3 comments about Treasures of the Uffizi: Florence : Tiny Folio.

1. Remember its tiny - approx 4"x4" - but very well done.



2. Remember its tiny - approx 4"x4" - but very well done.



3. Though a thin volume for a museum title, I am impressed by the picture quality of this book. The illustrations contain very little moire and are not page-split in the middle in many cases.

5 comments about Wandering Paris: A Guide to Discovering Paris Your Way.

1. I've been to Paris many times and even lead tours there. When I saw this book, I thought it would be a fun read but wouldn't tell me anything I already knew. I was pleased to discover that there is still a lot I don't know (thank heavens!). Jill's book inspired me and gave me some new nooks to explore next time I am in Paris. The illustrations are delightful and inspiring. I gave this book to a friend of mine whom I am taking to Paris for her first visit. I told her to flag things she wants to do and see. She's an artist and this seemed like the perfect guidebook to introduce someone to Paris's many delights.



2. This precious little book is picturesque and pleasant. The watercolors are lovely and the detail is delightful! An entertaining literary gem.



3. This book was a pleasant surprise, with the artwork alone being worth the purchase! My husband and I are planning a trip to PARIS in August, and are learning all we can that will make it enjoyable. I thought in the stack of books I already had on Paris that I had a map of the neighborhoods called "arrondissements" but couldn't find ANY until I opened Jill's "Wandering Paris" which had just arrived. I found a very colorful map of the arrondissements right in front! It got better from there. I want to swim while in Paris although my husband, who was there for a week in 2000, said there aren't any places to swim. Well, Jill points out that "Public swimming pools are abundant in Paris, and some are exceptional." She writes that you can even "Go to the beach along the Seine." ... "you'll find sand, palm trees, umbrellas, rollerblading, bikes and Pétanque plus a swimming pool..." In his defense, he was there in DECEMBER! ha! We're also learning FRENCH, and Jill provides an abundance of vocabulary words WITH a pronunciation guide for each. For the night life, we had no idea that Friday is "Friday Night Skate", "rollerblading by night on escorted journeys through the city". We can't take all of our books with us on this trip, but Jill Butler's "Wandering Paris" is going with us for sure! [We're going to buy her other book as well! Rendez-vous with France: A Point and Pronounce Guide to Traveling, Shopping, and Eating



4. Wandering Paris is a travel guide and much more. It is a whimsical look at traveling in Paris. In addition to the solid information it provides, it also offers wonderful insights into the world that is Paris. And, the author provides you with a delightful, artful look at the Paris scene. Her illustrations add whimsy and color to the guide. This is not a heavy tome that drones on about the city of Paris but a light and refreshing approach to Paris from someone who wants to share her love of the city with you. A definite addition to any travel library.



5. I wrote Wandering Paris because it's the way I like to travel. My experience of sharing the book has been very rewarding. Mostly people say "It makes me want to go to Paris". With time and distance of it's creation, it does the same thing to me. Bon Voyage!

2 comments about Van Gogh's Table: At the Auberge Ravoux.

1. This lovely book, a perfect blend of art and cuisine, will satisfy any reader, from the most casual van Gogh fan to the most discriminating foodie and/or art historical specialist. As the subtitle indicates ("Recipes from the Artist's Last Home and Paintings of Café Life"), it's is partly a cookbook, featuring recipes from the Auberge Ravoux, a 19th century inn in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise where van Gogh lived the last seventy days of his life, and where he died.
   
   But don't be misled. This is not just another pretty coffee-table book with yet more pretty color reproductions of "The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum," etc. This is a work of substantive scholarship, but presented in such a way as to be accessible and enjoyable to anyone. The second half of the book, including the recipes, is authored by culinary historian Alexandra Leaf (in cooperation with chef Christophe Bony), who contexualizes the recipes in a larger discussion about van Gogh's time in Auvers and culinary customs of the time. The first half is authored by art historian Fred Leeman, former chief curator of the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. His essay, "A Private Life in Public Places," discusses van Gogh's biography, but primarily from the view of his time spent in restaurants and cafés, so it's not the usual story that's been recounted so many times. In addition to discussing more well-known van Gogh paintings like "The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum" or "The Night Café," Leeman also includes lesser-known paintings and drawings that specialists will be happy to see and non-specialists will enjoy learning about. His analyses of the works are clear and persuasive, sometimes offering alternative datings and interpretations. Julia Galosy, who worked with Dominique-Charles Janssens, the current owner of the Auberge Ravoux, in restoring the inn, also contributes a wonderful essay on that specific café and its history. All the authors rightfully avoid the tabloid sensationalism that unfortunately pervades many published treatments of the artist (including those written by evident non-specialists in a lame attempt to make a quick buck).
   
   Handsome illustrations of nearly every van Gogh work mentioned (including some that are rarely illustrated), archival photographs, and lovely photographs of the contemporary incarnation of the Auberge Ravoux and its cuisine, add to the stand-alone value of this book. For those who are interested, there are endnotes in the back of the book, leading readers to specific citations in van Gogh's letters and elsewhere, and a brief but comprehensive bibliography.
   
   On a side note: I purchased this book in its hardcover edition in 2006 in preparation for a visit to Auvers-sur-Oise. My plans included a luncheon at the Auberge Ravoux and a pilgrimage to Vincent's lonely attic room. Reading this book, including Mr. Janssens' forward, was the perfect preparation for my visit. Sitting in the cozy atmosphere of the Auberge and enjoying a three-course luncheon (including the Marinated Herring and Salmon from p. 110 and the positively sublime Chocolate Mousse Saboyan from p. 130) was a wonderful experience that I will always treasure. (I replicated it in May 2007...mousse au chocolat, encore une fois, s'il vous plait!) A different experience, more spiritual and moving in character and even more memorable, was the actual visit to Vincent's room upstairs. Mr. Janssens and his associates are to be commended for their dedication to Vincent's memory through their work at the Auberge Ravoux, and the authors and publisher of this book are to be commended for diffusing that work in book form.



2. This gorgeous cookbook incorporates my favorite artist's life in cafes and historical cooking and recipes in a delightful cookbook that reads and views more like a work of art.
   There is a tinge of sadness knowing that Aubuerge was his last home, but I find it amazing to make a dish that history has dined on and realize that many of these cafes still exist.
   Van Gogh's Table: At the Auberge Ravoux will feed your soul and your belly. It is a visual and gastronomic treat.

3 comments about Art and Photography (Themes & Movements).

1. Notwithstanding the promise of its title, "Art in Photography" is simply a survey of avant-garde photography of the last half of the twentieth century.
   
   The book is divided into three parts: an essay by Campany, photographs and other works, and documents consisting of excerpts of articles, interviews and statements. The essay is divided into sections with titles like "The Urban and the Everyday" with similar sections of the photographs and documents. Each essay section makes a few general comments about the new in photography and then discusses in a sentence or two the particular photographers whose works appear among the photographs.
   
   The essay's principal thesis is that while other plastic arts moved away from content toward form in modern times, photography has generally moved away from form to content. At the same time, the goal of either set of movements was always self-referential, although it seemed as if photographers were deliberately subverting the form to show its inadequacies. (The author ignores the main stream of photography during that same period, when there were many portrait, fashion and landscape photographers who clung splendidly to the combination of form and content, using form to explicate the content.)
   
   The essay is often supported by thumbnails an inch and three-quarters high, but it is difficult to see much at this small size, and the reader may be further confounded in the effort to relate the picture to the text by the fact that the captions for the thumbnails are printed vertically in small type, requiring one to rotate the book 90 degrees and then look closely to confirm the relationship of the picture to the text.
   
   The pictures themselves are difficult to understand out of the context of a particular photographer's work, although occasionally an image will arrest one's eye, like the photograph of a single woman's face turned toward the camera in a sea of black-cloaked praying Moslem women, or Chuck Close's painting of Philip Glass. For the most part the pictures, out of context, are enigmatic. Campany acknowledges that it is difficult to draw any consistent theory of photography from the pictures.
   
   The documents vary in interest from insightful articles to artistic double-speak. It pained me to see Walter Benjamin's seminal article "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" abridged to a short excerpt, but it does add the flavor of the work to some understanding of the pictures presented.
   
   Survey books are always difficult for me because they can never go into enough detail to comprehend larger movements. Still, for the individual interested in a collection of representative works of avant-garde photography, this book may fill the bill,



2. The book starts with a 35-page survey written by the editor does a very good job of covering photography's use in the arts. This is then followed by some 150 pages of photographs. The next 80 pages cover the documents, writings on and by the artists using photography in their practice. The book concludes with artist and author biographies and a decent bibliography.
   
   Both the photography and the documents are organized into rough thematic groupings. These are:
   * Memories and Archives
   * Objective Objects
   * Traces of Traces
   * The Urban and the Everyday
   * The Studio Image
   * The Arts of Reproduction
   * `Just' Looking
   * The Cultures of Nature
   This organizational structure works quite well, in that rather than overwhelming you with a whole book worth of imagery and commentary, it is divided into more manageable chunks that still allow contemplation of the whole but also allow a tighter consideration, as needed. The work and documents cover the whole time range from the 60's to the early 21st Century (2003 to be specific, the year of publication). So the book is an excellent survey document.
   
   Anyone who is serious at coming to grips with the use of photography in contemporary art practice should have this book handy. It brings together in one great resource not only great examples of the work produced but also, through collating the writings that are included, bringing together the thoughts, criticisms and analysis of the major artists, critics, theorists and analysts of the time. Very highly recommended.



3. The front free endpaper of this book says "Art and Photography is the first book of its kind to survey the presence of photography in artistic practice from the 1960s onwards. The photographic image is central to contemporary art and the debates that surround it, yet it took most of the last century for it to acquire this status. Despite the extensive exploration of photography as an independent art in the Modernist era, it was not until the late twentieth century that artists, museums and galleries began to explore its social roles as a medium of representation. This volume provides a comprehensive survey of photography's place in recent art history, further contextualized in the Documents section by original artists' statements and interviews, together with critical and theoretical reflections on the photographic and the art of the photograph."
   
   Does the book live up to this hype? I think it does. It's a handsome 304-page tome, with the first two-thirds printed on white semiglossy paper (for the "Survey" and "Works") and the last third on cream-colored uncoated paper (for the "Documents," biographies, bibliography, and index).
   
   The "Survey," "Works," and "Documents" parts are arranged into the same eight sections: "Memories and Archives" on "public and private histories"; "Objective Objects" on photos' "apparently direct relation to the world"; "Traces of Traces" on "photography as a record of the real and its effects"; "The Urban and the Everyday" on "contemporary city life"; "The Studio Image" on "fine art's traditional space of making"; "The Arts of Reproduction" on "works that reflect upon the way mass culture is experienced as fragments"; " 'Just' Looking" on "the social structures of vision and the place of the gaze in the formation of our identity"; and "The Cultures of Nature" on "how the current understandings of the natural are formed and reflected through contemporary representation." This organization is unique to my knowledge; most books on art are arranged chronologically or by artist.
   
   The "Survey" essay by David Campany places the Works and Documents into historical context and explains in some detail the eight categories. It's illustrated with small reproductions of art and photos. I found it enlightening.
   
   Within each of the eight sections of "Works," from pages 46 to 205, the photos are presented in more or less chronological order, with the earliest works dating from the 1960s. Of the dozens of photographers, the ones who have more than one photo (from different series) reproduced in the book are John Baldessari, Victor Burgin, Gregory Crewdson, John Divola, John Hilliard, Joel Meyerowitz, Gabriel Orozco, Richard Prince, Gerhard Richter, Martha Rosler, Thomas Ruff, Allan Sekula, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Larry Sultan, Jeff Wall, Andy Warhol, Gillian Wearing, and William Wegman. I detect no significant errors of omission or commission in the choice of artists. The specifications of media (e.g., "tinted black and white photographs") and dimensions, and the lengthy captions, are valuable.
   
   "Documents" contains excerpts of writings by photographers (including ones with only a single photograph in "Works," e.g., Yve Lomax and Robert Smithson) and non-photographers (e.g., Roland Barthes, Jacque Derrida, Craig Owens, Marcel Proust), as well as interviews with photographers. These "mostly left-brain" texts complement the "half-left-brain, half-right-brain" Works.
   
   If I had to improve anything, I would say to editor Campany and publisher Phaidon only "Lay off the fancy typography, like the 'decreasing font size' effect from page 14 to page 17, and the full-page treatment of brief quotations on pages 221, 226, 235, and 283! While it makes the book visually attractive, it distracts from the book's main messages and wastes space." Buy this excellent book from Amazon.com!

5 comments about Natural Beauties.

1. I found the quality of the photography ran the entire gamut from the very amature effort that almost anyone with a point-and-shoot camera could accomplish to some exceptionally professional work. Unfortunately, there was too little of the latter.
   
   I was, however, pleasantly surprized to see tht there was little of an overtly soft-porn mode. It seems that too much of the new "nextdoor beauties" photography is just a thinly-veiled, soft-porn eroticism. Still, there was little that would be considered fine art. But, then again, as the author says, that's not the purpose of the book. Just nice pictures of pretty naked girls. It works.



2. As a glamour and nude photographer myself, I purchased this book for ideas and inspiration--I was not dissatisfied at all. I love the use of natural lighting, sometimes less means more and this book packs more than most if you're a connoisseur of natural beauty. I recommend anyone interested in this type of photography, buy it now!
   
   As an author of Garage Glamour: Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple, and Rolando Gomez's Glamour Photography: Professional Techniques and Images I recommend this book should not only be on a collector's list, but for any student of photography--we're always learning no matter what level your photography. ---Rolando Gomez, contributing writer, Studio Photography magazine



3. I really enjoy this collection, for all the reasons the editor want me to like it for. The models are young, charming, and unaffected. Their poses are [generally] natural and comfortable. Their figures vary somewhat, as people do - some fuller of bust, some charmingly slender. Each one looks like someone I'd like to meet. The big artistic concept here is that there is no big artistic concept. I also like the multiple images and poses of each model, showing more of the variety there is in each unique woman.
   
   Still, the models do tend towards a type: European in features and coloring, twentyish and young-looking even so, and the figures vary only within a limited range. The look is beautiful (or at least pretty), but just one of the many kinds of beauty in the world of women. If you don't have to spend too much, it will add a soft and warm touch to any collection of figure photography.
   
   //wiredweird



4. It was refreshing to review a book of nude photographs of women where the photos were real, untouched & not posed in a way to exploit the models. I have always had an interest in nude photography & the beauty of the female form. Top marks to the photographers, models & editor.



5. So the premise of this cute little book is the overlapping or merged ground between art and erotica. By and large the photos are a success. the woman and settings photographed are truly beautiful, sometimes as art, sometimes as erotica, and usually as both. Some of the women have what is best described as an unusual beauty, as do some of the backdrops. There are a phenomenal number of models from the eastern block. One of the memorable backdrops is of an eastern european or russian forest which has been leveled for timber, leaving a sea of stumps... I can recommend this book as a very nice addition to either a photography book collection or a collection devoted to an appreciation of the female form.

No comments about Joan Miro (Museum of Modern Art).

5 comments about The Art of Bruce Colero: Heavenly Bodies.

1. I have to agree with the reviewer from New Zealand. In that, yes Colero's women are Perfect specimens.It seems if I want to see an average woman I should move to New Zealand. That said, Colero is a digital master and i love this book. there is a huge variety of topics covered - from schoolgirls and mermaids to angels and demons, all done with Colero's definitive erotic touch. Though new to the scene, it wont be long before he takes his rightful place as king of the pinup artists.



2. I have to say I disagree completely with Richard Manks' review. While it is clear Bruce Colero's art is computer generated (and isn't suggested otherwise), that should by no means be held against it. In fact this book is a stunning feat of what can be achieved with 3D art. I have enjoyed the works of many fantasy and pin-up artists (and too numerous to mention here) and have enjoyed Bruce's work no less. Each picture within the book features beautiful women of various themes and emotions, homages to comic book characters, pirates, mythical fables, movies, science fiction, traditional fantasy or just beautiful pin-ups. The work and level of detail that has gone into each piece of art is breath taking. The lighting, the colours, the scenery, his effects like fire and water...it is so impressive seeing what Bruce has achieved using the medium of 3D art and how his talent and imagination has brought each picture to life. There are so many good paintings in this book that it is hard to pick a favourite. When I saw Richard Manks' comment about how each painting lacks energy and is repetitive, I was puzzled as to how he reached that conclusion. There is plenty of energy in each picture, you only have to look at "Corsair" or "Vigil" to appreciate what I mean (and I am picking at random here). They look like a snapshot of a fully moving and dynamic scene. The only thing that could be classed as repetitive is that all the women are beautiful, and that is hardly a complaint.
   
   Another one of Richard's comments baffled me also. His remark about the women in Bruce's imagery having "ridiculous perfect body shapes", seems both absurd and ignorant, as if it was a fault exclusive to Bruce's art. Women in fantasy and pin-up art almost always look perfect. The artist takes the basis of reality and makes them the most enchanting and beautiful they can. They will try to capture the very essence of beauty and sexuality. That is what the artist aims for, in that subject matter. It doesn't matter which artist it is or what medium has been used.
   
   Creating truly beautiful 3D art and of that which is, in my opinion, of similar calibre to other famous artists that use different mediums, isn't as easy as it appears. It is still down to the artist to have the talent and imagination to create something to that level. Bruce has shown he has the skills to consistently produce art that is of a much higher level than what can often be "freely downloaded in the millions". I also view a lot of 3D art from websites and while I always enjoy seeing what other artists have produced, no matter what their calibre, Bruce's work was of such high quality and so distinctly unique that I really wanted to order the book.
   
   I am certainly glad I did.



3. I picked this book up, flicked through, and put it back down. The art is obviously computer generated - if you can't tell from the lifeless faces the ridiculous `perfect' body shapes will be a clue. Some parts look like they were taken from real photos and added to the digital stuff.
   
   The images lack energy and are repetitive. You might like to look at it, but there are thousands of artists and millions of images like this available for free on the web.
   Instead use the search box and spend your money on hand-painted images by Royo, Sorayama, Dorian Cleavenger, Dave Nestler... the list goes on.



4. Having tried my hand at digital art with Photoshop, I have to say that I really...REALLY admire the hell out of artists who work well with it. OK..I'm no trained artist but I'm still mesmerized by the technique when someone can master it. One of those who has truly mastered digital art is Bruce Colero. SQP has just released Heavenly Bodies: The Art of Bruce Colero. It's my first time seeing his art and I was absolutely blown away. Digital truly requires a whole different approach than traditional artwork. The enhancements of light, shadow, and the use of color is so integral to digital art. Bad technique stands out like a sore thumb while masterful technique is dazzling.
   
   This 48 page collection is full color and shows off Colero's vast talent with the female form. The themes range from fantasy, to Sci-Fi, to horror and to comic books, each page featuring Colero's dynamic artwork. One painting that strikes you right off the bat is "And Lead us into..." This piece shows off a striking female demon, nude but with flames swirling about her body in all the strategic places. Now you really have to pay attention to the flames here. I don't think I've ever seen flames in a piece of art look as real as they do in this painting. The coloring, the shape...you can almost see the flames moving around her body. It's a brilliant piece of art!
   
   Another magnificent example is "Rio" showing a nude blond, with her back to the viewer, wading into knee-high water on a beach as the sun sets in the background. The coloring and shading is just unbelievable. You look at how the sun reflects off the water's gentle ripples and you wonder how Colero manages to be so precise and so accurate in his rendering of this paradise. The female form has rarely looks this good, even if it is a bit exaggerated in its perfection.
   
   Highlighting the book for me is the inclusion of several well known subjects such as Lady Death, Vampirella, Elektra, and The Black Cat. The Black Cat is perhaps my favorite piece in the entire book. She sits crouched upon a building's ledge, contemplating her next move but poised for action. This is one piece of art that would like great on your wall. "Heavenly Bodies" is a collection that any fan of pin-up or glamour art should own. SQP has delivered another outstanding art collection!
   
   REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON



5. Colero's "Heavenly Bodies" are exactly that: Beautiful fantasy art reminiscent of the golden age of Borris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta - yet with a modern and fresh perspective coupled with contemporary pin-up and sci-fi themes. The beauty of the female form and her strength are celebrated throughout the pages of this illustrated collection of works. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates artwork, surreal fantasy, and particularly those with an affinity for beautiful women.

5 comments about John Singer Sargent: The Sensualist.

1. After I graduated from art school, I realized I'd taken that massive library for granted, and that I was going to have to invest in my own art books if I wanted to retain them as a source of inspiration and instruction. Of the fine artists, Sargent was my first target, not just because of his exceptional art, but also because the apparent explosion of interest in his work that has occurred in the last decade or so means that books about him are easy to find. This is the second Sargent book I've purchased, and what I like best about it is the quality and variety of the reproductions: there are oil paintings both famous and obscure, lovely watercolors, and a nice collection of incredible nude figure drawings. While it is hardly a comprehensive view of Sargent's work, this is a great overview for anyone with a passing interest in the artist and a wonderful addition to any enthusiast's collection. Highly recommended.



2. This is my 3rd book on Sargent purchased from Amazon so I might have been expecting something more. It's very well prepared, though I think that no painting should be printed in black and white! I found the few black and white images quite annoying actually. The rest of the book is well presented, but I found the occasional reference and clear bias about Sargent's private life is quite irrelevant for me.



3. 
   Handsome and powerfully built, American painter John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925) epitomized the versatility of the Realist approach. Noted for his luminous portraits of the wealthy and famous on both sides of the Atlantic, he astonished viewers and critics alike with his powers of observation and deft renderings. A visitor to his studio once noted that he had painted his model's scarf with one sweep of his brush.
   
   Trevor Fairbrother has prepared a rich and meticulous analysis of this expatriate painter in "John Singer Sargent," a volume in Abrams' acclaimed Library of American Art Series. In his preface Fairbrother states, "I want this book to reflect the complexity of Sargent's affiliations and practices as an artist. I will try to provide a balanced representation of the man and his art, in the hope of understanding the unusual highs and lows of his reputation." Fairbrother accomplishes these goals admirably.
   
   Born in Florence, educated in Florence and Dresden, influenced by Velasquez, Sargent's career as a portraitist began in Paris. He later settled in London where he maintained a rigorous schedule, adding watercolors and drawings to his expanding oeuvre. His portraits were commissioned by the Rockefeller family, statesmen, authors, and actors, enhancing Sargent's celebrity. It was argued snobbishly "that Sargent was most useful to people with new money or foreign blood who want to buy social recognition."
   
   In a day that paid homage to power and physical beauty, very much as we do today, Sargent knew no peer. With some 100 illustrations and well crafted text, this beautiful volume represents him well.
   
   - Gail Cooke



4. Singer es un pintor a quien debe verse en vivo en los museos; el único inconveniente que encuentro en el libro es su tamaño, esas pinturas se disrutan mucho más en formatos más grandes



5. The reproductions of Mr. Singer's drawings are worth the price alone. A wonderful collection of work which needs to be in the library of all serious artists. The main thought of the text, however, makes an issue of Mr. Sargent's personal life regarding his sexual orientation which as depicted in this book may or may not be accurate. It saddens me when an author speaks in great authority on deeply personal areas of a celebrity when they never met the person and do not know if their theories are accurate.
   
   Other than that, there is a great deal of valuable information in the text which is very interesting in regards to giving insight into the history involving many of Mr. Sargent's paintings. The reproductions are very well done and the tonal studies in the back of the book are master courses on human form, anatomical structure, body movement and emotional impact.
   
   I highly recommend this collection of reproductions and must say the price is insignificant compared to the wealth of art inside. If you sketch his tonal drawings in your own hand, you will learn a great deal and open yourself to a new realm of artistic achievement. Mr. Sargent continues to earn respect for his artistic achievements which very few have attained.

No comments about Richard Long: Walking in Circles.

1 comments about Arms & Armor.

1. This book contains some very well taken & exquisite photos of articles in the Cleveland Museum; but a large part of this book is dedicated to armours with only a small section about swords, halberds & etc. If you are into armours, this is the book for you.