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James McNeill Whistler: Beyond the Myth 3 reviews
Ronald Anderson, Anne Koval
Da Capo Press, 2002
THE ARTIST BEHIND THE MYTH
+ A Superb Work of Art History & Biography
+ Whistler: Egotist and Great Artist!
This life rendering of many faceted artist James McNeill Whistler is fine reading and a treasured contribution to the annals of art history. Taking the best of Impressionism and Realism, Whistler's uniquely individual treatments of color are unforgettable. We think of "Nocturne In Blue and ...
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Life of Titian by Carol Ridolfi
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996
After Vasari's Lives of the Most Famous Artists, The Life of Titian by the seventeenth-century Venetian artist and writer Carlo Ridolfi is the most important contemporary documentary source for our understanding of the great Renaissance artist. This new critical edition, the first translation into English of Ridolfi's biography, illuminates his life, his artistic production, and his early ...
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On Painting (Penguin Classics) 2 reviews
Leon Battista Alberti
Penguin Classics, 1991
Charming little book with insights into perspective painting
+ Fundamental Insights on Art and Craftsmanship
Book I is a leisurely introduction to the basic geometrical principles of painting. "I usually give my friends the following rule: the more rays are employed in seeing, the greater the quantity seen will appear. ... Furthermore, the extrinsic rays, which hold on like teeth to the whole of the ...
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The Life and Art of Albrecht Durer 5 reviews
Erwin Panofsky
Princeton University Press, 1971
An essential classic in Durer studies
+ A basic book.
+ Definitive
While Panofsky may seem indigestible to some - this is not a book for the "general reader" - this book remains essential material for anyone researching any aspect of Durer's career. It is written in more accessible prose than some of Panofsky's other works, since he concentrates more on straight ...
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Paul Cezanne, Letters
Paul Cezanne
Da Capo, 2000
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Hogarth: A Life and a World6 reviews
Jenny Uglow
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002
I wish I could give this book SIX stars (* * * * * *)!
+ Monumental
+ A life and a world
+ a brilliant account of 18th century Britain
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The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini
Modern Library, 1959
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Journal of Delacroix (Arts & Letters)4 reviews
Hubert Wellington
Phaidon Press, 1995
how one great artist thelt and fought (sic)
+ Inside the Mind of Delacroix
+ Greatest Testament
+ An intimate glimpse into the mind and times of Delacroix
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Walter Sickert: A Life
Matthew Sturgis
HarperCollins UK, 2005
The painter Walter Sickert was a man of contradictions: a radical reactionary, a reclusive socialite, a traditionalist and an innovator, a philanderer who believed in the sanctity of marriage, an internationalist grounded in the heart of the English school. In this superb biography, Matthew Sturgis provides the first fully documented account of Sickert’s long and colorful life, drawing on ...
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N. C. Wyeth: A Biography12 reviews
David Michaelis
Harper Perennial, 2003
Even for those who have no idea who the Wyeth family is.
+ More social interactions than art technique
+ If you like biography and American art history, read this book!
+ Talent within the studio & the home
+ Biography At Its Best
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Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man 1 review
Derek Wilson
Pimlico, 2006
READABLE, OPINIONATED, NEVER DULL
The author attempts interesting 'symbolic' interpretations of some of Holbeins' more famous works in the visual context of the time. For example, Anna of Cleves' asymmetrical dress trim says "No social graces", to the initiated. One wonders why the King didn't see this if it was indeed common to ...
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Goya18 reviews
Robert Hughes
Knopf, 2006
But for an Even Greater Appreciation of the Art of Goya--
+ Goya would have liked this
+ Goya beyond the paintings
+ Also a path to understanding Spain and its culture
+ Enjoyable reading
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Cezanne : A Biography3 reviews
John Rewald
Harry N. Abrams, 1996
Well-Worth The Hefty Price
+ Beautiful book
+ Bravo! Bravo!
I have read many books on Cezanne over the past 10 years and in my opinion this is the best. For a combination of well-written text and excellent reproductions of the paintings this book cannot be beat. The text is jargon free. Mr. Rewald was a wonderful writer and he gives you a warm and ...
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Anthony Van Dyck: A Life, 1599-16412 reviews
R. Blake
Constable, 1999
Brilliant!
+ Highly recommended for students of portraiture.
This is by far the best bio on van Dyck in print today. I purchased it a year ago, from Amazon UK, and am very glad to see it available in the States. If you have the catalog from either the recent show in London or the Washington DC show from '90, use the images from that to go with Robin's text ...
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Thomas Eakins: His Life and Art
William Innes Homer
Abbeville Press, 2002
This profusely illustrated critical biography of one of the nineteenth century's greatest artists captures the unique spirit of the art and of the man. The first edition of Thomas Eakins: His Life and Art, published in l992, was selected by Choice as one of the best art books of the year. This second edition of what has become the standard book on the artist adds an appendix discussing recent ...
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A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-193210 reviews
John Richardson
Knopf, 2007
Valuable Insights into Picasso's Sources and Methods
+ A Life In Full
+ Picasso Part 3
+ Kudos to Richardson
+ Third Volume of John Richardson's A life of Picasso: The Triumph Years, 1917-1932
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A Life of Picasso: Volume I, 1881-1906 (Life of Picasso, 1881-1906)7 reviews
John Richardson
Random House, 1996
Classic Biography
+ A Fan Explains His Hero
+ The Best
+ excellent on picasso's early years
+ Brings to life the great artist's first 25 years
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Discourses on Art: New edition (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)1 review
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Paul Mellon Centre BA, 1997
Discourses on Art
This book is the definitive book on the thought behind Art. It states the thought procces, and the Art and Science dualisum of the last 600 years and the reasons behind it all. If you want to be a real artist, this is the way to go. It speaks of truth and genius. "The natural appetite or tast of ...
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Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Everyman's Library)2 reviews
Giorgio Vasari
Everyman's Library, 1996
Fantastic book on Renaissance art and architecture.
+ This is the real thing: a voice from the Italian Renaissance
This is possibly one of the best reads for anyone studying or interested in Renaissance art and architecture. Vasari lived in the times of the people he describes and knew many of them personally. He watched them working on their masterpieces.
For example he was a dear friend of Michelangelo's. ...
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Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh9 reviews
Vincent van Gogh
Bulfinch, 2000
The torments of creation
+ Infinitely fascinating, infinitely heartbreaking
+ Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh
+ Vincent Van Gogh correspondence
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