From Library Journal
Fifty-four plates of excellent quality, 40 in color and 8 of these enlarged a bit beyond the original, reproduce a sampling of the 400 or so little-known watercolors by the Symbolist Moreau (1826-98). An expert on the artist, Mathieu here writes for the casual reader, covering mostly generalities in a two-chapter essay and so-so commentaries on the plates. Themes include Moreau's relation to Romanticism, Symbolism, poetry, and the erotic. Mathieu, who inscrutably confuses any implied chronology with several early dated works placed at the end of the book, finally agrees that Moreau developed his own nonfigurative style prior to Kandinsky's first abstract watercolor. One wishes this book were better organized and less repetitious, and that it spoke in more detail of the works themselves. For large collections. Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Art Dept., Goucher College, Md.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
