Painting and Sculpture in France, 1700-1789 (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art) [Paperback]

Sir Michael Levey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0300064942 | ISBN-13: 978-0300064940

Genius and talent combine to render both brilliant and varied the image of painting and sculpture in France in the last years of the ancien regime. The outpouring of creative activity and of inspired patronage, both public and private was then unparalleled elsewhere. Gifted exponents of sculpture include the Coustou, Michel-Ange Slodtz, and Caffieri, besides the better-known Falconet, Pigalle, and Houdon: their often monumental work provides a salutary reminder of the seriousness of intention in an age often still stereotyped as frivolous and lightweight. In painting, Restout, Vernet, Oudry and others were appreciated at least as much as Boucher, and portraiture, genre, and still life were all well served. The era may have opened with Watteau and the fete galante, but it closed with a revival of history painting, and with an artistic revolutionary in the person of David. Bringing new insights and information to bear on the work of the great French artists and sculptors of the eighteenth century, Levey has created a book that is at once beautiful and instructive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300064942
• ISBN-13: 978-0300064940
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a bit dull but informative, February 23, 2011

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B. D. Haas "i love amsterdam" (netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Painting and Sculpture in France, 1700-1789 (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art) (Paperback)

I bought the book because I am interested in sculpture, so my comments only concern the chapters on sculpture. Being a regular visitor to the Louvre I often find it hard to appreciate the museum's exhibition of French sculpture from the 17th and 18th centuries. The book clarified a lot of the issues I used to have. It draws attention to the tensions between influences of the Italian baroque and more classical or natural trends. It made it clear to me that the period is to be considered on its own and not as a preparation to neoclassicism or a part of Italian sculpture (this may sound obvious and of course it is, but my way of looking at the works was always blurred by too much thinking of Italy or Canova).
So much for the benefits of the book. There are some flaws as well. The most important of these in my view is this: the author begins every section with biographical notes on the sculptor under consideration. This constitutes a pattern that makes the book a rather dull read. Also, not of every piece discussed there is an image.
Still I am glad I bought and read the book (the chapters on sculpture that is).