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Title: 500 Self Portraits by Julian Bell ISBN: 0-7148-3959-0 Publisher: Phaidon Press Inc. Pub. Date: 10 January, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Enrich your library
Comment: I purchased this book as a gift for my father in law, an artist and it was very well recieved. I did not get to peruse it at my leisure becaue it was wrapped in plastic, but once I did I regretted not buying a copy for myself.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Indispensible Art Library Addition
Comment: This small scale (though weighty) tome is a compact , wide-ranging survey of Western art in the most personal of terms - self portraits of artists both well known and obscure. The brief essay by Julian Bell sets the overture tone for this enlightening stroll through art history from 2350 BC to 1997 AD. And though we know well the self portraits of Rembrandt, Durer, van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman, it is a pleasure to explore the vast frescoes of the Middle Ages and the commissioned paintings of the Renaissance and find subtle artist self portraits in the crowd scenes! Another aspect of this important survey is the inclusion of women painters from history and recent past/present. We all know the stature of Artemisia Gentileschi, but who has had the pleasure of viewing Judith Leyster, Sofonisba Anguissola, Catharina van Hemessen, Elisabeth- Louise Vigee-Lebrun in context with Goya, Velasquez, Carravagio, Whistler, Ingre, Freud, Bacon, Saville, etc.? The reproductions are rich, intimate, often enhanced by well-cropped details if the painter's image is one face in a huge canvas. How better to take quietly study art development, technique, subject matter, social commentary than to slowly page though this engrossing collections of artists as they viewed themselves. Buy this book, before it goes out of print!
Rating: 5
Summary: Simple but very satisfying
Comment: This is a simple book but very satisfying. There is very little text. The 6 page Introduction by Julian Bell is the only narrative but it is a wonderful introduction to the subject of self-portraiture in western art. Each picture has a brief caption that lists the artist, her/his birth and death dates, title and date, a brief description of materials and size, and the location of the original. The portraits are arranged in the book in rough chronological order. At the end of the book is an index by artist and a list of acknowledgements.
Each page consists of one self portrait as large as the page will allow with its caption description. One of the drawbacks to the book is that it is only 4.5" x 7", and the reproductions are small as a result. A larger format would have allowed for larger prints but would have cost more to produce.
Sadly, the work limits itself primarily to western art and I was left wondering about the role of self portraiture in African and Asian art. Outside minor limitations of physical size and scope of coverage, the book is exquisite candy to the eye and mind.
By century, the works break down as follows: 24th c. B.C.E. - 1; 9th c. - 1; 11th c. - 1; 12th c. - 1, 14th c. - 4; 15th c. - 35; 16th c. - 57; 17th c. - 78; 18th c. - 57; 19th c. - 89; 20th c. - 193. The compilers put all of an artists self portraits side by side. There are 10 Rembrandts, 4 Van Goghs, and 4 Picassos. There are also 45 self portraits by women.
Geographically, the artists are from 36 countries. 26 of these countries are in Europe, 4 are in the Western Hemisphere, 3 countries are in the Middle East, 2 are in Africa and one in Asia. The index in the back of the book lists the countries the artists were born in or worked in, as well as their occupations and specialties. The countries represented are Armenia, Austria, Belorussia, Bohemia, Britain, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Flemish Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Moravia, The Netherlands, North Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
I would have liked to have read this book with an encyclopedia of artists at hand. This is a valuable addition to any art library. Highly recommended.
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Title: Mirror, Mirror: Self-Portraits by Women Artists by Liz Rideal, Whitney Chadwick, Frances Borzello ISBN: 0823030717 Publisher: Watson-Guptill Pubns Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Seeing Ourselves by Frances Borzello ISBN: 0810941880 Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Pub. Date: 01 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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Title: The Art of the Portrait (Big Art) by Norbert Schneider ISBN: 3822865222 Publisher: TASCHEN America Llc Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: The Mini Art Book by From the Editors of Phaidon ISBN: 0714836257 Publisher: Phaidon Press Inc. Pub. Date: 17 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Artist Revealed: Artists and Their Self-Portraits by Ian Chilvers, Rachel Bean ISBN: 1571459480 Publisher: Thunder Bay Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.98 |
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