Champigneulle's RODIN is a very informative, chronological account of Rodin's life as an artist, packed with an excellent selection of plates illustrating his work. The text is clearly presented, well-organized and very well supported by well-placed illustrations.

A beautifully prepared work. Well written, with stunning black and white pohotos of Rodin's major works. The writing is very elegant, yet simple and elegant. A must for any collector or any one interested in Rodin.

This book was definitely informative and complete. But what I found most compelling about it was the author's poetic tone. It was refreshing to be so enchanted by a biography; sometimes they can be awfully dry. The subject of Rodin and his work is, of course, irresistable. But, I really felt this book was a page turner because of the eloquent writing.

The text and especially the illustrations in this book were just what I needed to explain to my kindergarten students what it would be like to visit the Statue of Liberty. The illustrator shows an aerial view of the statue on Liberty Island, the ferry needed to reach the island, and New York City in the far background. He continues with pictures showing the construction of the statue to the impressive fire works celebration on the Fourth of July. The author explains the building of the statue as well as the purpose. If you had only one book to explain the Statue of Liberty to school age children, I would recommend using "The Story of the Statue of Liberty" by Betsy Maestro and illustrated by Giulio Maestro.

I also use this book in my classroom and third graders love it. They are fascinated with the size and grandeur of the Statue of Liberty. This book tells the history of the Statue in simple text and large, vivid illustrations. (Did you know that he made it to look like his mother?) I recommend this book for 7-9 year olds. It will expand their horizons and leave them hoping that someday they will see the Statue in person.

My 2 year old is facinated with the Statue of Liberty. So before we visited her in person, I wanted to find a simple worded book with lots of captivating pictures and found this one. It really does an excellent job of telling the story of how America obtained Lady Liberty. We would highly recommend this book to any American Patriot!!

This is a great book if you can ignore the text. The quality of the pictures is superb and there are plenty of close ups which is invaluable for someone interested in Ingres' technique from an artistic point of view. However this book is more of a social commentary on Ingres and the times in which he lived then a straight collection on his works, and it's pretty uncomplimentry about most of the things it covers.
The quality of the reproductions and the helpful close-ups are invaluable for an artist interested in portraiture or Ingres' style, but the actual book seems to be written from the "I know everything about this subject and if I make it look stupid then I make myself look knowledgeable and clever" school of art critics/historians.
0 stars for the author but a definate 5 stars for the artwork. Highly recommended for the serious artist or art lover. I'm really glad I bought it.

I absolutely had a heart attack when i found this book its so beautiful this is one of my most cherished books its so hard to find these sort of books these days too!

A delectable piece of near-non-fiction about one of the most evocative and emotive artists of the nineteenth century, Auguste Rodin. I came upon this book (original hardback with cover c. 1963) via the shelves of a former paramour just after graduating from art school, a happy coincidence for a dewey-eyed artiste! Not a lover of the biography genre in particular, I devoured this book nonetheless, in part because it is loosely-based fiction, but primarily because David Weiss has molded a remarkable figure in his story of Auguste Rodin.

From his birth in Normandy in 1840 and first crayons at age five, through his tumultuous entree into the world as an artist (he was born to a minor police official), to the development of his work alongside some remarkable contemporaries (Monet, Renoir, Hugo, Zola, Rilke and Shaw) and the tragic affairs with Beuret and Claudel, it's a book you'll find hard pressed to close long after bedtime has come and gone (note: bring home the film _Camille Claudel_ when you have finished the book to add a little color to your perspective).

A minor flaw, which I quickly forgave as the characters emerged, might be the slightly formal tone (hasn't he heard of contractions?) in which Weiss, scholar before bestselling author, constructs his prose. Otherwise as powerful, colorful, and unforgettable a glimpse at the artist as Rodin's own Balzac.

"NAKED CAME I" was a bestseller in many languages when it was published in the sixties, and I still expect that someone will have the sense to adapt it for film sooner or later.

Weiss's portrait of Rodin is vivid and moving, and remains one of literature's classic examples of the "historical novel," a format that inexplicably has declined in popularity in recent years. (Weiss, who continues to write well and prolifically, and Gore Vidal, are its principal practitioners at this point.) I recommend NAKED CAME I highly, and you can track it down at almost any good library.

This book was very informative, of both Renoir's life as well as his art. I enjoyed reading it thoroughly and would recommend it to any art lovers.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was an artist in the fullest sense of the word. The paintings he left us show us the simplicity and sensuality of his times and their brilliant colors and joyous images express the passion of Renoir's own soul.

The paradise of color and the changing effects of light were Renoir's greatest gift to the world. This book, Renoir: The Crown Art Library, showcases some of the artist's most beloved works and gives a brief overview of his life.

A quick glance at this book tells you that Renoir's favorite subject was always people. In fact, it is possible to select an entire series of masterpieces from Renoir's works without including even one landscape--something that would be impossible with any of the other Impressionists.

The people created by Renoir are always filled with the warm joy of simply being alive. Of the many illustrations in this book, most are in color, allowing us to both study and participate in the "joie de vivre" that Renoir, more than any other artist, communicated to the world.

There is a short analysis of the evolution of Renoir's technique and we learn why he abandoned the dark, sombre colors of the Old Masters and turned to the brilliant reds, blues, yellows and greens of which he was so fond.

We learn how and why the feminine form became a stronger and stronger element in his paintings, especially those of his later years, and we see how, in the last ten years of his life, he limited his palette to only a few colors--cinnabar, ochre, Naples yellow, black and some white, yet managed to create playful visions of a sun-bright world, seemingly devoid of weight; paintings in which contours of people and surroundings are blurred and all is joined in a concord of color and naturalness.

Renoir: The Crown Art Library is a wonderful introduction to the life and style of this master Impressionist, the world's most joyous painter. Those looking for a biography of Renoir would be better off choosing Renoir, My Father, by Jean Renoir, the artist's middle son. In-depth analyses of Impressionism and Renoir's own technique in particular, are also better covered in other books such as Rewald's History of Impressionism.

But for the vast majority of people, laymen who only want to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the world's greatest artists, Renoir: The Crown Art Library offers a wonderful starting point. With is lavish illustrations and lively text, it will broaden the scope of anyone's understanding. The book is a joy to browse and once insight is gained into the how and why of each painting, that joy is only increased.

While certainly far from exhaustive, Renoir: The Crown Art Library, is a lovely book and anyone with even a passing interest in Renoir and Impressionism will find it well worth their while.

Good quality reproductions on heavy stock. Not the paintings I'd have chosen but that is a matter of taste. shipped within published time parameter.

One of a series from Dover that includes Cassatt, Dali, Degas, Gauguin, Homer, Kahlo...you get the idea. Ridiculously inexpensive, you should collect them all. Once you have them, you'll resist ripping them out of the cute little booklet & mailing them. Maybe, like me, you'll keep them in a drawer by your computer as handy fine art stress relievers.

Bob Rixon

A very interesting biography on rodins work and his personel life and how this, through the path of time reflected in his work. Although laking in criticle views and historical context of what his influenses were (apart from that of Michelangelo)it did mention the possible influence that Camille Claudel had on him.

Although largely biographical, it covers most of his important pieces and their impact on his life and the art of that era. But, what I love about the book are the beautifully written prose of (the poet) Rainer Maria Rilke and his commentary about particular pieces, that can't be found in print elsewhere. Particularly striking is Rilke's commentary on Rodin's The Burghers of Calais in the first several pages, which gives a dynamic piece its true emotional content. This is what makes this small book unique. Coffee table sized books on Rodin will give more satisfying visual reproduction of Rodin's works and probably provide more critical commentary on the meaning of individual works, but this small book does have rather unusual content. It has sections in the back on the lost wax technique and excerpts of letters and interesting photographs of Rodin at work in his studio and imposing his enormous ego over the works that made him one of the most important sculptors since antiquity.

I have dozens of books on Rodin and this is one of my favorites. Great, though small, photographs, concise text and even a nifty section in the back of the book with copies of letters to Rodin as well as a thoughtful explanation of the bronze casting and transfer to marble processes. It's inexpensive and compact as well. Excellent!

Very good summary. Pickering captures the compelxity of the intellectual traditions that affected the formation of the Comtean philosophy. She shows the continuity that stems from the ambiguous legacy of the Revolution. But, at the same time, by concentrating on the continuity of his thought, Pickering does not seem to fully account for the discrepancy over which some of the disciples of Comte had to break from the master. Maybe in her next volume, she would make a good case of it.

An interesting short account of the life of this eminent, world-renowned psychiatrist, entomologist, anatomist, social reformer and peace-reformer, Auguste Forel, born in 1848 on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

This account of Forel's life was first written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Forel's passing (1981).

Throughout his life Forel tried to understand religion, free from dogma and superstition, for he considered that true religion should be for the social good of all mankind. He deplored the fact that there was so much superstition in organized religion. All his life he had believed in the things that Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith, had taught, without realising the source. It was in the last 10 years of his life that he first came across the Baha'i Faith and from then on he wholeheartedly supported it for he recognized it as being the "church of tomorrow". He considered the Baha'i Faith to be the true religion of human social good without dogmas or priests, uniting all men on this small terrestrial globe. In a codicil to his will in 1921 he wrote: "I have become a Baha'i. May this religion live and prosper for the good of mankind; this is my most ardent wish."

On first hearing of the Baha'i Faith Forel corresponded with Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah, and in reply 'Abdu'l-Baha wrote to him one of the most weighty letters ever written on the subject of philosophy. If ever there was any doubt in academic circles that Auguste Forel was a Baha'i, this study confirms the fact.

I have a couple of books on Rodin and this is one of the goodones. I mostly enjoyed its photographs, It's inexpensive too.