Manet: The Still Life Paintings [Hardcover]

George Mauner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

The first major book to focus on a crucial aspect of Manet's work. Nearly one fifth of Manet's paintings are still lifes, a genre the artist himself considered 'the touchstone of painting'. He devoted considerable energy to still lifes, producing oils, watercolours, and prints that unite exuberant personal expression with a flawless mastery of light and detail.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The French artist Édouard Manet was delighted when a client who purchased his painting of a bunch of asparagus paid more than the asking price. So he sent a special thank-you--a tiny image of a single pale spear of the prized vegetable. These and other lushly painted still lifes of flowers, fruits, and other foodstuffs, isolated or in groups, form one of the most beguiling aspects of Manet's output from the 1860s through the early '80s. Manet: The Still-Life Paintings, the catalog for the exhibition at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland, through April 22, 2001, serves as a pleasant introduction to the intimate late work of the great 19th-century realist. With 106 color reproductions, including close-up details of brushwork, the modestly scaled volume makes for a satisfying browse. The most deliciously unexpected treats are the luminous watercolors of fruit, nuts, or flowers that Manet interwove with his personal correspondence.

Earlier in Manet's career, still-life images played a supporting role in figure paintings. Author George Mauner, professor emeritus of art history at Pennsylvania State University, guides the reader to observe such details as the cherry falling in midair in Young Man w ith Cherries. This fascination with instantaneous effects would culminate 11 years later in the smoking rifles of the Mexican troops in The Execution of Emperor Maximilian. Manet, of course, was well aware of the tradition of still life as an invocation of the senses and as a reminder of the fleeting nature of sensual pleasure (and life itself). Mauner explains how this art-historical knowledge offers clues to some of the artist's more enigmatic paintings. The quote-heavy, name-dropping style of fellow essayist Henri Loyrette seems less attuned to a general reader's interests. But the book's most grievous sin is one of omission: the failure to include even the briefest biographical outline of Manet's life and work. --Cathy Curtis

From Publishers Weekly

Close reading isn't just for poetry. In Manet: The Still-Life Paintings, George Mauner, distinguished professor emeritus of art history at Penn State, gives close and illuminating attention to some of the best-loved works in all of modern painting, reproduced here in 133 illustrations (106 in full color). Henri Loyrette, director of Paris's Mus?e d'Orsay, contributes an essay showing Manet's place within a long tradition of still-life painters. Subject-based sections such as "The First Flowers," "Fruits and Vegetables" and "Two Festive Tables" make a large body of work accessible and thematically coherent.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1St Edition edition (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810943913
• ISBN-13: 978-0810943919
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Impressionism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Exhibition, Disappointing Catalogue, April 7, 2001

By 

Walter Fekula (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manet: The Still Life Paintings (Hardcover)

I journeyed to the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore to see the exhibition. "MANET - The Still Life Paintings" which is on view until April 22, 2001. The show was previously at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. It is a lovely, intimate show. The majority of these gorgeous still lifes of fruits, vegetables and flowers were painted in the last three years of Manet's life. Unfortunately, the catalogue does not begin to do these beautful oil paintings and watercolors justice. The book's colorplates are of unsatisfactory quality and fail to capture the sumptuousness of these touching works of art. The book measures just shy of 9 inches by 9 inches, too small to get any partial enjoyment after seeing the exhibition. The text does not advance art scholarship. Not worth the price.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of Manet's still-flife paintings, July 3, 2007

By 

David Kasman (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Manet: The Still Life Paintings (Paperback)

This book is certainly among the best overviews of Manet's still-life paintings. If you enjoy direct, descriptive paintings with rich color, this book is likely to interest you. I especially liked seeing the "unfinished" basket of pears on page 107 (the kind of work usually left out of such books), which gave me a good idea of how Manet approached his still-lifes of this period. By the way, overall, the reproductions are very good (of course, paintings are never as good in print as in real life).

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT MY ART BOOK REVIEWS: It might seem as though I rate most art books very favorably. The reason for this is that I usually visit my local library before buying a book. I'll look at all (in print and out of print) of the Rembrandt (for example) books and choose my favorite one to purchase. In the case of an artist's monograph, I try to choose one or two comprehensive books for each artist. These are generally large, well illustrated hardcovers with above average reproduction quality and informative text, often by one of the leading scholars on the artist. Thus, by the time I purchase a book, I have already found it to be among the best available on the subject. This is the best book of Manet's still-lifes that I could find. My copy is a hardcover.

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small but magnificent book, February 27, 2001

By 

Dr. J. Adam Shaw (Glen Ellen, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manet: The Still Life Paintings (Hardcover)

The beautifully reproduced paintings. with some detail shots, in this potent package remind us that Manet truly is the 'father of modernism.' The still lifes of fruit alone would make this book a must have for any art book lover. His peaches, lemons, strawberries and plums are so full of longing, sadness, bliss and sheer beauty that they stop you in your tracks. I don't know how else to say it: Manet was an artist of cosmic proportions. The transcenant nature of the work juxtaposed against the audacious technique rightfully set Manet at the forefront of the western cannon.