Children's Literature
- Barbara L. Talcroft
British art historian Spence brings his expertise to this "Great Artists of the World" series in a busy format combining text and reproductions liberally scattered on white backgrounds, exploring each artist's world, life, vision, and influence. This volume introduces Paul Gauguin, who came late to painting, but left his wife, children, and job as a stockbroker to pursue his own vision. Always restless, Gauguin began painting peasants in Brittany, influenced by Japanese prints and the work of Cezanne, later becoming increasingly Symbolist. Eventually he fled to Tahiti, searching for a sensual, oriental Eden, which he never truly found. His distinctive style employed brilliant colors and young Tahitian models (often his mistresses) with echoes of Western compositions. Though he soon learned that European influence had corrupted Tahiti's innocence, Gauguin convinced Western admirers that he was portraying primitive life, appealing to their cliched concepts of South Sea culture and exotic women. Increasingly ill, frowned on for his Bohemian lifestyle by the French colony, Gauguin turned to bizarre images of ghosts, spirits, and severed heads in clay. Even before his death at 54, his paintings attracted collectors, while bold shapes and vivid colors influenced artists like Rousseau, Picasso, and Matisse. This series is a contraction in size of an earlier set entitled—"Ticktock Essential Artists," 2009—with some added pages including "Did You Know?" facts, a timeline, artist quotations, analysis of one work (The White Horse), lists of museums where Gauguin's work can be seen, and a bibliography of books and websites. Though the unattractive hard covers make these volumes more durable for libraries, reduction in size has caused crowded pages, very small fonts, and reproductions marred by tight gutters. The extreme difference in price may also be a factor in deciding whether to purchase the old or new series. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft
Children's Literature
- Barbara L. Talcroft
British art historian Spence brings his expertise to this "Great Artists of the World" series in a busy format combining text and reproductions liberally scattered on white backgrounds, exploring each artist's world, life, vision, and influence. This volume introduces Paul Gauguin, who came late to painting, but left his wife, children, and job as a stockbroker to pursue his own vision. Always restless, Gauguin began painting peasants in Brittany, influenced by Japanese prints and the work of Cezanne, later becoming increasingly Symbolist. Eventually he fled to Tahiti, searching for a sensual, oriental Eden, which he never truly found. His distinctive style employed brilliant colors and young Tahitian models (often his mistresses) with echoes of Western compositions. Though he soon learned that European influence had corrupted Tahiti's innocence, Gauguin convinced Western admirers that he was portraying primitive life, appealing to their cliched concepts of South Sea culture and exotic women. Increasingly ill, frowned on for his Bohemian lifestyle by the French colony, Gauguin turned to bizarre images of ghosts, spirits, and severed heads in clay. Even before his death at 54, his paintings attracted collectors, while bold shapes and vivid colors influenced artists like Rousseau, Picasso, and Matisse. This series is a contraction in size of an earlier set entitled—"Ticktock Essential Artists," 2009—with some added pages including "Did You Know?" facts, a timeline, artist quotations, analysis of one work (The White Horse), lists of museums where Gauguin's work can be seen, and a bibliography of books and websites. Though the unattractive hard covers make these volumes more durable for libraries, reduction in size has caused crowded pages, very small fonts, and reproductions marred by tight gutters. The extreme difference in price may also be a factor in deciding whether to purchase the old or new series. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft
Children's Literature
- Barbara L. Talcroft
The "Ticktock Essential Artists" series presents six influential nineteenth-century French artists in a busy format combining text and reproductions on white backgrounds. The illustrations are liberally scattered across the pages and include extracted details. In four sections, art historian Spence explores each artist's world, life, vision, and influence. In this volume, young art lovers will meet Paul Gauguin, who came late to painting and left his wife, children, and job as a stockbroker to pursue his artistic vision. Always restless, Gauguin began painting peasants in Brittany. His style was influenced by Cloisonnism, Japanese prints, and the work of Cezanne. Finally, in pursuit of a sensual, oriental Eden, he fled to Tahiti. His distinctive style combined brilliant colors and young Tahitian models (often his mistresses) with echoes of western compositions; over time, his works became increasingly Symbolist in nature. Though he soon learned that European influence had corrupted the innocence of Tahiti, Gauguin convinced western admirers that he was portraying primitive life, appealing to their cliched concepts of South Sea culture and beautiful exotic women. Increasingly ill and frowned on by the French colony for his bohemian lifestyle, Gauguin turned to sculpting bizarre images of ghosts, spirits, and severed heads in clay. Even before his death at fifty-four, his paintings attracted collectors. His bold shapes and vivid colors influenced artists like Redon, Rousseau, Picasso, and Matisse. Crammed with information and reproductions of varying quality, this fascinating study works best if accompanied by volumes and DVDs showing the artists' work and, whenever possible, trips tomuseums to see originals. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft
