Murals: Cave, Cathedral, to Street (Art Beyond Borders) [Hardcover]

Michael Capek (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Series: Art Beyond Borders

Describes murals of various times and cultures including those in the United States Capitol, murals of Diego Rivera and of the Italian Renaissance, and Egyptian tomb paintings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9?In his introduction, Capek defines the mural's form, major techniques, and muralists' motivations. He then explores the large pictures painted on walls, ceilings, and sometimes floors. The discussion covers murals in the U.S., ranging from those on buildings, freeway underpasses, and concrete flood control channels to the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. The author then moves on to the modern Mexican muralists?Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco?and their politically charged, wildly energetic masterpieces. He examines the historical basis of their work, the wall paintings of the ancient Aztecs and Mayas. He introduces the European traditions?the Italian Renaissance, the early Christian murals, and the murals of ancient Rome and Egypt. Lastly and briefly, Capek introduces the cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira. The arrangement is intriguing and the information is presented in a relaxed flow. Interspersed on bordered pages are biographical sketches of Thomas Hart Benton, Judith Baca, and Diego Rivera as well as brief descriptions of the efforts to restore Da Vinci's Last Supper and Egyptian tomb paintings. While these sections interrupt the flow somewhat, they contain useful and pertinent information. There are titles on Rivera, but there is little else on the subject of murals at a juvenile reading level other than encyclopedias.?Jean Pollock, King Country Library System, Seattle, WA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Capek begins this informative history of mural painting with chapters on cave paintings and goes on to describe murals by the ancient Romans and Egyptians, the early Christians, the Renaissance Italians, and Mexican artists from Aztec, Toltec, and Mayan painters to Diego Rivera, and the twentieth-century U.S. Special two-page sections provide good insights into individual artists and special topics but interrupt the flow of the main text. Photographs of painters and many full-color reproductions of murals illustrate the text effectively. The book is both attractive and well written. Carolyn Phelan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822520656
• ISBN-13: 978-0822520658
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,721,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A retired teacher, Michael Capek has written hundreds of stories, poems, articles, and twelve books, eight of them for middle school readers, his favorite audience. A life-long resident of Kenton County, Kentucky, Michael Capek is a graduate of Cumberland College and Eastern Kentucky University, grandfather of three, die-hard Reds fan, raiser of bonsai trees, and closet clarinet-player. "I play in the closet for the acoustics," he explains, "and for the benefit of neighborhood cats. They always seem to think I'm skinning their cousins." Readers and critics agree that THE STEAMBOAT SHUFFLE is by far his best published novel to date.