The Great Book of French Impressionism [Hardcover]

Diane Kelder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

This volume celebrates the richness and exuberance of the impressionists' world - a world of light and colour, of bustling city views and intimate domestic scenes. It contains 400 illustrations - over half in full colour - capturing the subtle nuances of light and keen perception that make the French impressionist paintings unique. Art historian Diane Kelder traces the development of impressionism from its roots in landscape and realist painting through its focus on modern urban life to its ultimate goal - to fix on canvas the fleeting moods and effects of nature in a world that stands still for no-one. The author examines in detail the lives and works of all the major impressionists and post-impressionists, including Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat and Cezanne, and shows how their work influenced others in the movement, ultimately giving rise to the new art of the 20th century. There are anecdotes with excerpts from contemporary essays and letters.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The return of the revised edition of the most popular volume on the subject offers inspired, authoritative text and hundreds of exquisite illustrations.

About the Author

Diane Kelder is Professor of Art History at the College of Staten Island and the Graduate School of the City University of New York. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Great Book of Post-Impressionism and Stuart Davis: A Documentary Monograph in Modern Art.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 2nd edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789206889
• ISBN-13: 978-0789206886
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 11.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Impressionism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Mediocre Reproductions, June 14, 2006

By 

George Day (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Book of French Impressionism (Hardcover)

I'm a native of Chicago, where the Art Institute has the largest collection of French Impressionism outside of Paris. So I've seen many of the originals of the works in this book. I'm also a photographer, so I have a critical eye, and I know how hard it is to get a good reproduction in a book of a work of art. Nonetheless, this book contains some of the worst prints I've seen. The colors are flat and lifeless and the shadows are clipped, which has blocked up the blacks and therefore ruined the contrast.

There's lot of in-depth information on the history of the art form. But visually it's a stinker. If you've never seen the magnificent work of the impressionists, this book will NOT ignite your interest in this genre, it's just too poorly printed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars book on impressionism, January 12, 2009

By 

Franko (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Book of French Impressionism (Hardcover)

too many black and white photos. would not buy this book again, as impressionism is about color.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift, March 11, 2007

By 

Babs (San Rafael, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Book of French Impressionism (Hardcover)

I bought this book as a retirement gift for a friend. I am not an art expert by any means, but before I bought this book, I looked through numerous other art books and thought that the colors were muddy and unattactive in many of them and there were relativley few reproductions that I would want to look at. This book has a large selection of excellent color prints of wellknown impressionists' works. Much better quality then others I have looked at. A good buy for the money.