About the Author

AlUla photographer Robert Polidori began his career in the mid-1980s, when he photographed the Restoration of Versailles, and he has since documented sites around the world. Preferring the beauty and stillness of working with a large format camera and slow shutter speeds, Polidori views the pieces as vessels of memory. He has twice won the Alfred Eisenstaedt Prize for magazine photography, he has published more than a dozen photo books, he has had major solo exhibitions at major galleries, and his work is held in the collections of many renowned museums around the world.

About his experience photographing AlUla, Polidori says: “The natural situation of AlUla is simply incredible and unprecedented, and I was fascinated by it. I seek to try to restore what I call an iconic image, showing its whole and most often showing its entirety through its details and vice versa. I tried to give a timeless image.

Polidori also shares more of his experience at AlUla in a video, which provides an overview of the book and selects Polidori's photos.

AlUla illustrator Ignasi Monreal is a multidisciplinary artist born in Barcelona and currently based in Rome. He works in various media including painting, design, creative direction and film. He created Gucci's Spring/Summer 2018 campaign, the first of its kind to be entirely digitally painted, for which he was shortlisted for the Beazley Designs of the Year award. Since then, he has worked with brands such as Bulgari, Four Seasons and AirBnb, among others. An animated video brings AlUla's Montreal illustrations to life.

Craftsmanship

Assouline's ultimate collection is a tribute to the art of luxury bookmaking. Hand-bound using traditional techniques, with hand-stamped color plates on artist-quality paper, each page of this limited edition series bears the unique imprint of the artisan. Covering a range of subjects from jewelry and fashion, to fine art and “impossible collections,” the ultimate collection curates culture from around the world and across the ages. Nestled in linen clamshell boxes, these books attract collectors, lovers of the printed page, and those who devour the culture of our time. Signifying a new level of sophistication for true connoisseurs, these unique books are works of art in their own right.