5 comments about Alphonse Mucha.

1. I concur with everyone else's opinion on this book and want to add what a great value this is for the money. All the reproductions are beautiful. As someone else has said, the book has a fine text and it also shows the breadth of Mucha's work showing sculpture and sketches as well as his famous posters. This book is jam packed with the best of Mucha and I can't recommend it highly enough for true Mucha fans. I sometimes cut up books like this for framing, but there are TOO MANY great pictures to separate them. A marvelous vision of all of his life's work with many hard to find reproductions.



2. Wonderful book, very good bio of the man plus a great many examples of his work. Only downfall to me is i wished the images would have been larger. But thats just me nitpicking, because i absolutely love this book. I think anyone who's a fan of Mucha should own this book. Cheers, enjoy.



3. I was extremely happy with this. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is I wish some of the prints were larger.
   
   This has a great collection of Mucha's artwork, and an in depth look at the mans life; including photo's of models and photo's of his own family.
   
   If you enjoy Alphonse Mucha, this is a must own.



4. This book is great for those who do not have a great book on Mucha. The book contains a superior history of Mucha's life and intro the Art Neuvou period(Art Nuvo). Mucha should be credited with the entire period in my opinion.
   
   There is wide sampling of his works, beyond that in other books. There are examples of jewelry, metal works, paintings, prints, furniture, and architecture. The images are printed very well.
   
   All in all, this is the second best book; The best book was purchased in Prague at his museum (can't find in US...or remember name). This book had mostly paintings but I miss the superior color quality and few pictures run across two pages (a pet peeve of mine and occasional issue in this book)...this book seems to be as good as it gets here.



5. This book has it all lots of pictures as well as interesting information on Mucha and his work. I feel that it shows how he and his work became an icon of Art Nouveau. It is not just posters and panels that are covered it goes into every aspect of Mucha's work. There is information and pictures on "The Slav Epic", jewellery, lead light pastels, drawings and more. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves Mucha or Art Nouveau.

5 comments about The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place.

1. In July 2006, I saw the exhibit of the Quilts of Gees Bend at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco I didn't fully realize the importance of the quilts, so I didn't buy the book and regretted it. The quilts and their story, are haunting. Since then I have heard the quilts referred to as the the most outstanding example of US art.
   
   Whenever I talked to quilters, I wished that I had the book to show them. Now I have it and I am very happy with the purchase. The book is beautiful and the photograhs of the quilts are great.



2. Because of the personal stories, the beautiful layout and large, clear colorful pictures this book was like candy to read. I learned about the history of the area, the closeness of the community and families, and the sharing and pride of a folk art. I love when people find an outlet for their art in surprising and practical ways.



3. The book "The Quilts of Gee's Bend" by William Arnett is a great book of history within a particular culture that is rich in resourcefulness and creativity. It easy to read if one enjoys life stories that are true and down to earth. The pictures complete the full circle of this culture- use what is available and enjoy the outcome. The world could learn a lot from this book. The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place



4. I remember the first time I saw photographs of the quilts of Gee's Bend in a magazine about seven years ago. I couldn't wait to learn about the amazing artists whose vision the quilts portray. This book is more outstanding than I imagined it could be. It is powerful, beautiful, sensitive, and historically accurate. I recommend The Quilts of Gee's Bend to anyone with an eye for artistic genius and a love for discovering a community of women willing to express themselves outside the box of convention. How refreshing and inspiring! Simply Exceptional!!



5. Who is more qualified to help provide us with a book about the quilts of Gee's Bend, but Mr. Bill Arnett who has championed the makers of these quilts and their works since 'discovering' them years ago in the tiny community of Gee's Bend about thirty miles southwest of Selma, Alabama?
   
   The quilts first went on tour in 2002 and have been touring ever since. I learned of the ladies of Gee's Bend and their quilts from a PBS documentary first aired in 2003 and have anxiously hoped they would one day come to my part of the country. When, earlier this year, I found the quilts would indeed be coming to the Orlando Museum of Art, I purchased, The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, documenting the quilts, and the lives of their various makers, with beautiful, full-color illustrations of the quilts.
   
   In February, 2007, when I was finally able to enjoy the quilts in person, I was happy to discover the book had accurately depicted the quilts, and their makers, paralleling an exhibition that should be seen and appreciated by all.
   
   I purchased a copy of The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, for the art teacher of my children's school. This beautiful book encouraged her to take her middle and high school art students to the exhibition. The book helped the students to first see and read about what they were going to view and then became a superb keepsake of a most memorable trip.

2 comments about European Architecture 1750-1890 (Oxford History of Art).

1. took far too long to recieve the requested item. Was told it would be 1-2 weeks but recieved the item 6 weeks after purchase. this is the last time i will use this seller.



2. this book must be read with Modern Architecture by Oxford in order to understand the history of architecture. This book covers the must needed areas of the field including, the hut to Palladio, and others up until the rise of modernism, where incidently the book Modern Architecture takes over. I recommend this book in concordance to that book and for the architecture student whether for class or not.

4 comments about Art and Experience in Classical Greece.

1. J.J. Pollitt is one of the most respected scholars of ancient Greek art, and with good reason. His analyses are clear, well-written, cautious, and highly logical. Art and Experience is a classic (!) work of Pollitt's early career. It is an authoritative and engaging introduction to the history of art in ancient Greece, focusing on the Classical period (fifth and fourth centuries BC). The book assumes a general familiarity with some ancient history, philosophy, and literature, so it might be most useful for students or enthusiasts of classical culture who feel that their understanding of classical art is lacking. Nonetheless, the text is introductory enough that even a reader with no background in classics could find the book interesting and informative.
   What makes this book a particularly valuable introduction to Greek art is that it aims to explain the motives and ideas behind the art rather than to provide the reader with a list of works and names of styles. Pollitt answers the question of why Classical Greek art looks like it does, and he thus gives his reader a framework for understanding individual works.
   I can level only two criticisms at the book, and they are both relatively picky. The first is that, because of the brevity of the book and its intended non-specialist audience, some of Pollitt's conclusions seem to me like logical leaps, and some of his arguments seem too summary to be fully convincing. I would have preferred a more comprehensive treatment with fuller explanations--something along the lines of Paul Zanker's Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. As an introduction, however, the extent of the arguments in Art and Experience is sufficient. My second criticism is that Pollitt at times reveals more personal value judgements regarding the art of ancient Greece than I thought were necessary or appropriate. This is no doubt in part the product of the period in which the book was written, when value judgement still played some role in the teaching of art history (it has since largely been abandoned). It also may relate to the intended audience: I am sure that some readers will be interested to hear what traditional considerations have made art historians consider certain works to be "great." At the same time, readers should be wary of Pollitt's negative statements about some of the art (e.g., Hellenistic sculptures of children). The value of such art has recently been reevaluated by many art historians, including Pollitt himself, and the works do not deserve the dismissive tone apparent in Art and Experience.
   On a final note, readers should keep in mind that this book is intended to cover only a brief (though significant) period in the history of ancient Greek art. Because of its scope, this book does not provide a "grand tour" of all famous Greek art--works like the Nike (or Winged Victory) of Samothrace are not covered. While Art and Experience is a great way to begin an exploration of the art and culture of ancient Greece, for a full picture one must consult additional sources. I highly recommend following Art and Experience with Pollitt's masterful (and more scholarly, though still quite accessible) Art in the Hellenistic Age.



2. Knowing little of Greek art, I happened upon this book in my shelves (an old college textbook belonging to my husband). I was pleased and impressed with this overview of Classical Greek art. Pollitt covers the main strands of development in architecture, sculpture, and painting and places the works firmly in the context of the historical events and cultural atmosphere of their times. As a result, I came away with an increased appreciation and understanding of the quality and value of Classical Greek art and of the interconnection between art and larger society in ancient Greece.



3. [let this man speak for himself...]
   A thoughtful observer of these events, like
   Aeschylus, could not but have felt uneasiness.
   Were the Greek cities and the factions within
   them being drawn, through their quest for power
   even at the expenses of principle, into the
   cycle of *hybris*, *ate*, and *nemesis* which
   they themselves had seen in the undoing of the
   Persians? In a world where Zeus punished
   *hybris*, where men reaped the fruits of their
   own actions, were they sowing the seeds of
   their own downfall?
   "...be mindful, men of Greece and Athens,
   lest one among you, disdaining in his
   mind the fortune of the present, and
   lusting after more, waste the great
   blessings he has..."
   the ghost of Darius had said in the *Persians.*
   These fears, and with them the vivid memory
   of what destruction actually means (particularly
   in Athens,which had been sacked and ruined by
   the Persians) must have been strong motivating
   forces in the creation of the serious and
   meditative character of so much Early Classical
   art. The "Aspasia," the Charioteer of Delphi,
   and even the very early "Blond Boy" from the
   Athenian acropolis all seem to be attempts to
   embody the ideals of thoughtful restraint and
   responsibility which the Greeks were so frequently
   prone to forget. (pp. 26-27)
   * * *
   The fallen warrior [sculpture] from the east
   pediment [of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina] is
   another matter. As life ebbs away and he sinks
   toward the earth, he tries futilely, sword (now
   missing) in hand, to raise himself. His eyes
   narrow as his consciousness fades; his mouth is
   slightly open as his breathing grows difficult;
   he stares at the earth. His enfeebled movements
   contrast poignantly with his massive physical
   frame in which, for practically the first time,
   the individual details of the musculature are
   fused and unified by a softening of the lines
   of division between them, and by increasingly
   subtle modulation of the surface from which one
   senses the presence of a unified physical force
   emanating from within the body. The sculptor
   who conceived the figure had obviously thought
   carefully about exactly what it meant. He must
   have asked himself what it must really be like
   when a powerful warrior is wounded and falls.
   What does he feel? How should we feel? And
   what meaning is there in our feeling? (pp.19-20)
   * * * * * * * * *
   There are irritations in this work...amidst the
   riches. Pollitt seems to find no inspiration in
   the *Diskobolos* statue by Myron at all...devotes
   little space to it except to mention its "rhythmos,"
   but, incredibly, nothing about its beauty and the
   idealization of the harmonic development of the
   musculature of the male body by an athlete.
   And Pollitt has the bias of "reason" and
   "rationality" as the supposed prime virtues of
   Greek thought and art...over the mystical.
   Yet, if divine inspiration of poets and
   artists is not a mystical experience, then
   what is? And the Greeks certainly seem to
   have subscribed to that belief early on.
   * * * * * * * * *



4. Pollitt's book is one of those rare pieces of writing that rewards you with fresh insight each and every time you pick it up. It is beautifully and sensitively written, and manages to breathe remarkable life into the civilization of ancient Greece. This is a wonderful way to prepare for a trip to Greece--it will only make your travels even more rewarding. This is history at its best.

5 comments about Journal Revolution: Rise Up & Create! Art Journals, Personal Manifestos and Other Artistic Insurrections.

1. I really liked this book. It is a little light on technique but big on ideas. If you are looking for a book on technique keep looking but if you are looking for inspiration you have come to the right place. This is a journal of sorts written by the authors. I liked it.



2. Journal Revolution should be on every creative person's book shelf. It's one of those books that you keep nearby and randomly flip open when you need a double shot of artistic espresso. It is a *great* follow up to their first book, Visual Chronicles.
   
   For me, the best parts about Journal Revolution are the good vibes and great writing. I get really, really jazzed by their concept of Rise Up and Create! Their words/art are empowering and supportive. They don't pretend to have a corner on the art journal market. Rather, the vibe you get from them is one of collaboration. It's like having your best girlfriends sitting next to you cheering you on with each rip and tear of paper. You gotta love that!
   
   The techniques are helpful and cheap because Linda's art supplies are mostly paint, paper and tape. Love their Fauxlaroids (faux polaroids) and faux photo booth strips ideas. What genuinely fun and personal projects to play with and create.
   
   Linda and Karen -- You Rock!



3. If you've ever wanted to push journal-keeping beyond the confines of words on paper, maybe an image clipped from a magazine, lists of complaints and what you had for breakfast--but you were just kind of stumped about how to start--this is the book for you. Filled with ideas and instructions for creating beyond-the-limitations pages, it not only gives you permission to play but also nudges you out the door. My favorite part was the glimpses into the lives of the sisters--now those are some women who know how to have a good time!



4. Great book, I have used it with my art therapy classes to inspire my clients to create art journals, have found it to be a great resource. Really enjoyed the graphics and ideas.



5. "Barbie" did not write this book, it is not a commercial for 1,000's of products, and it is GREAT!! Different techniques for showing who you are and how you feel through your art. There's no book like this, no book that makes art of a dead-beat dad, a Nordstrom bag, and monks, all in one book. This book changed how I scrapbook, journal and see my self.

5 comments about Northern Renaissance Art.

1. I think that I am like many people in that my knowledge of the Renaissance Art of Northern Europe comes from a few lectures in a college art history survey course. A few iconic images from the likes of Bosch, Holbein,Durer and Breugel are all that come to mind. I knew the era was important but the details were sketchy.
   
   "Northern Renaissace Art" is everything you could want to deepen your knowledge of this important period of history. The book is 750 pages long and has over 680 illustration of which 250 are in beautifully reproduced color. James Snyder does an excellent job of explaining why those iconic paintings that everyone knows are great and deserve to be remembered 500 years after they were painted. More importantly, Snyder takes those second tier masters out of obscurity and elevates them to their proper place in history. Before reading this book, I had never heard of such masters as Jan Gossaert, Jean Fouquet and Petrus Christus. It was a exciting to get know their work. By no means is "Northern Rensaissace Art" a reasonably priced book. But it is the type of book that will give you great pleasure for many years.



2. Just buy it. You won't be sorry. Great images and lots of informative discussion of imagery.



3. Books on the Renaissance can be quite confusing to non-specialists. For example, Shakespeare classes in English schools discuss him as a Renaissance writer. Yet art teachers describe his near contemporary, Rubens, as the quintessential Baroque artist!
   So exactly what does Northern Renaissance Art cover? Is it an age that can be separated, marked out and surveyed by political or religious activities? And by northern what is meant? Is Switzerland the home of northern art? Can it be made in Italy? And what makes it significant and different from the universally recognized world of Italian Renaissance Art, where the term 'art' is always capitalized?
   Well, the truth lies pretty much with all of the above. As Snyder shows, several distinct cultures fall into this very large historical category. If you're buying this book as a student for a class, I can only hope you have more than one semester to give to the material. Northern Renaissance Art covers an enormous time period and many countries. It approaches in diversity the far better known works and ideas of the Italian Renaissance. No one seriously discusses the Italian Renaissance in a single semester - the material is taught in a series of classes. The same limitations and requirements should apply to teaching the Northern Renaissance. Art history today no longer focuses on aesthetic questions of style; as a result a student faces a lifetime's study of a period's culture and history.
   However, there are some basics. If one word could define what separates the two worlds of the Italian and Northern Renaissance - that word would have to be naturalism. Northern European artists revel in achievements of realism that far surpass the Italians, who, while perfectly capable of such stylistic work, prefer a more intellectually formalized approach. Indeed, Michelangelo dismissed northern artist's attention to nature and care for photographic details as incidental, and excessively ephemeral, when contrasted to his Italian art which used images for projecting deeper spiritual values. The public, however, was delighted with the landscapes, and their non-abstract openness. Many artists from the north specialized in landscape, and it became a manner so associated with them that it was not uncommon for Italian painters to hire Northern artists to fill in the 'less important' landscape backgrounds of their larger canvases.
   The Italian Renaissance differed also in that it was singularly connected to the revival and reappreciation of ancient 'pagan' works of art. These antiquities provided a challenge, as well as a reawakening, for the artists and thinkers of Italy. In the north artists did not have at hand magnificent works of ancient architecture or sculpture: as a result intellectual challenges were quite different; though initially tied to the Italian thinking, the northern artists more and more shifted focus onto their own immediate world. As the fifteenth century closed they became attuned to newer discoveries from the exploration of new (not ancient)worlds by sea, and the individuals emancipation brought about through the beginnings of Protestant thought. For moderns this means that the Northern Renaissance often appears closer to us and our own post photographic record of the world. The artist's sense of intimacy with nature seems little different than what most of us know as landscape art. Their religious works also convey a striking ease with space less contrived than our eyes find the representation of space in most Italian painting of the same era. All made the more attractive for being so accessible. Some of this difference marks profound religious and philosophical differences - northern art has about it some of the fervor of emancipation - there is here a reflection of the Armana naturalism revolting against the old art of a more dogmatic less individualistic Egypt. Eventually Italian artists would adapt to this new naturalism, especially in the north of Italy in Venice, in the works of Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian.
   This book introduces the reader to the early Flemish master painters, such as Van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, the later great German artists, such as Durer and Holbein and Grunewald, and the strange inner universe of Bosch. Topping off the age are the works of one of the grandest of all humanists, Pieter Bruegel the elder. And these are just some of the great painters! There remains a wealth of sculpture and architecture, drawing and craft work. Moreover, the Northern Renaissance is also an artistic universe filled with fresh new theories and a milieu profoundly effected by the great religious upheaval of the Reformation.
   Snyder gives as good an overview of so much material as one could hope for - his work replete with an enormous number of images, many of which have for nearly half a millenium been accepted as iconic. The text treats the material with a practised consideration, born of many years study. However; the impetus of the book is to direct the reader further afield, and this is indisputably the author's greatest achievement and the point of such a survey work. The real jewels for readers will be enlarging these discoveries by travel and on site awareness, these efforts made more satisfying through study of specific texts directed at the new artists whose work transforms your view of what the Renaissance was.



4. I am using this book as a text in school and I am quite impressed. I bought this book (hardcover) for half the price of the paper back version sold at my school. The text in interesting, not dry. The images are good reproductions. The only thing that I don't admire about the book is that some of the images are printed in black and white.



5. I am using this book as a text in school and I am quite impressed. I bought this book (hardcover) for half the price of the paper back version sold at my school. The text in interesting, not dry. The images are good reproductions. The only thing that I don't admire about the book is that some of the images are printed in black and white.

3 comments about Art in Renaissance Italy.

1. I lived in Italy for over a year and this was the primary text book for my renaissance art history class. It was a wonderful book with pictures and so much information, I had to purchase it for myself.



2. I needed this book for my college Ren. Art class and our bookstore wasn't getting it in on time. PLUS they were ONLY selling it for $80.00!! I have always had wonderful results with amazon and trust their speedy delivery.
   The books information is extremely indepth with wonderful colored pictures to go along with our professors lectures. I've developed a desire to see Florence and the Or San Michele there. If someone were to ask me about it 2 months ago, i would have asked them to repeat themselves. But indepth on monuments, paintings, cities and regions all over the country and throughout the 12th- 16th centuries.



3. This book is far and above what I had expected. Emphasis was placed on being user friendly, which is paramount with such a heavy topic. Side bars on the inner political, religious, and general public life help to clarify what influenced the artist in making choices of subject, style, and composition. I now have a clearer understanding of why I paint how I do, and why we as a culture critique art the way we do.

1 comments about Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop.

1. Most books on hip hop fall into the music category: not so TOTAL CHAOS: THE ART AND AESTHETICS OF HIP-HOP, compiled and edited by Jeff Chang whose contributors informatively and thoughtful consider the evolution, presence, and impact of hip-hop as a cultural expression and social commentary. From its commercial world to its cultural and artistic roots, TOTAL CHAOS offers students of sociology an excellent survey that runs the gamut from gender issues to artistic conflicts within the hiphop environment. The anthology includes interviews, first-person experience and analysis yet is lively enough for the general-interest library, as well.

3 comments about Greek Art and Archaeology, 4th Edition.

1. I am so happy i got this book from amazon. It shipped fast and came in perfect condition. Best of all i got it for $75, instead of $130 if i bought it from my school.



2. Great if you like archaeology, get the hardcover version too, its worth it, wont die over time!



3. This was a required text for an art history course I took in college, and, being an art history major, I found this to be an easy read. It made the material easy to understand, and the color and black-white photographs were excellent. Pedley covers the entire spectrum of Greek art admirably, makes connections to primary sources, and outlines the various styles so that even a student NOT interested in the subject comes away with something. Anyone needing a reference on Ancient Greek Art or wanting to learn about the subject will find his book to be invaluable!

5 comments about Roy Lang's Sea & Sky in Oils: Painting the Atmosphere & Majesty of the Sea.

1. Purchased the book thinking it would be a good overview. The reviews seemed promising. I've read it like three times now! It is so good and the techniques are really straightforward. I'm about to paint my very first seascape having learned from this book that it IS possible. I understand that there is also a Roy Lang DVD that goes along with this book and am looking to get a copy. If you want to learn how to paint the sea - you can't go wrong with this book.



2. An excellent book of ideas for those attempting, for the first time, the complexities of the sea. I would like to have had a few more work studies under different lighting conditions. Certainly a terrific starting point for first timers such as myself.



3. this guy knows how to paint water but never give you a good tutorial at all, i bought this book 'cause of the painting in the cover... thinking that I'll learn to paint at least that painting... WRONG!!! only shows you how to paint small waves, boring scenes nothing great... last time I'm buying books of this kind in amazon... I'll better go to half price books



4. I made the mistake of not reviewing his work before buying the book. While his water is well done, his rocks look like they were painted directly from a squeezed tube. It's a distraction in many of his paintings. It is hard to learn from a book when you aren't impressed with the artist's work.



5. Very well presented. Well written. I would recommend this book as a manual for aspiring painters like myself. Some experience with oil painting is needed to follow instructions.