libri d'arte,libri di modernariato,libri di design,libro d'arte,Merigo Art Books

It has been a full century since the last complete catalog of Reynolds's works was published, bringing together paintings scattered throughout the world on museum walls and in the corridors of stately homes. Mannings (history of art, Univ. of Aberdeen) and Postle (senior curator, Tate Collections) have produced an outstanding scholarly work that could well serve students of 18th-century art history for the next century. Relying on first-hand inspection of the works wherever possible and using current techniques and methodology, the authors present an important reexamination of the paintings along with new insights into studio practices and procedures of the period. The introductory essays are examples of art history at its best, with no sacrifice of clarity to scholarship. The text volume is divided into portraits (including self-portraits) and subject pictures, landscapes, and copies after old masters, all in alphabetical order. Each entry has a wealth of detail that includes descriptive, historical, and bibliographical data as well as listings of any copies; also included are the dates of sittings, comments made about the work, and the price paid. The plates volume follows much the same order, with the addition of 136 excellent color plates of varying themes; these are followed by black-and-white illustrations of portraits in chronological order, with the subject pictures following in alphabetical order. Extensive endmatter and appendixes complete the book. An outstanding example of art history at its best, these volumes will serve their readers in many ways and for many years.DPaula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York