Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A FEAST FOR THE EYES, MIND, AND SOUL!, November 15, 2000
By A Customer
This splendid book, edited by Paul Greenhalgh, is one of the most beautiful art books I have ever seen. When I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London last spring, I was delighted to find that they were in the midst of a wonderful Art Nouveau exhibition, the same exhibition that is now at the National Museum in Washington, D.C. This book was published along with the exhibit, and it contains a treasure trove of examples of the distinctive Art Nouveau style and its many influences. Along with the elegant reproductions (many in exquisite color) there is a superbly written and informative text which discusses the different periods and styles. It covers Art Nouveau designs in furniture, jewelry, posters, architecture, ceramics, among many other areas. This book is a joy to look at -- whether you just flip through the beautifully displayed pictures or sit down at leisure to read the text while sipping a cup of tea. Art lovers everywhere -- especially those who love Art Nouveau --MUST get this book! You will NOT be sorry!
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An encyclopedic presentation of beauty and history, December 26, 2001
this book is one of the most valuable in my personal library -- not only are the pictures gorgeous, but the text provides historical context and thus enriches the entire presentation. i enthusiastically looked at every page, and was flabbergasted by some of the objets d'art. the things people can dream of! the things they can make from raw materials... it's simply amazing, especially lalique's jewelry. one of the aspects of this book that i most admire is it's equal treatment of different forms: architecture, graphic design, jewelry, furniture, visual media, sculpture, and urban planning are all addressed. i wish it had spoken more about the music, poetry, and dance of the time, but that's not a complaint. the book is huge, but well organized into regional sections (france, spain, usa, etc) and gives biographical info about the artists as well. i am going to go back to europe again when i can, specifically to see the homes photographed in this amazing anthology. given the size and the amount of info, as well as the quality of the photographs, the price for this book is unbeatable. buy this collection -- you won't regret it at all! note: this book would be particularly useful to those interested in art history, nature in art, photography, and movement in art (note that loie fuller is a heavy influence on the form in france, and thus students of choreography/dance history should be familiar with this period in art)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All the pictures are color!!!!, December 9, 2004
This is a rare gem among art histories: A well researched book that an average person will enjoy as much as a researcher. What makes this book stand out from other books about art nouveau is how thorough it is (It is phone book thick) and the quantity and quality of the pictures. All the reproductions of art in this book are color, with the obvious exception of older photographs of artists and occasionally architecture or artifacts that no longer exist except in black and white pictures.
The book takes the theory that art nouveau was part of a social response to industrialization. So the art is defined as art that used a return to nature or investigation into magic to try to make sense of the world. Art works are organized by what materials they were created from (jewelry, ceramics, textile, commercial advertising prints). Paintings and some examples of the other medias are grouped by country with a historical write on art nouveau in that geographical region.
This book is great. The high quality color reproductions and so many of them are worth looking through again and again. If you are at all into art nouveau then you are likely to love this book. Libraries should make this available because of the wonderful high quality color reproductions.
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