Manet: The Still Life Paintings

By George Mauner

Book Overview

Of all the paintings by the Impressionist master Edouard Manet, nearly one-fifth are still lifes, a genre the artist himself considered "the touchstone of painting". This sumptuous volume, published to accompany a landmark exhibition at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore and at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, is the first major book to focus on this crucial aspect of Manet's work.Throughout his career, and especially later in his life, Manet devoted considerable energy to still lifes, producing oils, watercolors, and prints that unite exuberant personal expression with a flawless mastery of light and detail. With informative text, including an enlightening essay by Henri Loyrette, director of the Musee d'Orsay, Manet: The Still-Life Paintings features lush, full-page colorplates as well as full-bleed details of what some critics consider the finest examples of still-life painting ever executed.The exhibition this book accompanies has been organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810943913
• ISBN13: 9780810943919
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Good overview of Manet's still-flife paintings

This book is certainly among the best overviews of Manet's still-life paintings. If you enjoy direct, descriptive paintings with rich color, this book is likely to interest you. I especially liked seeing the "unfinished" basket of pears on page 107 (the kind of work usually left out of such books), which gave me a good idea of how Manet approached his still-lifes of this period. By the way, overall, the reproductions are very good (of course, paintings are never as good in print as in real life). AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT MY ART BOOK REVIEWS: It might seem as though I rate most art books very favorably. The reason for this is that I usually visit my local library before buying a book. I'll look at all (in print and out of print) of the Rembrandt (for example) books and choose my favorite one to purchase. In the case of an artist's monograph, I try to choose one or two comprehensive books for each artist. These are generally large, well illustrated hardcovers with above average reproduction quality and informative text, often by one of the leading scholars on the artist. Thus, by the time I purchase a book, I have already found it to be among the best available on the subject. This is the best book of Manet's still-lifes that I could find. My copy is a hardcover.

Small but magnificent book

The beautifully reproduced paintings. with some detail shots, in this potent package remind us that Manet truly is the 'father of modernism.' The still lifes of fruit alone would make this book a must have for any art book lover. His peaches, lemons, strawberries and plums are so full of longing, sadness, bliss and sheer beauty that they stop you in your tracks. I don't know how else to say it: Manet was an artist of cosmic proportions. The transcenant nature of the work juxtaposed against the audacious technique rightfully set Manet at the forefront of the western cannon.