Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I taught college level painting and art history courses for ten years. This is one of the most memorable books I used as source material. Usually a treatment of Impressionism will write of it as a movement in response to the paintings of the Academy; an inquiry into the play of light and instantaneity. Fine, fine, but how many books do we really need that say the same thing ? This book looks at changes in the architecture of Paris which changed the city from a network of villages into a web of wide boulevards and massive, sometimes monotonous buildings. People (many of them young) were moving into the city and feeling the displacement and dehumanization which we usually associate with depictions of Victorian era London.
Herbert spends a good bit of time looking at the clothing of individuals portrayed in paintings to ruminate about their social standing. His keen eye for gesture picks up a lot. Looking at an outdoor cafe scene by Manet, he notices that the young man at the table with a woman is actually kneeling next to her, not seated there. From this he infers that the man is trying to pick up the jeune fille. The rather prudish look on her face seems to confirm that this is what's happening.
The copious illustrations are wonderful. Many are of paintings which are infrequently reproduced in art books. There are also a lot of works by Gustave Caillebotte whose compositions are so fascinating. The writing is lively. I think this is a terrific book for a lover of Impressionism and/or a lover of Paris. It's a wonderful fusion of images and prose. I'm just so glad to find it available at such a reasonable price.
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