Review by Choice Review
This highly important, impeccable, and scholarly Art Institute of Chicago museum catalog records the largest retrospective of Monet's works ever held--from July 22 through November 26, 1995. Of great historical interest, the show includes approximately 160 of Monet's masterpieces, assembled from collections throughout the world. This large-format volume is an exemplary record of the show. Practically all exhibited works are well reproduced, with excellent color, one per page. (There are 278 illustrations, 226 in color.) Stuckey, curator and specialist on Monet, provides a truly monumental addition to Monet scholarship, especially in the 82 archival-style small-print pages of Monet's chronology, treating the artist's life on a month-by-month basis. Stuckey's essay identifies several new issues in Monet studies, but the intention is "before all else to be a reader's guide Wildenstein's complex, expensive publication in French" (Daniel Wildenstein's five-volume Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonn'e, Lausanne, 1974, the classic resource on Monet). With all due restraint Stuckey carefully documents but also interprets Monet's family situations, habits, and complex personality. Thus Stuckey's admirable volume must be read in light of still another new monograph: Paul Hayes Tucker's Claude Monet: Life and Art (CH, Oct'95). Highest recommendation. Upper-division undergraduate; graduate; professional; general. M. Hamel-Schwulst; Towson State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Monet is one of the world's most recognized and revered artists and the subject of numerous books. What makes this one unique and invaluable? Published on the occasion of the most comprehensive retrospective yet mounted of Monet's work, this catalog is stocked with more than 200 superb color reproductions and a 70-page illustrated chronology. Stuckey, a distinguished curator at the site of this magnificent show (the Art Institute of Chicago), provides an engaging, informative, and surprisingly detailed overview of Monet's spectacular achievements, incorporating the essence of newly available and substantial biographical materials, including a little known cache of letters. Stuckey has also included reproductions of many significant paintings unavailable for loan to the museum, making this volume the most up-to-date and complete guide to Monet's superlative oeuvre, hence its status as a Book-of-the-Month Club title and our strong recommendation for its inclusion in public library collections. --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Being the first American museum to acquire a Monet and now possessing a significant Monet collection, the Art Institute of Chicago is, not surprisingly, currently presenting the largest, most comprehensive retrospective of the artist's works ever staged. Distinguished art scholar and curator Stuckey has brought together from public and private collections worldwide works that represent every facet of the Impressionist painter's long career. In his introductory essay for this exhibition catalog, Stuckey points out gaps that exist in Monet scholarship, especially from the mid-1880s to the artist's death in 1926. A detailed, 71-page chronology including images of works by Monet's contemporaries, key Monet works not in the exhibition, and historical photographs underscores Monet's profound influence on modern art as well as art of the previous century. Above all, readers will luxuriate in the 161 magnificent full-color plates. Popular garden author Russell (Gardens of the Riviera, Rizzoli, 1994) highlights Monet's year-round horticultural talents and provides an ideal companion volume to the exhibition catalog. She traces Monet's purchase of the now-famous apple orchard site, his meticulous plans to convert Giverny to a natural, informal garden, and the recent, spectacular restoration. The nurseries from which Monet ordered water lilies and peonies, his "paintbox beds" for experimenting with colors, friendships with fellow gardeners Caillebotte and Clemenceau, and lively details of the day-to-day monumental maintenance chores combine with sumptuous color photographs of the restored garden, reproductions of paintings, and historical photographs to create a delightful publication. Monet's genius for using the garden as his canvas and immortalizing Giverny in impressionistic masterpieces is richly conveyed. Both volumes are highly recommended.Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
