Customer Reviews

Treasures of the Louvre (Tiny Folio)

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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Housing a majestic collection of nearly 300,000 works of art, only a fraction of which are on display at any one time, no book, no matter its size, can ever come close to actually visiting the Musée du Louvre itself. In that regard, this book is no different.
Where this comprehensive book, written by the museum's director, excels other visual guides of its kind is in both the assortment of the works it presents and in its easy-to-browse organization.
Printed in high-quality plates on semi-glossy paper, and bound in a sturdy, pocket-sized format, this little volume superbly reproduces nearly 400 of the museum's most renowned masterpieces. For each item, its name, author, place of origin, date of creation, materials and dimensions is indicated, and the pieces are chronologically arranged into seven distinct sections, according to the museum's own classification system:
*Oriental Antiquities
*Egyptian Antiquities
*Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
*Decorative Arts
*Sculpture
*European Paintings
*Drawings
As a bonus, a brief look at the museum's history is offered in the Preface and, for fast check-ups, an Index of Illustrations is provided at the back.
For those who have already visited the museum this book is a first-class visual reminder of what you have seen, and for those who have never been to it, it gives a tantalizing glimpse of this vast and remarkable treasure.
Enjoy!
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

This is a light coffee table book that provides a kind of greatest hits list of the collection. A collection that is so big no one single book would really do it justice. Overall I think this book does a fine job at its purpose, which is to provide you a little history and meaning on some selected works. This book is almost akin to a travel memento picture book. The book for me reminds me to always stop by the Museum when I am in Paris

I had not appreciated the "Tiny" part of the subtitle and Tiny it is. It's probably less than 4 inches square. It's a question of what you want it for, however. It's little enough to take with you to the Louvre, but since there is no "guidebook" aspect, or explanation of the art works, it is not likely you would do it. It's more of a souvenir and is very economical for that purpose, but little value otherwise.

30.5 x 23 cm (12" x 9") ISBN 0896600637 and 0896600378 Artabras 1993, 280 pages, Paperback

Containing work form all areas of the Louvre's collections, this is fully illustrated throughout, in fact there is little else besides the illustrations here with the introduction just a little over a page in length, plus an index to the work illustrated.

The work is divided into sections: Oriental Antiques (pp 9-34); Egyptian Antiques (pp 35-64); Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiques (pp 65-92); Decorative Arts (pp 93-114); Sculpture (pp 115-140); European Paintings (pp 141-246); Drawings (pp 247-275).

With the illustrations invariably either half of full-page in size I estimate there are about 400 pieces illustrated (forgive if I don't count them), each with a full caption but nothing more. Many of the three-dimensional pieces are shown as cut-outs so there is nothing to detract from the image. The quality of printing is good with reasonable detail even in the very dark areas of paintings, and the colours appear convincing.

If you are after a good selection of the full range of the Louvre's collections this is a good place to start, but of course if you want any commentary then you 'd best look elsewhere.

this book was exactly like the one I looked at the Louvre in Paris, France but cheaper. Even paying for the s&h I still got it cheaper. Excellent condition!! Very satisfied customer