Impressionist Still Life [Anglais] [Relié]

Famous for outdoor scenes bathed in light, the impressionists are hard to imagine as dedicated still-life painters. By and large, they weren't. But Monet's rare small paintings of flowers were snapped up by contemporary collectors. And several artists who exhibited with the impressionists, influenced them, or were influenced by them--including Manet, van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne--devoted a sizable portion of their oeuvre to the genre. While Impressionist Still Life is a somewhat misleading title--yet another marketing ploy to attract lovers of a popular style, it seems--this book makes a good case for the importance of this intimate genre of painting to major themes and techniques of later-19th-century art. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. (September 22, 2001, to January 13, 2002, then traveling to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), this volume is lavishly illustrated and rich in detailed information. Five essays trace themes ranging from the influence of 18th-century painter Jean-Baptiste Chardin on still-life composition and the use of color to the strikingly modern way Cézanne's famous apples devalued subject matter to emphasize the physicality of brush strokes. The stunning paintings featured in full-page plates include some rarely seen canvases, such as Monet's Jar of Peaches from 1866. In this tour de force of illusionism, the flattened look of peaches packed in a glass jar contrasts with fuzzy whole peaches that cast reflections on a marble table scribbled with bold white veins. A genre that could encompass both the luminous intimacy of Eva Gonzalès' White Shoes and the restless drama of Cézanne's Still Life with Ginger Jar and Eggplants turned out to be uniquely suited to individual perceptions of modern life. --Cathy Curtis

Not merely a survey of impressionist still-life painting, as suggested by its title, this handsome and valuable catalog of an exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, that then travels to Boston, is an intelligently wrought overview of this genre in late 19th-century France. Apart from the luminous favorites of the impressionists, their great realist predecessor Gustave Courbet and their post-impressionist successors are also amply represented in the show's 92 works. Accompanying the catalog are five essays that explicate the development and formal qualities of these paintings within a context of art historical tradition and social currents. Although the essays are of some service in articulating the sources and influences leading up to this period, the significance of the enigmatic Manet, and the achievement and impact of C?zanne, none of these discussions comes to grips with the quintessential Impressionism of Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Morisot. The dereliction, however, of the not equally accessible essays is more than compensated for by the refined analyses that accompany the excellent reproductions. The thoughtful organization of the paintings into small congeries further enhances the pedagogic and aesthetic value of this eye-delighting opus. Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Consider the incalculable reproductions of Van Gogh's sunflowers or Monet's water lilies and it seems likely that images of impressionist masterworks are among the paintings most familiar to art lovers and the general public. In this beautifully produced book documenting a traveling exhibition of 16 impressionist artists organized by the Phillips Collection, however, the unfamiliar but breathtaking scope of the still life genre in late-nineteenth-century France is revealed. Incisive essays trace these invigorating, not overexposed artworks' sources, development, techniques, and subsequent influences on contemporary art worldwide. How exciting to be reminded of the intuitive creativity of painters who changed the direction of artistic expression: the pulsating brush strokes and dynamic compositions of Cezanne, Gauguin's compelling command of color, and the glittering atmospheric quality captured on canvases by Morisot and Monet. All have the power to transfix. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The popularity of still-life painting continues to soar-as evidenced by the success of Abrams' recent book on Manet's still lifes, as well as by several major museum exhibitions. With lush colorplates reproducing more than 65 masterworks by 17 Impressionist artists, this exceptional collection of still lifes is a brilliant display of the genre in all its glory.

Van Gogh, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin, Pissarro, Monet, and Manet are among the artists featured. Illuminating the paintings are an introduction by Eliza Rathbone and essays on the still-life tradition and the influence of Chardin. This handsome volume accompanies an exhibition at the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Exhibition Schedule: The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.: Sept. 22, 2001-Jan. 13,2002; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Feb. 17, 2002-June 9, 2002
Publicity: National publicity tie-in with Phillips Collection exhibition; National magazine and newspaper coverage
Advertising: Art magazines, regional booksellers' catalogues

Eliza Rathbone is chief curator of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
George Shackelford is chair of the Art of Europe at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Jeannene Mari Przyblyski is a San Francisco-based art historian and critic.
John McCoubrey is the James and Nan Farquhar Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania.
Richard Shiff holds the Ettie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art at the University of Texas at Austin.