Poussin Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonne (Hardcover)

by Christopher Wright (Author)
Key Phrases: catalogues raisonné, National Gallery, Cardinal Richelieu, New Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A Frenchman who lived in Rome for 40 years, Nicolas Poussin was one of the most influential painters of the 17th century, yet today, largely ignored by the general public, he is admired only by scholars and artists. His best pictures are dark meditations on tragedy and death, while his happy picturesdrunken, posed bacchanalsare almost ludicrous to the modern taste. Even his landscapes point to a moral. Wright has sought to restore Poussin's importance and meaning for our time, and, with the aid of some 200 color plates, he has succeeded. He discusses the Sacraments as an interrelated series of moods and analyzes the serene poetry of the landscapes. Poussin's avowed goal was to make the spectator think, and his religious or mythological scenes here emerge as the working out of an ethical viewpoint. Wright enables us to see this without over-emphasizing Christian or classical symbolism. December 18
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Few artists have vexed scholars as much as Poussin; the authenticity of several dozen of some 200 paintings purported to be his work is still being questioned. This is the seventh cata logue raisonne on Poussin, and Wright disputes some earlier opinions regard ing the undocumented paintings. Pous sin has never been a popular artist, though Wright feels his colleagues have stressed the intellectual aspects of the paintings over their visual beauty. But it is doubtful if art historians have much impact on public opinion, and even Wright admits that no Poussin canvas has the emotional immediacy of, say, a Rembrandt. This treatise is both a read able introduction for the sophisticated layperson and a synthesis of critical opinion for the scholar. Highly recom mended. Eleanor Riley, Getty Con servation Inst. Lib., Marina del Rey, Cal.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chaucer Press (January 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904449581
• ISBN-13: 978-1904449584
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,135,234 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good scolarship, but horrible reproductions. BEWARE!!, February 5, 2008

By	Dini Gabriele "Raphael Urbinas" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I awaited many years to see a new Poussin "catalogue raisonnè",
but now I'm disappointed.
I'm sure about Wright's thorough scolarship, but nearly ALL the reproductions here are too small, and with HORRIBLE, bad colours!!
It's really a pity.
I'll return to the good and bigger photos in "Nicolas Poussin", 1994 ex.catalogue (Paris, RMN; see also the London edition), awaiting to see the english edition of "Poussin and nature", an exhibition held in Bilbao and now opening at the MET in New York.
Gabriele, an "italian lover" of Poussin.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but shameful production values in reprint edition, April 21, 2008

By	Peter Henne (San Pedro, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought Christopher Wright's Catalogue Raisonne of Poussin's paintings more than 10 years ago and it opened up this French master's world for me. Since Wright's book just came back in print, I had the opportunity to look at it brand new in a bookstore. The reproductions in this brand new Chaucer Press reprint are appallingly bad! The pictures in the earlier edition I picked up in the late 1990s are a little dark, and 30 are relegated to black-and-white (most, around 180, are color), but the pictures all the same are serviceable and in any case much better than what you see in the Chaucer quickie production. So instead of purchasing this book new, may I suggest looking for the SAME title with almost completely the SAME text that has the SAME BUT BETTER REPRODUCTIONS under the Harlequin Books or Jupiter Books imprint from 1984. (It has also been distributed under the names Hippocrene Books, Olympic Marketing Corp, and Alpine Fine Arts, with a date of 1984 or 1985--they are all the same acceptable edition.) I understand the new Chaucer edition includes some revisions, but its lousy printing quality prevents it from replacing the older book. Poussin's light is so faintly and subtly gray that reproductions are very hard to do to begin with, and I've never seen them done in any book quite right, but the photography in the older edition of Wright's book that I've cited at least attempts to convey the dimness which is part of the true experience and the photos are not badly taken. The photos I've seen online aren't any better than the ugly Chaucer edition. The book in the previous edition is a good place to start with Poussin, a well-developed outline of his career, some healthy opinionated interpretation and lots and lots of pictures. What you want at the least is a competent or better photograph of every painting at a reasonable cost and you get that with the old version of the book. By the way, almost half of the black-and-white photos in the 1984 Wright book represent paintings in Russian collections, and all of these are reproduced in good color in "Nicolas Poussin: The Master of Colours" published by Parkstone/Aurora, which is available cheap.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Close, but not close enough, October 26, 2007

By	Rico Lebrun - See all my reviews

I had such hopes for this book. A Poussin Catlogue Raisonne. Wonderful. I have come to find that many Raisonne's are scholarly affairs and that the text is considered superior to the images. This book is just that. The text is well written. The reproductions are appallingly small. My bias is from an artist point of view. I buy art books for the pictures; as I suspect most art book buyers do. This book, being a scholarly affair, is more interested in information, not reproductions. The reproductions shown are used to illustrate the text.

There is absolutly no excuse for these types of poorly produced books. The technology to make outstanding art books has improved dramatically in the last ten years. The gold standard for art books and a perfect example of what we should expect is "Peter Paul Rubens 1577-1640, The Masterpieces from the Viennese Collections" by Verlag Christian Brandstatter. An absolutly stunning book. (Hard to find but Barns and Noble still had a few copies as of 6/07). To all of you aspiring Raisonne authors and publishers look at the Rubens book to get an idea of what is possible. If you are an academic looking to fill your bookcase this is your book. If you are looking at this book for fine reproductions, keep looking.