What Color Is Paradise (Adventures in Art (Prestel)) [Hardcover]

Elisabeth Lemke (Author), Marc Chagall (Author), Thomas David (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Adventures in Art (Prestel)

What colour is paradise? This and other questions are answered in this look at Chagall's biblical paintings. For Chagall, God was present in all people and all things. In his paintings he therefore mixed together the story of the Bible and the everyday world like the colors in his palette. His great paintings such as "The Creation of Man", "Paradise" and "Noah's Ark" invite young and old alike to get to know the stories of the Book of Genesis.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Chagall's story begins with a description of his family, boyhood, and his Jewish community in the Russian town of Vitebsk. Brief paragraphs on each page bring details of the artist's character to life: "He had narrow shoulders and unruly hair and was good at singing, dancing and playing the violin." Biographical elements are illustrated by and interwoven with descriptions of his paintings. Chagall's work is predominately religious, and his paintings often contain a mixture of modern people and places with biblical stories and elements. The text provides excellent descriptions of such elements, such as the Wheel of Creation. Different features are highlighted to guide readers in looking at and deciphering the artwork. This volume is beautifully designed, with black-and-white photographs of the artist, his family, and studio; many large, full-color reproductions of his paintings; and varied textual elements (font sizes and colors). Certain phrases are highlighted by colored ink; these curving comments serve almost as captions or chapter titles. A worthy introduction to the artist.-Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Another fine entry in the innovative Adventures in Art series, this title uses Chagall's biographical paintings to introduce his life story and work. In the opening scenes, Chagall's images of his childhood town illustrate stories about the artist's early years: a picture of an evening inside a synagogue accompanies text about his Jewish education. On the following pages, blocks and fanciful ribbons of text describe the details in Chagall's deeply religious pieces, citing both the biblical scriptures and events in the artist's life that relate to the images, ending appropriately in a description of the glorious painting Life . A straightforward one-page biography appears at the book's conclusion, along with citations for all the artworks, inconveniently printed on the end-papers. Readers will come away with both a sketch of the artist's life and a deeper appreciation for visual art's capacity to tell stories. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 30 pages
• Publisher: Prestel Publishing (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3791323938
• ISBN-13: 978-3791323930
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction for older children, January 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: What Color Is Paradise (Adventures in Art (Prestel)) (Hardcover)

Marc Chagall's paintings are beautiful and intricate, and this book attempts to deliver both reproductions of his paintings and an abbreviated biography. There are a few photographs scattered throughout as well, mostly of Chagall's family. I would warn readers, however, that even though the book is listed as suitable for children ages 4-8, a 4-year-old is not likely to enjoy this book, except perhaps as a free-form discussion tool. The narrative is too dense (short as it is) to hold such a young child's attention. My daughter, 4, is very bright and social, but she still couldn't look at the book with me in a conventional way. Instead we talked about what we saw in the pictures and how the colors blended together and created a mood, sometimes sad, sometimes happy. The book is worth purchasing for an older child, however, and I would recommend it for children at least age 6 and up. It is rather thin, but is filled with wonderful things.