Le Notre's Gardens [Hardcover]

Eric T. Haskell (Author), Michael Kenna (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Ram Pubns & Dist; 2 edition (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963078534
• ISBN-13: 978-0963078537
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For over thirty five years, British born Michael Kenna has been looking at landscapes in ways quite out of the ordinary. His mysterious photographs, often made at dawn or in the dark hours of night, concentrate primarily on the interaction between the ephemeral atmospheric conditions of the natural landscape, and human-made structures and sculptural mass. Kenna is both a diurnal and nocturnal photographer, fascinated by times of day when light is at its most pliant. Using non digital equipment, his night time exposures can last up to ten hours, and his photographs often record details that the human eye is not able to perceive.

Kenna's intimate, exquisitely hand crafted black and white photographic prints reflect a sense of refinement, respect for history, and thorough originality. They have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums throughout the world and are included in such permanent collections as The National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; The Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; The Shanghai Art Museum; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Over forty books and catalogs have been published on Kenna's work.


Website: www.michaelkenna.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAGNIFICENT MAGIC, February 2, 2001

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Notre's Gardens (Hardcover)

I am very lucky indeed to have been able to see many of Michael Kenna's photographs at live exhibitions, both in Washington, D.C. and in New York City. Any art book is a "poor" substitution for the real thing, but there are some books that can give you true, beautiful examples of specific art works that then, hopefully, can someday be seen live. Kenna is a British photographer, in his 50's, who now lives in San Francisco....and seems to concentrate, in large part, on landscapes as his subjects. His images in this book are of the gardens created by Andre Le Notre, "the most important garden designer of the court of Louis XIV." In approximately 6o plates on 80 pages, we are taken to 10 different locations in France including the Tuileries in Paris and Versailles and Fontainebleau. The photographs are nothing short of breathtaking, obviously taken at dawn or dusk when the natural light is almost unreal. These images evoke mysterious, art movie settings---one almost expects a stranger to appear from one of the designed paths or pools or from behind one of the symmetrical trees or shrubs. All of it: the photographs, the accompanying essay, the way the book is put together with obvious care and love is magnificent magic.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully elusive garden images, April 19, 2002

By 

Mediahound (SF Bay Area, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Le Notre's Gardens (Hardcover)

While the text essays in this book are a bit dry, the photographic reproductions are of top notch quality. Kenna's photographs are beautifully elusive, sometimes printed quite dark, yet remain salient throughout. I found myself wondering how the images looked on the contact sheets, straight, with no darkroom manipulations. This book serves as a great example of what you can do in the darkroom to bring out a more poignant image than you actually shot at the location. It should be required for anyone who works with black and white photography in the darkroom; not because you will gleen any certain tips or techiques but because you will study the final results and perhaps wonder how they were achieved.

As a photographer, this book will remain in my photo book collection and it is Kenna's strongest work to date.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book, February 7, 2011

By 

mixed blessings (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Le Notre's Gardens (Hardcover)

I am a huge Michael Kenna fan, so I am glad I own this book! It is lovely and intriguing.