Customer Reviews

Russian Painting (Temporis Collection)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is certainly worth having in any collection of students of Russian art. While it is not terribly useful for any particular period and is a bit short on detailed information, it does accomplish the main purpose of having an overview of the various types and historical periods of Russian art. It has an excellent collection of color plates which speak for themselves and exhibit the various traditions. It has a very short section on post revolutionary Russian Impressionism and I found that useful, but for others who want an indepth look at any particular period or genre, it is pretty basic. Worth having for historical and tradition context, but for serious focus on a particular tradition, other books are more detailed. I'm happy I have it.

This is not strictly a review, but a reccomandation. I bought the book for a Russian friend who loves art, but has no Russian art books. I soon found out why. It is very hard to find a book on real Russian art. Plenty of books on the Hermitage collections and other foreign artists collected by Russian.
The book was a great success, my friend was so touched to see pictures by the artists she had studied about. It was worth every penny.

This a beautifully illustrated book that can introduce you to the major Russian painters. And--if you're like me--all of them before the early 20th century will be unknown to you. I've read a fair amount of the text. I've found it good background for someone who just wants to know a little about Russian art before visiting Moscow and St Petersburg. There are good plates of the most important paintings. It's easy to go online to find more biographical background and even more plates if you find artists that intrigue you. I wish the index were better. The book is organized by genres--portraits, historical paintings, landscapes, etc. If you're trying to find all the paintings--or commentary--on a single painter, it's a struggle. But that's a quibble. I'm very pleased with the book. It's useful as I'm doing background research for my trip. I'll love having it as a reference once I return.

the only reason to have this book is the images - huge and very high res, and the array itself is quite fascinating. however, if you read the text, your impression may be spoiled. I don't know if Mr. Leek has a PhD in Art History and whether he ever researched Russian art and history before; right there in the introduction the author (Mr.Leek) states that in 1913 the Romanov's celebrated the MILLENNIUM of their rule! Once I encounter nonsense of such sort, I will never treat the text under review as a trustworthy source and its author an expert. However, for such a low price I would buy this book just for the pics!