Dancers (Looking at Paintings Gs Series) [Library Binding]

Peggy Roalf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1992 | Series: Looking at Paintings Gs Series

Paintings by Rubens, Catlin, Botero, Blake, Benton, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others capture the graceful artistry and movement of dancers.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (Juv) (April 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562820907
• ISBN-13: 978-1562820909
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,321,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A personal gallery tour of 19 famous paintings of dancers, July 8, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dancers: Looking at Paintings (Paperback)

Peggy Roalf knows exactly most people are going to think of when your title announces that your book in the "Looking at Paintings" series looks at "Dancers." That is why the cover of this book, written by ages 8-12, has a detail of "Two Dancers on the Stage," a 1874 painting by Edgar Degas. Of course the full painting is reproduced inside the book along with Degas' "The Dance Class." He is the only artist with two works in the book, but then Degas is the most famous artist when it comes to dancers in the history of art, so that is only fair.

The "Looking at Paintings" series presents the views of many different painters on a single subject. In "Dancers" young readers are taken on a personal gallery tour of nineteen favorite paintings of dancers, starting with the work of an unknown Roman artist from an ancient fresco to "Dance of Love" by the Peruvian painter Grimanesa Amoros. Include are looks at some of the more famous paintings involving dancing, such as Pieter Brueghel the Elder's "The Wedding Dance," George Catlin's "Bull Dance, Mandan O-Kee-Pa Ceremony," and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Dancing at the 'Moulin de la Galette.'" Just as often the artist will be a familiar name, as with Peter Paul Rubens and Henri Matisse, but the work might not, as with "Peasant's Dance" and "The Dance," respectively. The same can be said for William Blake, Winslow Homer, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Georges Seurat, and Thomas Hart Benton.

Roalf explains how each artist's vision and interpretation of the dance is unique, with Matisse, for example, expressing the powerful energy on a circle dance by using bold lines and brilliant colors. Meanwhile, Georges Seurat uses thousands of little dots of paint instead of brush strokes to create "The Can-Can." In the back of the book there is a combined Glossary and Index that helps readers learn the difference between arcylic paint, oil paint, tempera, and watercolor, and other key art terms. Roalf is not only a writer but also a painter and graphic designer, who has taught art to young people (and their parents) as part of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's Weekend Family Program. That means for those who are looking for a nice, fundamental introduction to the wonderful world of art appreciation, check out this volume and then the rest of the series.