Monet in Normandy

Book Description

An extraordinary new look at the world's most beloved Impressionist, this catalogue examines some of the artist's most important paintings, including the famed Giverny canvases, the iconic haystacks, and the Rouen cathedral series. Many rarely seen works are also featured and illustrate Monet's enduring ties to the Norman region. It was in Normandy that Monet began his painting career, and it was there that he met his first great mentor, EugÃ¨ne Boudin. Monet developed a deep affection for the region. He would return time after time to depict its dramatic coastline, picturesque villages, and seaside resorts. Normandy has been a source of inspiration for artists over the centuries, and the catalogue puts Monet's work in context with those who came beforeâCorot, Millet, Courbet, Whistler, and Boudinâand his fellow revolutionariesâMorisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas.Featuring more than sixty master works, Monet in Normandy marks one of the largest Impressionist exhibitions to be on view in the United States. Illuminating the essays are works by other great contemporaries such as Pissarro, Morisot, and Degas.

Customer Reviews:

EXHIBIT IN A BOOK..........2007-07-01

I had the good fortune to see this exhibit when it traveled. I don't usually like to listen to the commentary on a headset, but I did so this time, and it really enhanced the experience. Looking through the book 3 months later, all that I heard came back to me as I recaptured the good feelings that come from all this beauty in one volume. It is organized nicely and a "must" for a coffee table book in the home of impressionist fans.

Wonderful book-great exhibit.......2007-05-02

I was able to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit in Cleveland, and for any Monet lover, it was fantastic. This companion book has beautifully done reproductions of all of the paintings in full color. The text associated with each painting is very interesting, and even though I have read many books about Monet, there is quite a bit of new information provided.
This book is the next best thing to being in the museum, seeing the paintings in person.

a little gem of a book.......2007-04-14

For those of us who were not able to travel to see the exhibition, this is a wonderful catalogue which shows many of Monet's best canvases of Normandy (haystacks, the Rouen cathedral, the Coast...). Each of the paintings is very well described with a complete listing of its provenance. Top-quality illustrations make this book a valuable addition to the already extensive literature on Monet.

Paintings of Paul Cezanne : A Catalogue Raisonne

Average customer rating:

You've got to be kidding
Never enough

Paintings of Paul Cezanne : A Catalogue Raisonne
John Rewald
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810940442

Customer Reviews:

You've got to be kidding.......2005-07-27

John Rewald,you should be ashamed.$400 for a lousy 50 color plates(I live in Australia,and it sells for $650).If you're going to put out a catalogue raisonne of an artist,you should have the majority of the works in color,no-one wants to look at b/w reproductions anymore.You just have to compare this with the magnificent catalogue raisonne's on Rothko,Gauguin and Sargent,to see how this work falls short.A major dissappointment.

Never enough.......2005-01-21

There's either never be the right info you're looking for or there's never enough!

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive tour du force
The Ultimate Collection of Monet Paintings

Monet: Catalogue Raisonne
Daniel Wildenstein , and Claude Monet
Manufacturer: Benedikt Taschen Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Impressionism | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 3822885592

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive tour du force.......1999-09-02

A must-have for any student of Monet. Volumne I contains covers his biography proper, while volumes II-IV provide a COMPLETE record of the artist's body of work.

Wilderstein protrays Monet life for the most part as that of a debtor. However to his credit, he tempers the romantic "suffering artist" idealism with insight into Monet the creditor. By illustrating what a jackass the artist could also be, the author creates a deep and lively narrative.

Most of the personal insight into Monet come to us by way of coorespondance with Alice Hoeschede. Due to 'appearances' however she requested of Monet her letters be destroyed immediately and thus we're sadly left with a one-sided portrait of the man. While his artistic talents we're unparalled, it's his devotation to correspondance that allows Wildenstein to bring him back to life. Without giving away the ending, it's Monet's inability to write rather than paint that signals the end.

The Ultimate Collection of Monet Paintings.......1998-02-08

This is the most comprehensive collection of Monet's Paintings as its name implies. The handsome 4-volume set, published in 1996, comes with 2,580 illustrations in 1,540 pages.

Volume I is a complete biography of the Artist in details, that also contains partial correspondence.
Volumes II-IV catalogue 2,050 paintings, listed in Wildenstein Number in chronological order, with text in French, English, and German. Each entry includes:

1. Technical data ("W" number, title, size (in centimeters), and signature
2. List of Exhibitions
3. Exhaustive Bibliography
4. Provenance, detailing history from its origin
5. Brief commentary

Volume II: W1 (1858) - W968 (1885)
Volume III: W969 (1885) - W1595 (1899-1901)
Volume IV: W1596 (1900) - W1983 (1926), and the Donation to the Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris
Including in Volume IV: Exhaustive Bibliography; List of Expositions from 1858 to 1995; Index of Collectors, Galleries, and Museums; and Analytical Index of the Subjects.

Its previous 5-volume black-and-white edition cost more than US$10,000, and were found only in large museums or major universities' art department. This is the chance for any serious Monet fan to own this monumental work at a highly affordable price!

Average customer rating:

A vivid, enlightening story.

What a bargain! Paris, Painters and a wonderful story.

" 'A man always does his best work out of love, madame.' "

Un Chef-d'oeuvre!

Bringing a fabulous painting to life

Luncheon of the Boating Party
Susan Vreeland
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Burning Bright

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Suite Francaise

Girl in Hyacinth Blue

Body Surfing: A Novel

ASIN: 0670038547
Release Date: 2007-05-03

Book Description

Bestselling author Susan Vreeland returns with a vivid exploration of one of the most beloved Renoir paintings in the world

Instantly recognizable, Auguste Renoir's masterpiece depicts a gathering of his real friends enjoying a summer Sunday on a café terrace along the Seine near Paris. A wealthy painter, an art collector, an Italian journalist, a war hero, a celebrated actress, and Renoir's future wife, among others, share this moment of la vie moderne, a time when social constraints were loosening and Paris was healing after the Franco-Prussian War. Parisians were bursting with a desire for pleasure and a yearning to create something extraordinary out of life. Renoir shared these urges and took on this most challenging project at a time of personal crises in art and love, all the while facing issues of loyalty and the diverging styles that were tearing apart the Impressionist group. Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models and using settings in Paris and on the Seine, Vreeland illuminates the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era. With a gorgeous palette of vibrant, captivating characters, she paints their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs in a brilliant portrait of her own.

Customer Reviews:

A vivid, enlightening story........2007-09-03

Susan Vreeland's LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY receives Karen White's fine actress skills - she's worked extensively in film stage, TV and in commercials - which lend a gripping and smooth narrative style to this exploration of Renoir's masterpiece of the title's name. From issues of loyalty to changes in the art world, the story evolves from the viewpoint of Renoir and seven of the models in the painting, and reveals the social fabric of his times in a vivid, enlightening story.

What a bargain! Paris, Painters and a wonderful story. .......2007-08-30

I have a tendency to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I thought this historical novel gave a fascinating look into the world of the painters, especially Auguste Renoir, and then adding to the book's richness is the historical background of Paris in the 1880's. With Susan Vreeland's (I'm guessing) tremendous amount of research I was able to get a picture of life; the people, culture, the artist community in their creation of a painting, and the wonderful surroundings during that time period. But historical facts and descriptions alone does not make a wonderful story. What Ms. Vreeland did was to create central characters through which we see and feel their varied emotions during this historical period. I felt for them and I found myself becoming a very real part of their struggles over the course of this book. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't read the story by adding more detail. Overall, I thought that this was terrific story and certainly a remarkable effort on the part of the author to create such a rewarding read. Highly recommend this book.

Another terrific book to read is Gathering of Cans by Robert L. Saunders. This author's compelling writing, thoughtful plot and colorful narrative all make this Women's Fiction a stunning story. In this gripping story Zoie Baker, the heroine and a dauntless dreamer feels right down to her bones that she can build a swimming pool for the local kids by gathering aluminum cans. Zoie stumbles on unique cans, i.e. Nehi, Mountain Dew, etc. and each can takes the reader on a fantastic journey from the USO club in 1945 during World War II through the 1980's. An amazing story that you don't want to miss. You won't be disappointed. KD.

" 'A man always does his best work out of love, madame.' ".......2007-08-15

In the summer of 1880 Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted the famed "Le dejeuner des canotiers." This evocative scene of fourteen people around the remains of the midday meal at La Maison Fournaise, and against a backdrop of boats on the Seine, depicts the bohemian milieu that inspired Renoir's art.

Susan Vreeland's radiant LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY is a wonderful imagining of the process of creating that Renoir masterpiece. She puts these words into one person's mouth when the painting --finished except for a few highlights -- is first viewed by the picture's models and the public: "Marvelous, the stories you hint at in the interactions." The novel's Renoir replies, "There is no story. It's only a moment." Actually, both are true. Renoir gathered friends and models to pose them in a scene. But these people related in various ways to one another. Some were friends of long standing. Others were introduced during the consecutive weeks they gathered on the Maison balcony on Sundays. Thusly, the composition evolved and the dynamics and "multinamics" of the boating party did also. For instance, trouble with one female model, who did not want to be painted in profile, led to her dismissal and the addition of a young woman who would one day be Mrs. Renoir, although not until years after the completion of this painting.

Vreeland finely, vividly renders details of 1880 in France: ten years after Napoleon III declared war on Prussia and was defeated, Paris is still healing the human sufferings from the Prussian Siege it endured and the subsequent Commune revolt which killed thousands. But the deprivation, the starvation isn't with Parisians any longer. Consider these delectable morsels one character finds in a shop: "She surveyed shelves of syrups, chutneys of exotic fruits, spices, foie gras, tins of macaroons and madeleines, olives from Provence, honey from Languedoc, fruit compotes from Gascogne, mustard from Dijon, caviar from the Aquitaine, a wall of sausages from Auvergne." And besides food and spirits, they enjoy music, plays, regattas on the river, and colors on canvas, of course. The arts (including culinary) are burgeoning.

Renoir served in the war, and remembers his artist friend, Frederic Bazille, who died. But Renoir isn't a man who chooses to dwell on the tragedy of life. His works are a celebration of love. He says in the book that he has to feel love for the women -- and in fact everything -- he paints. In fact, he makes love to them, in a sense, when he brushes them onto his canvases. He blushes up cheeks, he doesn't paint blemishes, he idealizes. In LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY, Renoir is a man in love with painting and so he must love his subjects in paint and in life.

Certainly Renoir, thirty-nine years old that summer, had a string of loves, some of whom appear in the painting. But he, struggling financially, doesn't have a current lover. He is getting some pointed nudges about settling down but isn't quite ready yet. He tells Aline Charigot, one of the models, " 'Sometimes I don't know who I am as a painter.' " And he has plans to travel to " ' see the Titians in Venice, the Raphaels in Rome, and to discover the sources of Delacroix's colors in Algeria.' " Still, he feels Aline embodies a kind of integration of his previous loves and believes she would give him a peaceful home life if they were to marry. However, Aline is also only half his age, and Renoir understands she still has growing up to do.

Aline isn't the only woman in Renoir's romantic thoughts in 1880. There is also Alphonsine Fournaise, war widow and the daughter of the proprietors of La Maison Fournaise. Renoir honors her as a singular light, rather than a culmination of his previous loves. LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY is told from the perspectives of Renoir and a number of the models. After Renoir, the reader visits Alphonsine's thoughts most, and that's as it should be since her likeness is arguably the heart of the boating party painting, and her character is likewise the heart of this book. Alphonsine is a true gift for the reader, for Vreeland interprets her as a woman of luminous inner beauty, a woman who loves unselfishly and without condition. She does everything she can to help Renoir with this great experimental undertaking. She encourages him when he has setbacks, she helps Aline feel comfortable when the latter joins the group, she even offers to let Renoir scrub her out of the painting so there won't be thirteen figures (untenable because it recalls the Last Supper, and there is a superstition that one person modeling for such a painting would die...like Judas). Alphonsine also, after some hesitation, tells Renoir her own secret about the war, wanting him to know her without reservation. This sensitive, generous woman definitely loves Renoir, but can their deep connection lead to a life together?

Vreeland writes marvelously! She coaxes to life so many big and little dramas of the boating party, and she does it with a confidence that truly adores and celebrates both Renoir's "Le dejeuner des canotiers" and the unknown mysteries of the real people immortalized in it. Like Renoir, Vreeland, it seems, does her best work out of love.

Don't miss LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY.

Un Chef-d'oeuvre!.......2007-08-13

Although the beginning of the book was somewhat slow for me, it picked up momentum as I became familiar with the characters. The more I read, the more intrigued I became, not only with the painting but also with Renoir's model friends - Alphonsine, Gustave, Ellen, Angele, and finally Aline. As the author described the progress of the painting, I continually referenced the cover of the book to see what and who were where. In particular, I was curious to find out about the young girl holding the dog. I ended up reading the last half in 2 days. The book is beautifully written and provides an uncannily realistic picture of what life must have been like during the Impressionist era. Already a fan of art and particularly Impressionism, I found myself truly infatuated with Renoir and wishing I could have met him. (4 1/2 stars)

Bringing a fabulous painting to life.......2007-08-09

A large print of Luncheon of the Boating Party is framed in my family room. It is one of my, if not my absolute, favourite painting of all time. Lively and engaging after all these many years. The book creates characters that leap off the painting, making you care about them. Especially the painter. I found myself referring to the painting many times while reading the story. It sparked in me a desire to know more about the painter and his subjects in a biographical way. My only complaint was that a knowledge of the French language would be very helpful to grasping the full flavor of the book. As I am not bi-lingual, the fullness of the story was a bit lost on me.

The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism

Average customer rating:

Engaging Perspective
For the museum spooks
Not as good as King's other books
Loved it
Art History that is anything, but boring

The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism
Ross King
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802715168
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Book Description

While the Civil War raged in America, another revolution took shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been quite so controversial. The drama of its birth, played out on canvas and against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune, would at times resemble a battlefield; and as Ross King reveals, it would reorder both history and culture, and resonate around the world.

Customer Reviews:

Engaging Perspective.......2007-09-06

This is good book on its own, but a great reference for those who wish to know more about the area. The is so much emphesis on the Impressionist Movement itself that there is very little information about the times and events that made the movement such a revolution. Art historians talk of the Salon, but a laimen may not grasp its importance, which King does. The only regret I have about the book is how little King speaks of The Commune. It was a devestation to the people and city of Paris and again very little is known. King addresses it, but fails to deliever with respect as to how the artists responded to the disaster.

For the museum spooks.......2007-04-23

My criteria for reviews is: "Should a person spend hard earned cash on this item? Should a person spend valuable time on this item?" I can answer both with a definite "yes, but." To explain, I am a bit of a museum spook. Love exhibitions. I remember the great Cleveland REALISM show when I first met Meissonier. That catalog is one of my personal treasures. I have followed with delight the progress of Gerome's "Pygmalyon and Galatea" from the men's room hallway to center stage in the Met. So what is the appeal of Judgement of Paris? Well it is not a course in Art History 101, nor is it an Artistic Biography ala 401. The author constructs his work around the two poles of the popular and wealthy Meissonier and the starving and attacked Manet. Yet it is not strictly a biography of either man. This is a book for those who know these works - and some of those works of the new wave of the Salon of 1863. Then too, there is the grand visual pun of Manet's linking these controversial paintings to the Raphael etching of "the Judgement of Paris" as a trope. King never really returns to it, but we cannot help but hold the "burning towers and Agamemnon dead" in the back of our minds. Manet painted and the world changed. This book follows the little trips to the country, models and mistresses, prices, allowances, well connected aunties and mad poets who move through the lives of the painting world of Meissonier and the establishment and that of Manet and his fellow "refusees." Oh and remember the problem in jr high or at age twelve sorting out that pesky Monet. Seems to have happened in the salon as well.Those sort of bits and pieces make it attractive. This mass of arcana and trivia adds up to a significant understanding for someone who has more than just passing knowledge when going into this book, and it really has to be taken in that fashion. By the way, it is effectively footnoted, referenced and indexed. Illustrations are so so, but we know these works anyway- well maybe not the Meissonier, but a good AH text will have most.

Not as good as King's other books.......2007-04-12

In Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling andBrunelleschi's Dome Ross King describes in lucid and animated prose the creation of two great masterpieces. In Judgement of Paris, King widens his scope. He attempts to set he cultural, social and political contexts of the rise of Impressionism. This wider subject lead to a book much longer than his earlier ones, and not nearly as much fun to read.

Here King traces the creation of a concept rather than a thing--a much tougher job. He compares and contrasts the lives of two artists: the academic darling Messonier and the renegade Manet. He describes dozens of works. He gives capsule histories of the first Paris World's Fair, the Franco-Prussian War, the rise and fall of the Napoleon III and the commune of Paris (plus some interesting anecdotes about ballooning and painters on vacation). That's a lot of stuff and in it all he loses the thread of what he trying to explain. In the end you'll find you've acquired a lot of interesting trivia about the Second Empire, but won't be any closer to understanding how Impressionism got started.

By the way, the notion that Impressionism is the zenith of Western painting is pretty much just an American thing. To the French, it's just another school. Manet, Monet, Renoir etc. don't get nearly the prominence in the D'Orsay that they get in American museums.

Loved it.......2007-03-08

Ross King writes beautifully about wonderful subjects in his non-fiction books (Brunelleschi's Dome, Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, and now The Judgement of Paris). I haven't liked his fiction nearly as much. These non-fiction books read slightly like dissertations in some sections, but intelligent readers of non-fiction will love them.

Art History that is anything, but boring.......2007-02-24

I have always loved Art, though my favorite will always be the Italian Renaissance, the Impressionist period comes a close second. Ross King has the gift of writing history for the everyman. His prose is absorbing and just hard to ignore. Academics may argue some points in this book, but what remains to be true is that King make history come alive for the everyman, the reader just gets focused on the comparison of how Manet and Meissonier's lives and art unfold in the 19th century. Meissonier a realist classical painter was the most popular artist of his time, but his artwork did not evoke any new feelings, which is why he is hardly remembered other than by academics. Manet, was reviled during his time, but he ushered in a new revolution in art that relied on the viewer's perception of depth, color, light etc. (their impression) and leaves lasting legacy that is still prevalent today. It really was a reversal of fortune. I look forward to Ross King's next work since he will tackling Machiavelli.

Plein Air Painters of California, the Southland

Average customer rating:

"Must Buy"
Comprehensive survey

Plein Air Painters of California, the Southland
Ruth Lilly Westphal
Manufacturer: Westphal Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0961052007

Customer Reviews:

"Must Buy".......2006-04-09

Not only is this book beautiful, Ruth Lilly Westphal created an important, highly useful educational and in my opinion an essential reference tool for art students, collectors, dealers and art historians interested in the California "Plein Air" art movement. It features generous artists biographies along with rich examples of each artist's works. As one of California's foremost buyers of California Impressionist paintings, I highly recommend this book! www.LawrenceBeebe.com

Comprehensive survey.......2000-06-01

The most comprehensive survey of the work of plein air painters who worked in California.

Average customer rating:

Private?
The Private Lives of the Impressionists
An enjoyable read....
Sue Roe makes public the private lives of such artists as Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro and their friends
Enjoyable, Historical Read, Learn about great painters!

The Private Lives of the Impressionists
Sue Roe
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060545585
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Though they were often ridiculed or ignored by their contemporaries, today astonishing sums are paid for the works of these artists, whose paintings are celebrated for their ability to capture the moment, not only in the fleeting lights of a landscape but in scenes of daily life. Their dazzling pictures are familiar—but how well does the world know the Impressionists as people? The Private Lives of the Impressionists tells their story. It is the first book to offer an intimate and lively biography of the world's most popular group of artists.

In a vivid and moving narrative, biographer Sue Roe shows the Impressionists in the studios of Paris, rural lanes of Montmartre and rowdy riverside bars as Paris underwent Baron Haussmann's spectacular transformation. For more than twenty years they lived and worked together as a group, struggling to rebuild their lives after the Franco-Prussian War and supporting one another through shocked public reactions to unfamiliar canvases depicting laundresses, dancers, spring blossoms and boating scenes.

This intimate, colorful, superbly researched account takes us into their homes and studios, and describes their unconventional, volatile and precarious lives, as well as the stories behind the paintings.

Customer Reviews:

Private?.......2007-09-29

The title of the book is misleading. Most, like me, would believe that it is about the various affaires des coeurs of the Impressionist painters. But it is far from that. It is an insightful look into the struggles of the impressionist painters during the years of 1860-86; this was before they became famous.

The book covers the lives (intimate or otherwise) of the better-known impressionists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Cézanne, and Pissarro and the not-so-well-known painters who were in their company Berthe Morisot, Frédéric Bazille, Mary Cassatt and Gustave Caillebotte. The author describes how these painters tried to break the rigid moulds of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, which controlled the technique and subjects of mainstream painting in France.

The author described many of the better-known and the not-so-well-known paintings in such an anecdotal form that the reader is forced to have a look at those paintings somehow (in a coffee table book or online). She brings alive the characters who had posed for the paintings that give a greater depth to the work.

The author has researched this period well and one not only gets an insight of the lives of these painters but also of the world around them. The reader can literally visualize the gradual realization of Haussman's vision of Paris, or the soirées and evenings spent in cafés. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and the siege of Paris are also described in detail - it led to tremendous upheaval in the French society as also the lives of the painters - a large amount of their output was lost during this war and the sense of loss is transferred to the reader.

The author manages to intertwine the lives of the painters - the individuality of each painter is maintained even though all are presented as a collective. Despite the fact that so many characters are being biographed, the author doesn't leave the reader of being overwhelmed with the plurality of characters.

Use of exact addresses and trivial but minute details such as a `thirteen-minute stop for hot chocolate' (238) which Eugène Manet made on way to Paris from Nice. Though the use of French words was rather limited despite the fact that the setting and the painters were French. Most words can be understood from the context - However, some words (cocottes, arrière pensée) do require a bit of looking up to understand the true import of the sentence.

The Private Lives of the Impressionists.......2007-08-05

This book gives insight to the artists and their methods and environment equally interesting reading.

An enjoyable read...........2007-08-01

This is well-researched, extremely readable looks at the interactions and development of the Impressionists. Roe is knowledgeable and handles her subject well.
I found it hard to put down.

Sue Roe makes public the private lives of such artists as Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro and their friends.......2007-05-30

Paris began the nineteenth century as an ancient city of winding streets, dark alleys and dankly dangerous ill lit streets. Due to the architectural genius of Baron Haussman, Prefect of the Seine,it was transformed into the City of Light. The Eiffel Tower! The well lighted boulevards, the enchanting and cool parks, the height of fashion and the charm of beautifully sculpted public buildings made it the apex of urban beauty (although appalling poverty did still exist). Even the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 when Paris was briefly occupied by Prussian soldiers did not dispel the charm of this world capital.
In mid nineteenth century Paris art seemed locked in a Procrustean bed of classicicism and stody history painting. The French Academy would only show painting approved by its ultra-conservative directors.
Each year bold new artists were seeking to make impressionism the wave of the future. Each year their art was rejected at Academy shows. Each year masterpieces were created as they launched their own art shows to intially hostile and then adoring crowds flocking to see them. Who were these artist beginning the most popular movement in art history?
Among their number were:
Eduard Manet the oldest of the impressionists whose bold colors and views of sea and the life of evereyday Parisians was a bold step in the art world. His painting "A Modern Olympia" picturing a nude prostitute as well as other controversial works such as "Le Dejeuner
sur l'herbe" of 1863 portraying a nude women sitting with two fully clothed male friends was a cause celebre bringing attention to the new trend of budding artists seekiing to portray light, color and air as they caught the "impression" of the evanescent passing scene.
Claude Monet (1840-1926) noted for his water lilies, boating scenes and haystacks at his home in Giverny had to struggle against his family, saw children die and faced years of poverty would, nevertheless, triumph becoming rich and famous. His 1872 painting "Impression: Dawn" gave the word impressionism to the movement he and his friends were launching.
Auguste Renoir (1841-1917) was famed for his portraits, love of abundance feminine nudes and boating and fruit scenes.Like many of the impressionist
his family opposed his painting and his choice of a simple girl as a bride.
Camille Pissaro (1840-1903) was born to a Spanish Jewish family in the West Indies. Pissaro served as a mentor to many of the impressionists.
Edgar Degas (1832-1883) died young of syphillis. The French artist Berthe Morisot married his brother Gustave. She may have been in love with Edgar.
His art is noted for brilliant persective, color and beauty.
Several other leading impressionists are discussed such as the American Philadelphian Mary Cassat: Paul Cezzane (who grew up as a friend of the famed novelist Emile Zola) are profiled.
The group eventually broke up showing ther art in shows with one another but by then the art world had been revolutionized by their genius.
Sue Roe has penned a fascinating study of the impressionists. She shows the mileu of Paris and France at the time they lived; how they interacted; how they loved, supported one another and at times feuded with not only the critics but themselves.
Anyone who strolls through an art gallery wanting to know more about the lives of the artists would enjoy this delightful book.

Enjoyable, Historical Read, Learn about great painters!.......2007-05-27

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. If you are new to learning about impressionism or art history, I think you need another book of pure pictures to follow this up.

I learned so much more about Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Rembrant, Mary Cassat, Degas, Pissaro, and others that I can not accurately name. Of particular interest to me was Berthe Morisot, who, as a woman, was in on the impressionist movement from the beginning. However, she's not so well known, and I wonder if her name is included now in art history classes.

The impressionist painters even struggled with the word impressionst! They struggled with each other and disagreed, made up, then disagreed again. They agreed, then disagreed about when and how to display their work, if they should or should not submit to the Salon, and the list goes on.

The impressionts struggled to live on income soley from their art, and really who doesn't? I was struck with how insistant some were that they paint to live. They had little shame about begging and barrowing from rich patrons. Some of the artists portrayed were really above trying to suppliment an income with teaching. In reading this book I had the sense that they found teaching and work other than painting just plain common and not for them. As a working mother and writer, I found this postion quite privlidged. And some of them, like Degas, were wealthy growing up, and they felt they belong to the "gentleman's class"

If you want to know more about how the impressionists knew each other, realted to one another, hated one another, loved one another and so on, then this is the book for you. It is very much about their relationships. If, on the other hand, you want to know more about their paintings, then you need another book that illustrates thier art, as this one offers little in that way.

All in all, I enjoyed knowing more about these amazing people, their ideas, politics, relationships, and what they wanted from the world. This book will deliver all that and more to you.

Pissarro: Critical Catalogue of Paintings

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Thank You Monsieur Pissarro!
The most comprehensive work yet for Monsieur Pissarro

Pissarro: Critical Catalogue of Paintings
Joachim Pissarro , and Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts
Manufacturer: Skira/Wildenstein
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1874-1882; Complete Paintings: Volume IV (John Singer Sargent)

ASIN: 8876245251
Release Date: 2006-06-20

Book Description

This new catalogue of the paintings of Camille Pissarro, while drawing extensively on the 1939 edition published by his son, makes an innovative contribution to the understanding of the work of this great artist through the discovery of previously unpublished pictures and documents. Over a career that spanned the second half of the 19th century, Pissarro tested every pictorial experiment of his time, from Impressionism to Pointillism. His rich style reveals the gifts of a great colorist and of a master of light endowed with a striking sensitivity to nature. This exhaustive 3-volume catalogue, co-published with the Wildenstein Institute, features 1528 paintingsâof which 213 have never been published or are little knownâdetailed commentaries with rigorous analyses of each work, a complete biography of the artist, illustrated with archival photographs, a bibliography and a complete list of exhibitions.

Customer Reviews:

Thank You Monsieur Pissarro!.......2006-11-04

One of the best, if not the best, catalogue raisonnes I have ever seen. Beautifully photographed and very detailed. I cannot recommend this collection enough...........worth every penny!

The most comprehensive work yet for Monsieur Pissarro.......2006-08-04

This massive collection of three large hardbacks is the best Camille Pissarro resource yet (and likely ever), featuring an image on nearly every page, and often times 5 or 6 per page. As the title of the book suggests, this set is devoted to Pissarro's paintings, both rare and well-known. Contrary to easy misconception, this is not a catalogue raisonné -- due in large part to the fact that Pissarro managed to create such a mammoth volume of work during his lifetime so it is next to impossible to compile records of all his work. Perhaps one day we will have something comparable to a full record of the master's works... and so far, this is it. Additionally, an astronomical amount of his paintings were destroyed during the Franco-Prussian war and it is next to impossible to gauge how many of those earlier works survive, though Joachim Pissarro is undoubtedly doing his best.

In this compilation, many of Pissarro's earliest Barbizon paintings from the 1850's and 60's are a highlight that fans and scholars will enjoy. Those earlier works steal the show from the later works that happened to make Pissarro an impressionist icon. Missing are many of the artist's beautiful sketches and simple drawings, though some are sprinkled in wherever they may fit accompanying the paintings that are chronologically discussed. A "Works on Paper" volume should be the next edition Joachim Pissarro (ancestor to the painter) authors, for it is desperately needed. The exorbitant price of this set is a great hindrance. The price might be cut down considerably if the French text were removed from the book entirely (it features pages of English and then French translation of the verbiage -- a rather unnecessary frill that nearly doubles the page count).

The first book is devoted to biography and timelines, incorporating documents and photographs of Pissarro and his family; some photographs are truly magnificent and offer previously unseen windows into his family life. The remaining two books are devoted to painting-by-painting critiques, by year, and thereby theme (from landscapes, to peasants, to city scenes). There are several appended indexes in each of the three books that are helpful, including a massive bibliography. Though lacking, I feel, is an index of work titles; for those wishing to find a particular work you have no choice but to skim the pages in hopes that you will come across it. It's a big, extremely heavy literary summary of one of art history's most unappreciated artists. This work will undoubtedly remain unappreciated and scarce as well, and what a shame, because it is positively beautiful.

Painting the Impressionist Landscape: Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color

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Wonderful addition to any Artists library
Excellent Book on Color
I liked it
awesome
Good source of info!

Painting the Impressionist Landscape: Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color
Lois Griffel
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 082303643X

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful addition to any Artists library.......2007-05-13

I found this book a valuable addition to my library. As an Artist it proved to be a wonderful learning tool, with detailed explainations, examples, and a number of practical step by step learning project. It has added great depth to my paintings. I would recommend it to both experienced artist and beginners. Beautiful colour photos!!!

Excellent Book on Color.......2007-01-25

This is an excellent book for learning color theory. You can tell she loves teaching because she doesn't hold back. She is really trying to help you learn the concepts. She paints in an impressionist style, but her methods would work no matter what your style is.

I liked it.......2006-09-01

It just didn't motivate me like I wanted it to.... so I sold it. But, it does have some good steps to getting that impressionistic look. I suggest trying out the book by Susan Sarback, Capturing Radiant Color in Oils (Paperback)
ISBN: 1581800614. I've been on her website, and she has some remarkable paintings as well.

awesome.......2006-08-26

This discussed painting in a way I needed to hear. It was easy to work with and inspired ideas for me to try. Great book

Good source of info!.......2006-07-07

I learned so much from this book. I started painting about 3 years ago and I just painted a little bit more realistically and now I can actually paint in a more impressionist way! Very informing... satisfied + customer

Average customer rating:

Great art book series for little ones!
WONDERFUL
My Katie loves Katie
Delightful
Read it Again!

Katie's Sunday Afternoon
James Mayhew
Manufacturer: Orchard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0439606780

Book Description

It's a Sunday afternoon, and Katie is bored. But Grandma knows just what will cheer her up -- a visit to the art museum. There, Katie once again finds herself on an unbelievable adventure through the paintings of renowned post-impressionist painters Georges-Pierre Seurat, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Signac. Children will enjoy learning about art, as they join in on Katie's exciting journey.

Customer Reviews:

Great art book series for little ones!.......2007-05-07

We love the Katie books, a great way to introduce your child to art masterpieces while having an adventure in the story!

WONDERFUL.......2007-01-28

A wonderful story that your 5 year old will love! A fun and engaging story that introduces your child to art (pointillism, in this case).

My Katie loves Katie.......2006-12-13

My two-year-old daughter Katie cannot get enough of this book. It comes with us wherever we go, we read it day and night, and she has been wearing her bathing suit for three weeks now because she wants to be 'just like Katie.' There is something extremely magical about this book! Also, I like this story better than some of the others -- Katie is less of a rascal in this one.

Delightful.......2005-09-02

I read this with my 6 year old. We checked out a book about Seurat at the same time so I could show her the actual paintings. She giggled as we read. It was fun for the art to come alive.

Read it Again!.......2005-08-10

This book takes the reader on a journey through a young girls imagination and provides a unique exposure for young children in art appreciation. The end of each book provides information on the artist, materials used to create the art form and the location of the painting. Both of my daughters, age two and five, really enjoyed reading the collection of Katie's adventures. I would recommend buying the hardcover books for long lasting use, because you will be reading it again and again!

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