Customer Reviews (1)

Ethiopian Christian craftsmanship
This is a fascinatinating book that is at once interesting as it is beautiful in imagery. The Walters Art Musuem boasts the largest Ethiopin art outside of Ethiopia alongside a permanent collection of Byzantium and Russian art. The Ethiopian collection in the City of Baltimore is only one part of a museum that builds it's strengths on the art of the eastern Orthodox world. The collective authors give a brief but satisfying history of Ethiopia and its significance in the ancient worldalong the Mediterrenean trade route. There is also an overview of daily life and religious practices, art history and the role of the Cross, illuminated manuscriptsand painted icons that rivalved some of the best in the Orthodox world. The written word is essential to understanding the magnificent art that is displayed. If you are interested in icon art you will love this book with it's unique representations. I also found the older wood work to be exceptionally beautiful and intricate in craftsmanship. The results are some of the most beautifulprocessional crosses you will probabaly ever see. Later these crosses were made to be more permanent using bronze. Probably equally has impressive are the icon painting and hand made illuminated books that were used for ritualistic purposes in Ethiopion culture. The plates in the book come from the museum catalogue and date from the 4th to the 18th century. The religious nature of the works reflect a combination of African roots and Christian influence. Jesus, Mary and all the saints are painted with distinctively non- Western features. It is unfortunate that there is no cover art availbale on this page otherwise you would be able to see the painting of baby Jesus and the Archangels with small afros as he sits in the arms of Mary.Much of the art is uncreditedand the artist is lost in antiquity and known only as an annonymous painter. The Christian kingdoms art of Ethiopia gets itsdeserved recognition alongside the art of Russia and Byzantium in this book. The book features some of the most colorful unique Christian art imagineable. There is also a good bibliography featuring a list of over fifty books for further scholarship. This is the first time this magnificent collection is available in publication and will surely satisfy those interested in icon painting and the art of the Orthodox world. ... Read more

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baby cuddles
baby hugs
baby kisses
bagby loves

Here is the perfect book to read and play with baby. In sixteen paintings, prints, and pastels by American Impressionist Mary Cassatt, baby feeds ducks, claps hands, drinks milk, stands up, and kisses mommy goodnight, alonside an irresistible rhyme that baby will love hearing and acting out over and over again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Adorable book
This is one my 6 month old wants again and again. She is fascinated by all the babies and mamas. The reproductions of Cassatt's works are very high quality and the simple text makes it perfect for bedtime.

My daughter's favorite
What a beautiful book!We found this at the library when my daughter was about a year old, and realized (after repeatedlyrenewing it) that it was a wonderful book to own.The pictures are, of course, mesmerizing (great for adults during the constant rereading phase).The text is easy for both my daughter and me to memorize, so we can even enjoy it when we are out and about.It's become our favorite birth gift to give, as it's reasonably priced through Amazon.My daughter is now three, and continues to enjoy it.I can see it being a great reading tool soon, due to the repetition and picture clues.Enjoy!

An Exquisite Book For Both Mother And Child
"Baby Loves" is so beautiful you can put it on your coffee table. And it makes a lovely gift for baby or a preschool child. Magnificent reproductions by impressionist artist Mary Cassatt are paired with simple two word poems. The artist is best known for her paintings portraying the love between mothers and their children. The images - paintings, prints and pastels - accompany short rhymes about a baby's daily activities, such as drinking milk, napping, feeding ducks and hugging.

William Lach wrote the book, and the illustrations are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, collection. There are 16 pages of paintings, each with its own description. In one picture a mother and child are cuddling with the words, "Baby cuddles." The simple, easy to understand language and powerful artwork make this an ideal book for small children. (Newborn and up). This would also make a wonderful gift for a new mother - or any mother. I just gave it to a friend who recently had her first child and she loves it - apropos of the title. The book also includes facts about the artwork. "Baby Loves" won a "Child Magazine Best Book 2003 Award" and is one of the most exquisite children's books I have seen in a long time. Highly recommended!
JANA

Beautifuland Educational Book!
This book is beautifully composed with the works of artist Mary Cassat.Each page has two simple words that describe a painting on the following page, making it suitable for the younger child as well as older child. Each of the paintings are of a mother and a child.The book begins with Baby Sits, Baby Stands, Baby Looks, Baby Hands and ending with Baby Hugs, Baby Kisses, Baby Loves. My 14 mo old is mesmorized by this book. She wants to read it every morning when she wakes up, at the very least.She started doing the baby sign that we had been teaching her with the pages that she knew the signs for such as drinks and reads. She also kisses and hugs us or her "Lovie" on the Baby Kisses/Hugs pages.Now she says "baby" and signs for book when she wants to read Baby Loves.My husband and I have been amazed at how much of an impact this one book has had on our daughter.Baby Loves is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the arts as well as promote language and attention to detail.The Metropolitan Museum of Art has done wonders with this book. There is also a very nice, classical piano Baby Loves CD to go with it."Thank you" to the Welchs for such a special gift! ... Read more

Product Description
"Picturing the Bible" explores the vast tradition of Christian art at its very beginnings in the third century A.D., just as Christianity was emerging from its outlawed, clandestine status to become the state religion of the Roman Empire. What images did these Christians use to express their faith openly? Were they the first believers to part with Mosaic law by creating 'graven images'? What Jewish and pagan sources, if any, did they look to for inspiration? When did they begin to depict the life of Jesus? This beautifully illustrated book takes up such questions, revealing the story of how Christian art began through insights from recent discoveries. Leading experts explore topics ranging from Jewish art in the Graeco-Roman period and the influence of Constantine, to the development of church decoration and the meaning of illustrated Bibles.Throughout we see the distinctive pictorial selection of Early Christians, who at first depicted Old Testament figures - Abraham and Isaac, Jonah, and Daniel - and did not invent new images until over a century later.The special meanings attached to old images and new ones like the fish, anchor, and Good Shepherd all come to life in these pages. The essays are complemented by extensive new archaeological research on a range of more than one hundred objects, drawn from major museums of America and Europe. Frescoes, marble sculpture and sarcophagi, silver vessels and reliquaries, carved ivories, decorated crosses, and illuminated Bibles are illustrated in new colour photographs, allowing the reader an unprecedented encounter with Early Christian art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Images of the Word
This gorgeous and hefty volume looks like a coffee table book, but it's a book to savor page by page for both its scholarly texts and spectacular images (263 color and 40 black and white). The book was published in conjunction with an exhibition by the same name that was conceived and organized by Jeffrey Spier for the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The exhibit drew upon the collaboration of lenders from nine countries and forty-one private and museum collections.

In the first half of the book six scholars write one chapter each on various aspects of the earliest Christian art through the fifth and sixth centuries. Spier explains how the early Jesus movement first expressed itself in visual forms. Art and architecture flourished in classical Greece and Rome, of course, but "the Christians were slow to express their religious beliefs pictorially, and no churches, decorated tombs, nor indeed Christian works of art of any kind datable before the third century are known." This might have been because the earliest Christians were a persecuted and illicit sect comprised largely of people from lower socio-economic classes. They also inherited Judaism's ambivalence toward art rooted in the prohibition against graven images in Exodus 20:4.

Around the year 200, "purely Christian images began to appear." The forty catacombs in and around Rome, along with the discovery of a house church at Dura Europos in Syria dated to 240 AD, show how the earliest Christian art was not merely decorative but intentionally devotional; its purpose was not "objective beauty" but an "expression of faith." In the first decades of the third century, genuine Christian art appears on seal rings, tombs, clay lamps, engraved gems, and in one instance a marble statuette. A hundred years after that, Christian art adorns belt buckles and Bible covers, plates and coins, intricate mosaics and ornate crosses (see Spier, pp. 1-23). Christian art under Constantine changed radically as images became "imperialized."

The earliest Christian writers didn't say much about art and images, and Spier believes that their hostility toward visual representations has been exaggerated. Most of early Christian art drew upon well-known Bible texts like Noah, Daniel in the lion's den, Moses, Jonah, Adam and Eve, and Abraham. In perhaps the earliest textual reference to Christian art, Clement of Alexandria (150-215) writes that Christians could also borrow pagan symbols as long as they were appropriate. Swords and bows would be inappropriate, he said, because they signaled war and violence, but a dove was suitable, said Clement, "since we follow peace." The volume stops chronologically short of the iconographic controversy.

The last half of the book is a catalogue of color photographs (pp 171-287) which, in effect, place the exhibit into your own hands. Christians identify themselves as people of the Book who worship the Word made flesh. It took a while, but Christians also became people of images, and in those images they expressed their faith as much as they did in words.

Thanks for the vision
This book is essentially the catalog for the world-class exhibition held from Dec. 2007-March 2008 at Ft. Worth's Kimbell Art Museum. Curated by Jeffrey Spier, the exhibtion titled "Picturing the Bible" brought to this country 100 treasures, many of which had never left their countries before. For those who couldn't see this once-in-a-lifetime collection, the catalog presents pictures with articles of all the exhibits. More than that, however, well-known art historians, classicists and archaeologists provide major articles on the Jewish art of late antiquity, on pre- and post-Constantinian Christian art, as well as on book illustrations of late antiquity. The volume is beautifully done and provides a fine addition to the library of anyone interested in Christianity and Christian art in late antiquity. Personally, I appreciated Dr. Spier's vision for assembling this collection and editing this volume. It is rare to have an opportunity to experience these works in a U.S. museum. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Introduction
This is a darling little picture book that shows some of the most important works housed in the Museum of Fine Arts. The only reason that I can't recommend this little book with 5 stars is that it's missing a few ofmy personal favorites. However, it's the perfect little keepsake book forart lovers and collectors of all things Boston. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (9)

Could have been much more: nice photos, but overall derivative
The large color photos are nice, especially one before-after set showing how badly theft damaged Rubens "Tarquinius and Lucretia" (1610).

However, I'm reading "Rape of Europa" by Lynn Nicholas, pretty much at the same time, and the similarity of phrases is disappointing. For example, compare

page 56 of MoM (published in 2006)
"Hitler had ordered the destruction of all infrastructure in the occupied countries as German troops retreated so that the Allies would find only a devastated wasteland."

with

page 316 of RoE (published in 1995)

"...in August 1944 Hitler had ordered all military installations, utilities, communications, archives, monuments, food stores, and transportation facilities destroyed as the German armies retreated, so that only a wasteland would await the Allies."

Ignoring the redundancy of "devastated wasteland," the two phrasings seem quite similar to me and therefore "Museum of the Missing" seems a bit of a re-hash. Yet the "Rape of Europa" is not included in the Selected Bibliography of "Museum of the Missing".

I agree with other reviewers of "Rape of Europa" that photos would have filled a need to see the works Nicholas describes so intriguingly. However, I also see why -- her book was quite a feat, and adding photos would have likely doubled the timeline for publication.

While "Museum of the Missing" has nice photos and some charming anecdotes, I get the uneasy feeling that they've been told elsewhere, better.

Sorry to be unfriendly!

Notes for the "Art Thief"
This books seems to serve as the underlying notes for the novel and just published book, "The Art Thief", by Noah Charney, which is a very twisty and complicated "Who Done It" about multiple art thefts.

This one is an interesting read. However, I would leave "The Art Thief" on the shelf for someone else to steal.

Museum of the Missing
Noiw this is better than fiction! Exciting!Real life adventures of missing art and I enjoyed this book immensley and purchased several for friends.Don't miss it.

Beatifully Made Book
This is a book you will pick and and leaf through just for the art history if nothing else. What makes it so much more than just your average coffee table book is the little known details of famous art thieves and their craft. I loved the glimpse into the world of auction houses and collectors who are too rich to be famous in the usual sense. The subject matter is fascinating when presented in such a lucid and well organized manner. The illustrations are top-notch. A must for serious museum goers and art history aficionados.

Museum of the Missing
I thought the topic was very interesting but the book skimped over the deatils - either it was trying to cover too broad a topic oreach missing object was not covered in enough depth...there are fascinating stories behind these thefts and I got no sense of who had stolen the art works or why they had taken such 'criminal' risks. ... Read more

Product Description
This first comprehensive handbook of the Museum presents over fourhundred masterpieces from its encyclopedic collections of Asian art; costume and textiles;European decorative arts (including arms and armor); European painting and sculpture; prints,drawings, and photographs; American art; twentieth-century art, and the art of Africa andMexico. Each work is illustrated in full color and is accompanied by a short didactic textcontributed by Museum curators. Introductory essays describes the formation of the variousdepartments of the Museum. Bibliography. Index. ... Read more

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Words and music for 37 of the most memorable and beloved traditional lullabies are gathered in this lavishly illustrated songbook. From the enduring "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" to the winsome "Brahms' Lullaby, " each song is thoughtfully matched with works of art from the Metropolitan Museum's vast collections. Full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Mother's Little Helper
Mom or Dad would need an amazing vocal range to do justice the wide variety of material on this lovely collection.And it doesn't hurt baby to get an early introduction to good music.

These are not the optimal performances of the individual works, but it's a great start for a child's musical library.

Lullabies, An Illustrated Songbook
Beautiful, lovely book of lullabies and incredible illustrations.Wonderful for gift-giving to new parents.

a wonderful collection
This collection is a "must have" for anyone who believes that music enhances both learning and bonding experiences for children of all ages.

I purchased this book and accompanying CD for my 5 month old son.Four months later, he still loves the music.My husband and I sing a few songs to him every night as part of his bed time ritual, and then we play a few songs from the CD when we tuck him in.There are also a few livelier pieces for daytime play.As I expected, my son is still a bit young to appreciate the artwork, but the diverse illustrations will make a nice learning tool later.

BTW-If you're bothered by the fact that the song order on the CD doesn't match that of the book, save it to your computer's hard drive, convert the files to MP3s, and change the order manually.Problem solved.

Lush and lovely
This beautiful book has gorgeous slick illustrations from the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as clearly printed piano scoring to accompany the lullabies. It is by far the best book of its kind I've seen. I send it to every new baby on my list and hope it never goes out of print!

Good if
Good if you would like to play lullabies, and the pictures are super.I like the tape of Golden Slumbers in the book section but its really songs, and better ones then are on Lullabies. ... Read more

Product Description
Life parallels art in this madcap romp through the historical environs of Boston and the renowned Museum of Fine Arts. This irresistible companion to You Can't Take a Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum and You Can't Take a Balloon Into The National Gallery begins when a little girl visits the museum's treasures and her balloon gets loose. Floating past Paul Revere House, Fenway Park, Trinity Church, and other landmarks, the balloon's adventures seem to mirror the paintings and sculpture the girl is admiring. Thirty-three past and present legends of Boston (such as Louisa May Alcott, Bill Russell, and Ted Williams) are hidden within the illustrations, and their bios are included. You Can't Take a Balloon Into The Museum of Fine Arts is once again "an introduction to art, a dandy puzzle, and an imaginative guide." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fantasy Boston
This wordless book follows the adventures of a grandmother amd her ever-expanding group of helpers as they chase her granddaughter's green balloon through historic sites of Boston.Many of the people they encounter along the way- some of whom join in the chase- are updated versions of the famous works of art that the rest of the family is viewing at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (or MFA, for those of us in the know).

One of my favorite paintings in the museum is of the writer and his wife on honeymoon (I don't have the name in front of me right now), and one of my favorite places to hang out as a young teen was the reading room of the Boston Public Library.I was therefore moved when I saw the painting mimicked in the reading room by two young, collegiate-aged lovers.

Some of the modern-day, Bostonian updates that worked were of the Indian god/juggler, the high-society horse riders/tennis players, and the modern art statue/umpire.Those I found to be creative and clever interpretations.

In some cases, though, I thought the interpretations were forced, most glaringly the update of the famous Renoir painting of the dance that was updated to have Grandma running into someone else.I also felt that the authors painted a rosier picture of Boston than, frankly, the one my children and I experience every day.By and large, the people we see sleeping on the Commons are not college-students going for a snooze, but the homeless and mentally ill.Further, while I love the Chinatown area, it is, unfortunately, coarser and less bohemian than the one the author's illustrate.

Finally, while I liked the idea of famous Bostonians hidden throughout the pages of the book, in many cases they were too well-hidden.While there is a reference I can use at the back of the book to find them, I just don't like to work that hard when I'm reading a book like this to my children, and neither do they.

Overall, I think the book gives a view of some of the magic that is Boston, both through its art and history.However, I hope young readers and visitors won't be too disappointed by the fact that you might have to dig a little bit harder to find it in the real city.

Boston, a Balloon, and Fun.....
The Preiss sisters are back and taking Boston by storm, or should I say balloon.As in their previous books, You Can't Take A Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum and You Can't Take A Balloon Into The National Gallery, a little balloon carrying girl and her brother visit the Museum of Fine Arts with Grandma and Grandpa.Everyone knows you can't take a balloon inside, so Grandma does the honors and waits outside on the steps, holding the treasured balloon, while the others go in and take their tour.In no time, the balloon escapes, and the fun begins.As life imitates the famous artwork the little girl is observing inside, Grandma chases the balloon all over the city from the Boston Library, Trinity Church, Chinatown, and the Boston Harbor, to Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, Fenway Park, and many other famous landmarks along the way.This hilarious, joyous, manic romp, will mesmerize youngsters with it's exuberant and engaging pen and ink illustrations, with just a little color used here and there to highlight the action, and includes thirty-three hidden famous Bostonians, sprinkled throughout the comic book-like pages, to find and learn more about.Part art book, history lesson and travel brochure, this is a creative and inventive tour of one of America's great cities, and includes a map of the balloon's route, an informative list of artwork seen in the museum, and biographical sketches of the hidden "faces from history."Perfect for kids of all ages, You Can't Take A Balloon Into The Museum Of Fine Arts is a wonderful addition to an already terrific series, and guarantees hours of clever and imaginative, page-turning fun.

A FUN WORK OF ART AND HEART
Building on the enormous popularity of "You Can't Take A Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum" and "You Can't Take A Balloon Into The National Gallery" Weitzman and Glasser now offer a fun, colorful peek at the Museum of Fine Arts while presenting an affirming grandparent/grandchild relationship.

Each full-color page bursts with vibrant energy as a little girl's balloon (not allowed inside the Museum) escapes her grandmother's grasp and soars away.Off we go, following the green orb through the streets of Boston.This chase is matched with the works of art the little girl is viewing.

There's a bit of history here, a bit of whimsy, and a lot of entertainment... ... Read more

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An overview of Egyptian art ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Degree of satisfation
I am very satisfied: the book have reached me with no delay and the parcel was perfectly packed. ... Read more

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For over a decade, Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education has served as the guide to multicultural art education, connecting everyday experience, social critique, and creative expression with classroom learning. The much-anticipated Rethinking Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education continues to provide an accessible and practical tool for teachers, while offering new art, essays, and content to account for transitions and changes in both the fields of art and education. A beautifully-illustrated collaboration of over one hundred artists, writers, curators, and educators from in and around the contemporary art world, this volume offers thoughtful and innovative materials that challenge the normative practices of arts education and traditional art history.  Rethinking Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education builds upon the pedagogy of the original to present new possibilities and modes of understanding art, culture, and their relationships to students and ourselves.

The fully revised second edition provides new theoretical and practical resources for educators and students everywhere, including:　

• educators' perspectives on contemporary art, multicultural education, and teaching in today’s classroom
• full-color reproductions and writings on over fifty contemporary artists and their works, plus an additional 150 black-and-white images throughout
• lesson plans for using art to explore topical issues such as activism and democracy, conflict: local and global, and history and historicism　　　
• Companion Website offering slides of the art included in the book.

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Customer Reviews (6)

beautiful book
This is a beautiful coffee table book, but also has useful information. I bought this before a trip to the Art Institute so I could get a good review of the highlights. This book includes works from a variety of time periods as well, which is nice. Very pretty and informative! Would not be for academic purposes, but nice general overview.

Magnificent
This is a magnificent bookcelebrating just a few of the extraordinary works of art in this magnificent museum, now made even more so by Renzo Piano's Modern Wing.

Worldclass City - Worldclass Museum
Oh sure you have your Louvre & MOMA.But the city of big shoulders presents a formidable art museum in the Art Institute.

From it's beginning it was intended that the Art Institute collect actual masterpieces in all periods and styles.And a visit to the redesigned museum proves that the founding fathers wish has been fulfilled.An international success story which slowly collected awe inspiring works of art from around the world and through the various ages.

Cezanne's dynamic 'Basket of Apples'.
De Kooning's breakout 'Excavation'.
A monumental Clifford Still.
One of Chicago's very own, Joan Mitchell 'City Landscape'.
Another Chicagoan's Leon Golub, (hard to look at) Interrogation II.
Two iconic Parisian compositions:
........Lautrec's'At the Moulin Rouge' (yea-that green face)
........Caillebotte's'Rainy Day'(ya-perferct symmetry).
Matisse considered'Bathers By a River' as his most pivotal work.
Picasso's 'The Old Guitarist'.You know, the bent old blue guy.See here art students, he painted it at the age of 22(get busy).
The envy of all art museums; Seurat's 'La Grande Jatte'.
And super mastepiece; El Greco's'Assumprtion' (WOW).
Maybe not the best Pollack or the best Gauguin.But they make up for it with Monet, Van Gogh,Rembrandt, Rubens,Manet and Jasper Johns.
Oh did we mention Hooper's 'Nighthawks?(Gotcha).

Ten years since their first Masterpieces book.The Art Institute has put together a wonderful book containing hundreds of high quality reproductions.Reflecting the Institutes vision and ambition.

Update 1/31/2010:I think Amazon has bunched this 2009 edition with the previous 2000 edition.Im not positive so check before you buy.Looked through it again today.Fresh elegant book.Nice gift.Thanks!

The Art Institute of Chicago book
A must-have for anyone who has visited this fantastic art museum.The visit can easily be relived through this book.

An outstanding introduction to the history of art in general
The Art Institute of Chicago houses a world-renown collection of artwork that spans the complete and diverse spectrum of six centuries of painting. Now in a revised and expanded second edition, Master Paintings In The Art Institute Of Chicago organizes and showcases 149 major paintings (like the Insitute itself) into European, American, and Twentieth-Century categories. This outstanding introduction to the history of art in general, and the Art Insitute of Chicago's impressive collection in particular, would grace any personal, academic, or community library artbook collection. ... Read more

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All over the world, contemporary art is moving into traditional museums, its institutionalization an ongoing proposition with swiftly evolving practices. And more than ever before, the art of the moment is being made and collected internationally. Global art production is affecting museums everywhere, even those in traditional centers of cultural influence. For international artists, the question is how to get themselves and their work to cultural centers; for their home states and museums, the question is how to assimilate globalized contemporary art and its local stars. While institutions outside the West are often also outside a crucial loop of money and influence, the increasing range of biennials--from Sao Paulo to Senegal's Dak'Art--is redrawing the map. This essay collection explores the impact of contemporary non-western art and the world's local museums. Writers include Peter Weibel of ZKM Karlsruhe and Claude Ardouin of the British Museum. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Quilts and Coverlets
Unless you are a historian, this book is not for you.I was also stunned by the poor quality of the artifacts in the collection! Don't waste your money. Get it from the library!! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Picasso works of variable quality excellently presented
The endless permutations of Picasso exhibitions continue unabated. This catalogue is of a showing at the Metropolitan Museum of their collection of Picasso paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and prints. As such the exhibition does not have any unifying theme.

The undoubted standout work in this collection is the iconic "Portrait of Gertrude Stein". There certainly are other worthwhile paintings and drawings on show; these are primarily from the artist's earlier periods. It must be noted that the bulk of the works are not Picasso's most important creations. Be that as it may, they are still worth a look and I have enjoyed seeing many for the first time. At the end of the book are 400 small sized illustrations of prints by the artist.

This book is up to the usual high standard of Metropolitan Museum publications; the annotations and essays are informative and scholarly. Additionally the reproductions of the art works are of high quality. Picasso fans need not hesitate.

WOW - This Book is a Bargain


A fabulous art book must meet certain requirements, the first of which is the quality of the product. Whether it involves the quality of the paper as I flip the pages, or whether the correct font was used to make it easy on my eyes, or most importantly what is the quality of the reproduction of the pictures being portrayed? I also have issues with whether or not it is easy to work with the written text while dealing with the location of the pictures. Most art books fail with one or more of these issues, and then there is the overall issue as to whether or not this book accurately portrays the artist in question, and does it provide a great learning experience that I will refer to in the future again and again?


Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art published by the quality driven Yale University Press seems to get the job done on all counts. I simply loved this book, and surprisingly, I have read it from cover to cover which I doubt more than one out of 100 readers will do. I will give you my reasons for this in a moment. The beginning of the book provides a 10 page understanding of the Met Picasso Collection by Gary Tinterow who tells you how this collection came together. The book is the Met's complete collection of its Picasso pictures, drawings, sculptures, and lithographs - all of it. This collection is second in American only to that possessed by New York's Museum of Modern Art. There are no borrowings from other museums for the Met Exhibit, however the book does have pictures of related art works from both public, and private collections which dramatically improves the reader's understanding of the art work in question.


Beginning on page 16 and going through page 258 there are 94 separate paintings, drawings, and sculptures that are portrayed, and they are in chronological order dating from 1900 until 1968. You will learn an enormous amount by reading any one of the short 1 to 2 page narratives associated with each picture. After each story there are a handful of footnotes, but just a handful. You will then find a provenance orownership history telling you in every case, who owned this painting from the time it left Picasso's hands until it wound up in the Met Collection. Included in many cases are the purchase prices with associated dates, which is absolutely fascinating to learn about, because you can watch a picture go from $50 when it was created to $12,500 to millions.


You are also provided a short listing of every exhibition in which the art work participated, and there are the references for further research. My favorite section is the last section of each story which is called TECHNICAL NOTE. It tells you in detail technical aspects of the picture including the type of material Picasso used for each work. You will also learn about his particular technique with each picture including the types of paints, or charcoals, how he mixed his paints, and most importantly a preservation history of the art work. Was the varnish removed? What kind of research including x-rays and other techniques were employed to determine if there were pictures underneath the painting in question, or did Picasso pencil in the sketch first, or did he paint without sketching.


What amazed me is that there was nothing dry about the narratives. Usually art intellectuals are among the most boring, pompous people on the planet, but this information was somehow fascinating. There was no attempt to intimidate the reader. This is the only reason I can use to explain my willingness to read this book from beginning to end.


Commencing on page 261 through page 320 you will find the Met's collection of Picasso's lithographs, and etchings. Some are done six to a page, while others are three to a page. Here you will find very short snippets about each art work. These I found worth just glancing at individually to get an excellent feel for Picasso's work.


In summary, the pictures are excellent reproductions, the narratives are superb, and the book has a wonderful feel to it as it was printed on high gloss paper. As far as catalogues for art exhibits go, this book is just superb, and I give it five stars.


Afterthoughts:


If you are like me and you like to go to art exhibits at museums, may I suggest that you first purchase the book associated with the exhibit and spend some time with it, before going to the exhibit. Most people buy the book after viewing the exhibit while leaving. You will enhance your experience by many magnitudes by going through the book first. There is nothing like having knowledge prior to going through the actual pictures, or as one professor said in class years ago, "10 minutes of preview is worth 30 minutes of review."


Richard Stoyeck

Everything the Met owns by Picasso and never dared to show
Whatever the numerous criticisms on this current show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (the almost total absence of Cubist works, a depression-time exhibit with no loans from other museums, a diminutive collection when compared to the unsurpassed holdings of nearby MOMA...) this is a beautiful exhibition and the book that accompanies it is up to the Met's high standards of quality.

About 300 works, the entire Picasso collection of the museum (a good part of it drawings and prints), are studied here, with a strong emphasis on pre-cubist works (a seldom-seen blue-period erotic work that Picasso once disavowed, icons such as the Gertrude Stein portrait, or the famous "Au Lapin Agile" donated by the late Walter Annenberg)and two good 1932 portraits of Marie-Thérèse. The main asset of the book, apart from the excellent reproductions, is the quality of the essays which reveal new scholarship on the artist, such as the discovery of hidden paintings behind the actual extant works (Picasso, in his early years would commonly paint over existing works, by himself or other artist friends, in order to save on the money needed to buy new canvases).

A very interesting book which I recommend to anyone interested in the most famous painter of the XXth century. ... Read more

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The Museum of Bad Art book follows the format of publications from other prestigious art museums. Opening with an introductory letter from the director and notes from the curator, this "unlimited edition" catalog highlights 40 masterpieces of the bad art world. Readers with an interest in art or humor will enjoy the bad, the worse, and the worst of this priceless collection.Amazon.com Review

"The Museum of Bad Art is the only institution in the world dedicatedto the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of badart in all its forms. MOBA, as it affectionately known to itssupporters, presented its first exhibition in April 1994. Theresponse, naturally, was overwhelming."

So writes Jerry Reilly, Executive Director of MOBA, and they havesucceeded (if that's the proper word) in collecting (if that'sthe right word) some of the worst artof the Western world, from thrift stores, dumpsters, and garagesales. I vividly recallthe launching of the MOBA website, and eagerly awaited the day whenI could own a coffee-table book containing the worst of this bad--evenexecrable--art. And that time has come: everyone who I have shown this book has laughed aloud repeatedly.

Our advice to the artists: keep your day jobs.But who knows? Perhaps these artists will someday be regaled as the unsung geniuses of the late 20th Century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The Accuracy is Incredible
I have not only read the book, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but my local watering hole has been blessed to have several pieces from the collection on loan. There is nothing like sipping a beer with a clown and monkey (with "bette davis eyes") looking over your shoulder. I have many art books, and often find myself disappointed with the reproductions, but there is no worry here. They are just as bad in the book as they are in person.

If you are in the Brooklyn, NY area... Stop into The Pioneer Lounge (Bar?) in Red Hook, Brooklyn to see a few select pieces. I don't know how long the MOBA exhibit will last, but it is really worth seeing.

An excellent converation piece
I visited the MOBA at its cinema basement location in Massachusetts, and was enchanted. I am so glad that this book came out to help make the collection visible to a larger audience. Like bad poetry (see "PegasusDescending" by Waldrop), bad art at its best is unbelievablyhilarious. Some bad art is merely bad, but the utter sincerity with whichthe works in this collection were painted accounts for much laughter. If bysome chance you can't tell why the thing is so bad, there are helpfultitles and captions by the authors to explain it to you. My favorite is onecalled "Pals," in which a sad clown with five o'clock shadow iscomforted by a monkey that has "Bette Davis Eyes!"

A Feast for the Soul
The Museum of Bad Art is a long overdue book, and I was so happy to finally get a copy.This is the one art exhibit I would gladly pay to see in person.

Wonderful
This is incomparable bathroom reading of the highest order. Do not read in public as your laughter will undoubtedly mark you as insane.

Hilarious
One of the funniest books I've ever seen. All my friends loved it- I'm an high school art teacher, and after years of perusing tedious, high concept modern dreck, Tom and Marie's book is just what the doctor ordered.Mycolleagues and I agreed that we've all done at least one artwork thatshould be in MOBA! There are so many bad pieces here, it's hard to saywhich is the worst ( or is the best?) Encore! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Ravishing pictures
The Cloisters is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and it's a precious jewel among our museums. At the end of the Victorian era and the beginning of the 20th century interest in the art and architecture of the Middle Ages peaked. Because so many wealthy people collected examples and donated them to the Cloisters, it became one of the finest examples of high quality art and architectural fragments from the Middle Ages.

If you can't visit New York anytime soon, this book captures the museum in all its quirky detail, from the churches and apses to the sculpture and stained glass. Color pictures lavishly display the glories of the Cloisters. Small, architectural fragments decorate the building.There are doorway surrounds, altars, sarcophagus, capitals festooned with saints, apostles, and strange beasts.

One striking piece--and it is only about 8 inches tall--is plate 46--which shows an ivory sculpture of the Madonna, and she is smiling down at the infant Christ. It's personal and tender in a way not usual for the time.

Everyday objects are also on display, including a set of 52 playing cards which appears, from the picture, to be in perfect condition.

An aquamanile in the form of a lion--plate 73--shows the pomp and pride of the renaissance that is to come.

a stunning work
What a beautiful book! This text "breaks apart" the structure of the Cloisters (itself assembled in a bit of a hodgepodge), taking individual elements and structures and examining them.

As an example of how accurate the descriptions are and how vividly it describes things: a few months after first looking at the book, I read a mystery in which there was a chase scene and a shootout (!) at the Cloisters. Because I had read this book, I was able to follow the *entire* scene and picture each major landmark mentioned. I hadn't been to the Cloisters in 10 years, but the book brought it all back that well!

The book is full of full-color photography, with descriptive text.However, this is more than a coffee table book; it deserves to be studied, not just propped up for looks. If you do get it, read it and do it justice! ... Read more

Product Description
During the occupation of Paris, the Nazis confiscated nearly 100,000 artworks frommore than 200 collectors, transporting most of the spoils to Germany, where Hitlerand Goering enjoyed first pick. The Lost Museum dramatizes the pillage of the mostextensive and valuable of these collections, which belonged to five renownedJewish families: Rosenberg, Rothschild, Schloss, David-Weill and Bernheim-Jeune.After the war, many works that were found were returned to their owners. But a largenumber had disappeared, been destroyed or spirited out of Europe into theunderground art market.

Drawing on recently declassified government archives and information providedexclusively to him by the heirs of these great collections, Feliciano traces the fate ofthe artworks as they passed from the hands of top German officials to unscrupulousFrench and Swiss collaborators and dealers, then on to prestigious U.S. andEuropean auction houses. Two thousand of these stolen artworks have beenidentified by Feliciano in the Louvre and other French national museums, fomentinga scandal that has received front-page coverage throughout Europe and spurred aseries of new claims and suits by heirs. In this updated and enlarged Americanedition, he reveals the location of stolen works hanging in major U.S. museums aswell.

Illustrated with more than 70 photographs, most depicting paintings that havevanished forever, The Lost Museum is the thrilling story of one man's persistentinvestigation of a 50-year-old mystery and revelation of a shameful internationalconspiracy.Amazon.com Review
Pillage is one of the traditional perks of warfare. But it took Adolf Hitler to systematize the decimation and despoiling of cultures, and it took Hector Feliciano seven years to track five famous art collections stolen by the Nazis. He uncovered not only Nazi schemes but also a well-oiled machine of collaborators, informants, moving companies, and neighbors, all with their fingers in the pie. The Lost Museum reads like a good detective story. Inspired by a fascination with the theft of five prominent Parisian Jewish families' art collections, it focuses on the beneficiaries of the thefts and justice for its victims. Filled with family photos of the art, some never before seen by the public, The Lost Museum tracks the pieces as they passed through the hands of German officials, unscrupulous art dealers, and unsuspecting auction houses. That the network was so deviously intricate illustrates the enormous challenge of restitution.

The relationship between Nazi higher-ups, keen to advance their own collections, and non-Jewish dealers bodes well for the Parisian art scene. A Picasso for a Titian; two classics for eleven late-19th-/early-20th-century moderns? Such wheeling and dealing reduces art to tug-of-war commodities, and Feliciano's The Lost Museum at times seems to question nothing less than what art serves, and who profits from it. If you like a good detective story and can tolerate the frustration of justice impaired by greed, then this thoroughly documented dark tale is for you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A Big Hit in France? Go Figure...
This was a big hit in France when itcame out, but as an English-language book it suffers by comparison to Lynn Nicholas's magisterial 'Rape of Europa,' a vastly better book on the same topic--better written and better researched. Feliciano takes what is, in and of itself, a fascinating, profound story and cheapens it with his overheated writing style. Also, he claims to have made a lot of new documentary discoveries--the Schenker papers, documenting the shipment of looted works within France--which aren't so new, as anyone who reads Nicholas's book knows. Those documents have been publicly accessible since the late 1970s. On the whole I would not recommend this book, but would recommend the Rape of Europa instead.

a narrow perspective
The title of this work should have been something like "Knaves of Art: The complicity of the Paris art market in Nazi theft of Jewish art in World War II.". As such it is well enough told in an episodic way, highlighting through description the moral and ethical positions taken by many people who surely knew what was happening. The pictures of the art galleries disposed of and the pieces of art still missing bring forth both sadness and indignation. This book is not anything like a comprehensive study of the overall Nazi plunder of art which needs to be sought elsewhere. With a more honest title this book might have deserved four stars. Fault the publisher more than the writer.

The most important art book in a decade
Other books may relate how the Nazis plundered art, but this book actually led the world to do something about it. You know how you read in the paper all the time that some heir of a Holocaust victim is in a lawsuit to get back valuable paintings? It's directly a result of The Lost Museum. For fifty years, nothing happened in terms of restitution. Feliciano's groundbreaking investigative research is what led museums to examine the provenance of their artwork, caused governments to change their statutes of limitations, and urged heirs to pursue artworks they assumed had long ago vanished.



I wish I could give it more than five stars.

A fascinating story poorly told
Those of you who read Lynn Nicholas' astonishing The Rape of Europa will be disappointed by this book, which is in many ways a necessary supplement to Nicholas' spine-tingling work.The record of greed, fear, coercion andbarbarism visible behind the glittering surface of the Parisian art worldin the 1940's is a truly moving human story.The photographs, all ofnow-vanished works of modern art, provide a valuable record for thehistorian, as many of the lost works have never been published. Unfortunately, the book is nearly ruined by a flat and pedestrian writingstyle.The author may have taken years to write this book, and conductedhundreds of interviews, but one would never know that.Feliciano writes asif he were a USA Today reporter - utterly superficial treatments of seriousissues and no sign whatsoever of any personal investment in the story.Theart and personalities of the period deserved a better historian than Mr.Feliciano, I am sorry to say.Useful for the documentary information only.

German arrogance and art dealer greed in WWII.
A repititious summary of art work confiscations by the Nazis, particularly from Jewish galleries, during World War II. Plentiful accusations of greed by cooperating art dealers, including some famous names, during and after the war.The French government to this day has performed questionably in returning works by famous artists to their pre-war owners.The Swiss government, in harmony with its management of Jewish refugee bank deposits, has performed even worse.Over-all, a depressing litany of evil deeds in a poorly structured account of art world activity during the German occupation of France. ... Read more