Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art: The Lanzendorf Collection (Hardcover)

~ John J. Lanzendorf (Author) "By virtue of its dramatic sail, Dimetrodon is perhaps the best-known nondinosaurian vertebrate fossil..." (more)
Key Phrases: dinosaur artists, Michael Skrepnick, Bronze Date, Late Cretaceous (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1985, a Chicago hair stylist named John Lanzendorf bought a sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex on a whim. Fifteen years later, he had added more than 420 pieces to that initial purchase, assembling a collection that, paleontologist Philip Currie writes, "is the envy of many museums," and that one day doubtless will form the core of a museum collection itself.

Cataloguing only a portion of Lanzendorf's holdings, Dinosaur Imagery joins works by painters, animators, and sculptors, such as John Gurche, Donna Braginetz, and Gary Staab, with extended captions by paleontologists such as Michael Brett-Surman (Smithsonian Institution) and Mark Norell (American Museum of Natural History). The works of art range from the rigorously representational to the occasionally playful (but, fortunately, seldom kitschy), and there are some wonderful finds among them. The texts are revealing; it will come as news to many readers that the ancestor of the aforementioned T. rex may well have sported feathers (its posture, recent anatomical studies suggest, also resembled that of a chicken), that theropods hunted in packs, that sauropods traveled in herds, and that "the extinction of dinosaurs, although scientific dogma for decades, is now recognized as taxonomic illusion."

This well-made book is manna for fans of dinosaurs and dinosauriana, and an ideal gift for budding paleontologists. --Gregory McNamee

From Booklist

With dinosaurs never more popular, representational works of the terrible lizards have poured from the ateliers in recent years. Hundreds of paintings and table-top sculptures from this output reside in a collection assembled by an enthusiast named John Lanzendorf, hair stylist by day, dinophile by night. A selection from Lanzendorf's collection constitutes the core of this lustrous album; text by numerous paleontologists captions the images, particularly detailing an artist's scientific accuracy of depiction. Generations mesmerized by the paintings of the first famous dino-artist, Charles Knight, will instantly recognize in these contemporary paintings--most were executed in the 1990s--the vast revisions in thought about dinosaurs' appearance and behavior since Knight's heyday a century ago. For example, T. rex no longer rears vertically, triumphally, over a hapless herbivore, but rather, in several paintings by different artists, lopes along in a horizontal posture, scavenging carcasses. But the unknowns about dinosaurs, the color patterns of their hide or plumage, permit these artists much creative latitude, and viewers awed by dinosaurs will find their imaginations every bit as vivid and dramatic as Knight's ever was. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1 edition (May 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124365906
• ISBN-13: 978-0124365902
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,090,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best dinosaur art collection available, August 16, 2001

By	Johannes (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

Well,I did received this book for my birthday,and guess if I was happy!It is probably the best birthday gift I've ever received.
The title sounds exciting and suggestive,and so is the book itself. It features parts of the Lanzendorf Collection,which is the largest dinosaur art collection in the world. This 160-page book features about 20 per cent of the collection,but it is still amazingly much. Of course,it would be impossible to collect all dinosaur art beeing made today,but if anyone did,John Lanzendorf would be the one to do it. His apartment contains only dinosaur collectibles and artwork - no other decorations!That must be a really amazing home to live in!
With this book,I have the option to view some of the work hanging there. Although this book has some pictures of beautifull,triassic dinosaurs and jurassic ones as well,it focuses mainly on the cretaceous period,which is called "A Cretaceous End to A Lost World". And that is may be because most of the really fantastic dinosaurs lived during the mid-late cretaceous. There are a lot of pictures of T-rex,which is particulary my favorite dinosaur,and the most inspiring one in this book. Some of the other amazing dinosaurs featured here are Sinsauropteryx,Carnotaurus,Lambeosaurus,and many more.
It does have some inspiring,peacefull pictures of plant-eaters,although the pictures of theropods are the highlights.
Each artist has their own,unique style. John Sibbick has an immidiate sense of detail,and is one of the best. Luis Rey has a little sense of surrealism in his detailed,a little strange paintings. Mark Hallet has the classical style in dinosaur painting. John Bindon is the master of black/white dinosaur art.
Donna Braginetz always make it feel so real you believe they are really there!
Of course,the bronze sculptures makes a nice addition to the artwork,and they look very real. Must be nice decorations!
Over all,the combination of the artists`s different talents makes this book a wonderfull coffee-table book,and a unique collection of dinosaur art that should be a part of every paleontologist`s or dinosaur maniac`s library. I know it is quite expensive,but believe me,it`s worth every penny you spend on it!It has been very helpfull to me when learning to paint good dinosaurs,and the different talents makes me take little inspiration from every painting in the book.
So,if you like dinosaurs seriously,this is a must-have!No dinosaur artist should be without a copy of this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful blend of art and science, July 29, 2000

By	Mary Kirkaldy (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art is as unique as the art collection which it mirrors. Academic Press is to be commended for presenting these images from John Lanzendorf's private collection to an extremely receptive public. This book is a testament to the dynamic beauty of paleo art and sculpture which has allied the dinosaurs of the past with admirers in the present.

The high quality photos of the paintings and sculptures are accompanied by substantial commentary on the subject matter either by the artists or by experts on the particular species. Much more than a coffee table book, it can also be used as a reference book, with the works of the finest paleo artists illustrating the science. The groupings and progression make a visual statement as to why John Lanzendorf continues to acquire these images and Academic Press and the Field Museum of Natural History are successfully displaying the collection.

Dinosaur Imagery also includes contact information (e-mail/web page addresses) for many of the artists and scientists who contributed to the variety and theme of the book, thus linking scientific imagination with the interactive cyber world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lanzendorf Collection: Most Impressive!, June 21, 2000

By	D. Lathrap "Book Dork" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art (The Lanzendorf Collection) is as impressive a volume as its title is long. Mr. Lanzendorf has been collecting dinosaur art since 1985 and has now amassed a collection of 420 pieces including paintings, drawings and sculptures. The book presents less than 20% of his assemblage, but the that is enough to make the average dino-buff drool with envy. All the pieces included in the book represent the latest ideas concerning these creatures with the exception of a magnificent bronze recreation of the Tyrannosaurus from the 1933 movie King Kong. While readers will recognize several of the paintings from publication in prior dinosaur books, many are presented here for the first time. This reader found the sculptures in this volume to be even more exciting than the pictures. Particularly stunning are the bronzes of various carnivores such as the 1/8 scale Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, each one mounted on a base shaped like the continent on which it was found (South America and Africa respectively). I could go on, but it's better to let others discover the joys of this book for themselves. Hopefully Mr. Lanzendorf allows visitors to come and marvel at his collection as it would be worth a trip to Chicago for that alone.