artists sometimes missed the sweeping grace of larger lines. Capturing character in a trunk demands depicting these muscular junctions where boughs gather themselves out of the stem. The Principle of Unexpectedness in Boughs Character in foliage and timber depends heavily on what Ruskin termed the character of unexpectedness. A drawn bough appears dead if it follows predictable angles or symmetrical curves. J.M.W. Turner demonstrated this principle by drawing boughs that shoot outward like a letter Y with a straight branch, only to correct that stiffness with a zigzag behind it. Boughs that seem awkward individually create unified forms when drawn together, surprising the viewer through subtle variations in line. These curves waver perpetually along every edge, resembling the finished structure of a fine musical melody. The lines used by Turner appear straight at first glance, but long observation reveals tremulous movements along their edges. A bough never achieves true character unless it appears wayward, seeming quiet initially before revealing unexpected turns. By mastering this waywardness, an artist transforms a static outline into an organic entity with its own distinct rhythm. ArthurRackham, Aesop-11trees. Public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Natural Curves versus Artificial Rules Unimaginative artists fail to give character to trees because they rely on mechanical rules and received formulas of composition. When an artist without direct observation draws a tree, he sets down a serpentine form for the trunk simply to avoid straightness. He attaches branches according to artificial rules, making three or four boughs start from points one above another at unequal distances. He bends one branch downward while three go up, forcing two to cross to create forced contrast. This reliance on rules produces lifeless patterns rather than convincing timber. Titian frequently fell into a different error, drawing tree trunks with flaccidity that made them resemble flexible seaweed. His habit of drawing the human figure led him to introduce soft animal curves into wood. Real timber possesses a stiffness and spring that separates it completely from animal forms. The subtle curvature of a branch lies within the thickness of a pencil line, defying easy recollection or systematic invention. Surface Movement and Foliage Structure Setting a tree in motion requires an understanding of how foliage accumulates and branches ramify in space. In his painting of Saint George, Albrecht Altdorfer used a brush technique that captures the natural disorder of leaves. He laid light strokes over a dark ground to establish the body of a branch, reflecting how outer leaves catch light first while screening inner depths. Younger shoots at branch tips appear brighter than older growth behind them, establishing a sense of continuous development. Altdorfer allowed this surface chatter of leaves to become the organizing principle of his entire composition. Slender trunks emerge on the left, a thicker trunk gleams near the centre, and other stems disappear into a swarm of green. Some branches grow straight upward, others drift laterally, and others convulse in all directions at once. Because trees possess a repetitive structure, an artist can use these multiplying units to set the whole plant into motion across the picture surface. Added Knowledge and True Finish A tree becomes a fully realized character only when an artist adds specific physical details derived from close observation. Turner achieved complete finish in his drawing of ash trunks at Bolton Abbey by adding observed facts. He recorded the texture of bark, the anatomy of muscle beneath, reflected lights in recessed hollows, dark moss stains, and flickering shadows cast by foliage above. He described this process of finishing a picture as carrying the work forward through added truth. By contrast, John Constable failed to distinguish between moss and shadow in his drawing of Helmingham Park. His central dark touches confused surface stains with the shaded side of the trunk, producing vague brush sweeps without cast shadows or underlying anatomy. Adding dark tones without anatomical knowledge merely blackens a drawing. True finish requires building character through verified facts of growth rather than darkening shadows to conceal ignorance. Printmaking and Line Precision Translating the character of trees into prints requires preserving the precise relationships of light and bough arrangement. In Turner's tree drawings, such as those in his Liber Studiorum series including Cephalus and Procris or Hedging and Ditching, woody stiffness combines with the inventive grace of upper boughs. Works such as Chain Bridge over the Tees render thickets with exact attention to aerial relations and the play of light among complex boughs. Poor printmaking destroys these qualities by substituting mechanical cross-hatching for observational knowledge. Engravings produced in the eighteenth century often turned tree trunks into standardized patterns. When Miller engraved Turner's Modern Italy, he preserved the specific contours of foreground trunks, whereas Meulemeester's engraving after Raphael reduced tree stems to arbitrary lines. Correct draughtsmanship in print requires maintaining the unique direction of bark peeling and the subtle spring of woody curves.