Customer Reviews

Baroque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The cover alone will stop you in your tracks, a magnificent photograph of the Hofburg Library in Vienna. Open the cover and you will find page after page of amazingly detailed color photos of architecture, sculpture, and paintings. And to top it off, the text is generally interesting without any mindnumbing pedantic nose-in-the-air commentary. I have been an architect for 25 years and have never stopped searching for a reasonably priced book of Baroque with high quality pictures and text. This is it.

The text of this book is boring, tedious and frequently gets bogged down in little details.

So why did I give it five stars?

It's because of the photos! The book is 500 pages long, and there are literally hundreds of full-color photographs of Baroque palaces, cathedrals, paintings and sculptures. The book pages are very large, and this makes the photos large and detailed as well. But the most sensational thing is the price: only 25 dollars for the hardback edition! Trust me, a book like this usually goes for 100 dollars or more. Perhaps it's subsidized by some UN agency? (A caveat: Since the book is very heavy, the postage might be larger than average.)

Rolf Toman's "Baroque" is probably mostly directed at students of European art and architecture. As already noted, the text quickly gets tedious for the non-specialist, with details of 17th century Italian architects and the popes who paid their barbills. However, the stunning illustrations make the book an excellent birthday or Christmas gift even for general readers. I bought the Swedish translation for my mother last Christmas.

In a sense, this is the mother of all coffee table books. If you have it on your coffee table or book shelf, you will be sure to impress your friends. Just don't tell them you got it at bargain price!

The Baroque is a period in West European art history that began around AD 1600 and ended around AD 1750. Versailles in France is the most well-known example of Baroque architecture. Many churches and palaces in Rome are considered Baroque. The Baroque even spread to South and Central America, due to the Spanish and Portuguese conquests.

Rolf Toman's book concentrates on French, Italian, Spanish and German architecture. There are shorter chapters on the other European nations, and an even shorter chapter on colonial Baroque. Further, the book contains sections on Baroque painting and sculpture, with exquisite photos of 17th and 18th century paintings from various European museums. The notorious Rococo style is mentioned only in passing.

The Baroque has been much maligned. It's ostentation, connections to royal absolutism and Catholic counter-reformation, and supposed evolution into the Rococo, all has come up for criticism. And yes, the Early Modern Period wasn't a particularly happy one. I mean, the French revolution didn't exactly fall from the skies! Still, from an aesthetic point of view, the art of the period seems grossly underrated.

Recommended.

PS. I have only seen (the Swedish) HARDBACK edition of this book. How the paperback edition looks like, I don't know. It seems to be even cheaper!

The cover alone will stop you in your tracks, a magnificent photograph of the Hofburg Library in Vienna. Open the cover and you will find page after page of amazingly detailed color photos of architecture, sculpture, and paintings. And to top it off, the text is generally interesting without any mindnumbing pedantic nose-in-the-air commentary. I have been an architect for 25 years and have never stopped searching for a reasonably priced book of Baroque with high quality pictures and text. This is it.

The Baroque by Toman is one of a series of excellent books on the major art periods offered by Toman, ed. The photographic material provided here is outstanding. The writing is solidly informative. This series provides excellent, concrete examples of the major art periods with well-rounded explanation.

While Baroque and Rococo began in Italy with the Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 16th century, the style quickly spread throughout Europe as the architecture of choice for churches, palaces, and the homes of aristocrats. I have toured many of the locations including the ones "off the beaten path" of most tourists. At some locations inside photos aren't allowed and at others the lighting was poor. So these large photographs are a real treat. The commentary is very informative.

I own both Baroque and Rococo (250 pages) and Baroque (500 pages) by Rolf Toman. While both books share some photos I really appreciate having both to cover more locations and discuss the details from different perspectives. Baroque and Rococo includes 20 pages of sculpture and 50 of paintings. Baroque has 20 pages of sculpture and 100 pages of paintings and provides descriptions of techniques and symbolism.

While I believe the books are complimentary, if I could only have one it would be the 500 page Baroque. I also own Judith Miller's Decorative Arts which is spectacularly visual and covers just about everything found in aristocratic homes and museums. It does not include architecture, clothing, or paintings. It provides multiple examples of specific styles from many countries. While the text gives a brief description, it is the photos of individual pieces that trumps every other book I have seen with the exception of those devoted to a single manufacturer.

I have enjoyed a few of this author's books on art and architecture through the ages. Very interesting and detailed reading.