Amazon.com Review
This encyclopedic review of the arts of the second half of the 19th century is produced by the director and curators of the Musée d'Orsay, the Paris museum devoted to the period. The formidably rich subject material is divided into several sections: painting, sculpture, the decorative arts, photography, and architecture. The last two are refreshing additions to a discipline that sometimes overlooks these "mechanical" art forms. This was a time of artistic ferment, with the burgeoning wealth produced by industrialization and the growth of the empire providing new subjects and markets for artists in Europe and America. Scholarly essays introduce each section, setting artists and art movements in their historical and social contexts. The illustrations supporting the essays are well chosen, with more important artists represented not only by famous icons but also by lesser-known works--there are many pleasant surprises among the more than 200 color plates and 550 black-and-white pictures of the supporting "Documentation." While drawing heavily on the Orsay's fabulously rich artistic holdings, the curators have included important works from collections on both sides of the Atlantic. The book is printed in France and the color reproductions are excellent; in fact, its strength lies in these illustrations. With some digging, researchers will be able to find in this single, comprehensive volume almost anything they want to know about the arts of the period. --John Stevenson
