Customer Reviews

Toward Modern Art: From Puvis de Chavennes to Matisse and Picasso

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The subtitle to this art book reads: From Puvis de Chavannes to Matisse and Picasso. You might reasonably assume that the volume is a retrospective of representative artists within the tradition of modern art, with appropriate space given to each. This is not exactly the case.

Rather, the "From Puvis de Chavannes" actually refers to the argument developed within; that the work of all the artists in the modern schools from the late 1800's to about 1930, has been based to some degree on the work of Puvis de Chavannes. Being a layman to the art world, Puvis de Chavannes was an unfamiliar name to me, so I was surprised to find a book which assigns him a major role in modern art history.

While the text is devoted to the theme of showing how various schools and painters were influenced by Puvis de Chavannes, there is, of course, also a wealth of general information which may be of more interest to the novice such as myself than to more advanced art-lovers.

There are over 500 works which, to my untrained eye, are reproduced beautifully. The most well-represented artist is the featured one, Puvis de Chavannes, but many others who figure into the development of modern art are also represented. I see this volume as being valuable for those who are especially interested in Puvis de Chavannes, and also for those who may be looking for an art book with great reproductions with which to learn about the development of modern art.

This is a very large book with excellent reproductions. I am very picky about the quality of images, and this is the only book about this artist that does his work justice. It gives a complete view of Chavannes's work, and has many paintings by his peers and followers. I hope this book will bring attention back to an artist that art history undeservedly forgot.