The Impressionists. This item is unavailable.The Impressionists

This lavishly illustrated survey of one of the most popular artistic movements in history examines the intimate world of the painters, their models, their friends, and their critics. The lively and absorbing text is based on the author's original research. Biographical notes on all leading figures of the movement are included as well as gazetteer coverage of the crucial places in the Impressionist story.

The main text of this book provides a fairly standard history of Impressionism, although it is marred by a number of glaring editorial errors. The special inserts or "Features" in each chapter help raise the book above the ordinary by focusing on various social influences on the artists, such as "The Changing Face of Paris," "Japan and the Impressionists," "The Impressionists and Entertainment," etc. The many contemporary photographs used in these sections are of great interest, but the inserts interrupt the main text so frequently that they become rather annoying. A unique feature is the "Gazeteer of Impressionism," which is designed to help today's tourist locate the haunts and painting sites of the Impressionists and is illustrated with contemporary and modern photographs of the locales. Lack of footnotes and bibliography limit the book's usefulness. Most readers would be better served by Robert L. Herbert's Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society ( LJ 10/15/88).
- Lynell A. Morr, John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art Lib., Sarasota, Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.