Product: Book ISBN-10: 0-8109-5608-X ISBN-13: 9780810956087 Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Country: Year: December 7, 2004 Edition: First Edition Size: 25.15 x 29.46 x 5.08cm Number of pages: 768 Weight: 3,810gr Binding: Hardcover
Product Description Situated in the heart of Paris, the Musée d'Orsay boasts the greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world, unparalleled in its diversity and quality. Since its opening in 1986 in a spectacularly renovated train station, the museum has welcomed more than 50 million visitors to its collection of works by Bouguereau, Courbet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Redon, Whistler, Gauguin, and other artists of the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.
In this deluxe, oversize volume, the museum's director, Serge Lemoine, and his team of curators and specialists examine this extraordinary collection, ranging from the primacy of Academic painting through the shock of Impressionism to the rise of modern art. With 830 full-color illustrations of masterpieces by some of the world's best-loved artists-from Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles to Cézanne's Apples and Oranges-this is the definitive guide to paintings in one of the world's most popular museums. The exhaustive scope of this book and the richness of its imagery make Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay an essential addition to the bookshelves of all lovers of Impressionism and of great art. AUTHOR BIO: Serge Lemoine is director of the Musée d'Orsay and a professor at the Sorbonne. He has published numerous books, articles, and essays, particularly on abstract, Constructivist, and Dadaist art. He has also organized many exhibitions in France and elsewhere.
reviews
Great book … but it could have been better
The concept of this book is very good: minimum text – maximum pictures. All art monographs should follow the same principle.
The book is split into the chapters dealing with dominant artistic trends of the time, and subchapters dedicated to the most important artists within each trend/movement.
The brief introductory essays are well written and help understand background behind the movements or artistic groups whose most representative works are displayed on the subsequent pages.
If one hasn't seen d'Orsay's magnificent collection in person, they'll be amazed by this lavishly illustrated monograph.
In most cases there is one plate per page, sometimes two and very seldom three. However, what I don't understand is 2 inches wide margin around the reproductions (???) Why? Why they were not printed at least an inch larger at all sides?
Besides, though even the best repros can't do justice to the original, many pictures could have been much better. Don't get me wrong – majority of reproductions is of good quality, but there are those (I'd say one third of the total number) which are considerably lighter than the originals and/or have rather compressed values – Manet's Olympia being the most obvious example. (I've visited d'Orsay two months ago and the paintings are still vivid in my memory).
However, these remarks shouldn't stop you from purchasing the book, since monsieur Lemoine in this monograph included works of many great but usually neglected artists, those which one can very rarely (or never) see in the books on art of the 19th century. There are enough books on Impressionists to fill all the world's garbage landfills many times over (and thousands upon thousands more are printed every year), yet it is so hard to find one monograph on the likes of Cabanel, Delaunay, Fromentin, Bonnat, Laurens, Carriere, Levy-Dhurmer, Hammershoi etc etc.