The Great Book of French Impressionism

by Diane Kelder

Born in controversy, christened in scorn by a sarcastic critic, and developed amid a continuing struggle for recognition and solvency, French Impressionism finally emerged as a powerful and immensely popular artistic movement whose appeal remains undiminished today. The Great Book of French Impressionism celebrates the richness and exuberance of the Impressionists' world--a world of light and color, of sunlit fields and shimmering waterscapes, of bustling city views and intimate domestic scenes. This handsomely designed Tiny Folio packs over 200 full-color illustrations, faithfully capturing the subtle nuances of light and keen perception that make French Impressionist painting unique.
The text traces the development of Impressionism from its roots in landscape and Realist painting through its focus on modern urban life to its ultimate to fix on canvas the fleeting moods and effects of nature in a world that stands still for no one. The works of the major Impressionists and Post Impressionists, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, and Cézanne, are featured and show how they influenced others in the movement, ultimately giving rise to the new art of the twentieth century.

Genres: Art

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this gold-mine of a book in a used book store. MANY full color prints adorn this 12" x 15" collection. There are even 18 double-size folded prints in here. I read the intro, and then dove into leafing slowly through this collection. The majority of the prints are full color, but there are maybe 20% smaller b/w prints in the bio-sections on each of these artists.

# prints : artist
1 Angrand, Charles
2 Bazille, Frederic
1 Bonington, Richard Parkes
1 Boucher, Rfrancois
3 Boudin, Eugene
2 Braque, Georges
1 Cabanel, Alexandre
3 Caillebotte, Gustave
5 Cassatt, Mary
43 Cezanne, Paul
3 Constable, John
4 Carot, Camille
6 Courbet, Gustave
1 Couture, Thomas
1 Cross, Henri Edmond
3 Daubigny, Charles Francois
8 Daumier, Honore
45 Degas, Edgar
4 Delacroix, Eugene
2 Denis, Maurice
1 Diaz De La Pena, Narcisse Virgile
2 Fantin-Latour, Henri
12 Gauguin, Paul
1 Gerome, Leon
1 Geiorgione da Castelfranco
1 Galaize, A.B.
3 Goya y Lucientes, Franciseo Jose de
1 Guys, Constantin
5 Intres, Jean-Auguste Dominique
1 Jongkind, Johan Barthold
38 Manet, Edouard
3 Millet, Jean Francois
49 Monet, Claude
5 Morisot, Berthe
1 Myrbach-Rheinfeld, Felicien
2 Picasso, Pablo
6 Pissaro, Camile Jacob
1 Poussin, Nicolas
1 Raimondi, Marcantonio
44 Renoir, Pierre-Auguste
17 Seurat, Georges
2 Signac, Paul
4 Sisley, Alfred
1 Titian
13 Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de
2 Turner, J.M.W.
24 Van Gogh, Vincent
1 Velazquez, Diego
1 Watteau, Antoine
1 Whistler, James McNeill
383

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, quarto-sized volume from Abbeville Press. It covers the most important impressionist artists, such as Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec along with some post-Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne. It is well-written, and goes into enough detail for the general reader.

It is really well illustrated, although one qualm I have is that some important artworks are printed in black and white ... colour was one of the main points of the impressionists!

Otherwise, highly recommended.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully put together and edited book on French Impressionism. It is HUGE, but don't let it intimidate you from reading it.

[Johnr66 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes the reader from the period leading up to the impressionism movement to post impressionism and dedicates much time to the artists and events involved. Intelligently written and filled with lots of color and some black and white reproductions, this book will not disappoint. If you intend on reading this book, look for the smaller size edition as it originally came very large and heavy making holding it for reading a chore.