Rooftops of Paris

by Fabrice Moireau, Fabrice Moireau (Illustrator)

In Rooftops of Paris, Fabrice Moireau - ho has illustrated such titles as Paris Sketchbook, Provence Sketchboo and Gardens of Paris - presents a collection of aerial views over Paris.

Genres: Art, Travel, Nonfiction, France

96 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2010

Reviews

[Lana Velkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just such a beautiful book with such a wonderful text to accompany the illustrations, I love it.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibile voglia di comprare un biglietto per Parigi ora

[Chiara Mologni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gli acquerelli di Fabrice Moireau sono di una meraviglia unica. Assolutamente consigliato

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been on my bookshelf for years and finally made it to the top of the TBR mountain. An impulse buy from Shakespeare & Co. I just adored this- the beautiful illustrations complement the poetic text to bring the rooftops of Paris to life. Carl Norac is a poet and this is evident in his stunning prose.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Rooftops of Paris is another gorgeous collection of watercolour sketches from Fabrice Moireau. He has already published a sketchbook on Paris, but this time, the subject is dedicated to roofs, something we don't usually see on the streets.

The 96-page hardcover art book is in squarish format, not the usual landscape format of his other books. The book is still big and the paintings are also printed big. Paper is non glossy and brings out the vibrant colours really well.

If you have the Paris Sketchbook, you'll notice that the cover of this book is actually one of the sketches from there. Only this piece is duplicated, but redone in watercolour.

The sketches are lovely. It's interesting to see Paris surveyed at roof level. The roof tops are made up of so many different shapes and forms. They are sometimes blue, orange, or just light as it reflects off the sun. Occasionally, you can see a statue standing alone amidst the buildings. The chimneypots that sit on roofs are very eye catching with their nice orange against the complementary blue backdrop of roofs - they look like chess pawns.

The architecture of the place is wonderfully captured. You don't see much people on roofs, maybe roofers fixing antennas. What's captured seems like a very quiet and calm Paris when you're viewing it from the top. All sketches come with almost poetic commentary from Carl Norac.

Not all the watercolours are from Fabrice Moireau. Some are from Hiroyuki Sasaki, but they aren't credited by labels so they are hard to spot.

This is a beautiful watercolour sketchbook. Makes me want to go out and sketch each time I flip open the pages.

[Canard Frère]

Très jolies aquarelles magnifiant les toits les plus banals. Les textes d'accompagnement sont plus ou moins réussis mais donnent toujours envie de prendre de la hauteur.