Clare Willsdons new book explores the rich history and striking evolution of Impressionist garden paintings. By the 1860s, gardens were highly popular in France; the introduction and cross-breeding of new plant and flower species and the opening to the public of the former royal parks had stimulated a great horticultural movement. With their delight in colour, plein-air effects and modern-life themes, the Impressionists and their followers naturally turned to gardens for artistic inspiration. This book follows the spread of the Impressionist garden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and illustrates not only masterpieces of Impressionism by Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley and others, but also works by such forebears as Delacroix, Corot, Courbet and later figures like Van Gogh, Gauguin, Klimt and Sargent. With its spectacular illustrations and accessible, engaging text, it will appeal equally to the scholar, student, art lover or gardening enthusiast.

Impressionist Gardens /anglais

Willsdon, Clare

Thames&Hudson

A colorful excursion through the French Impressionists’ gardens, from Courbet and Degas to Renoir and ManetIn the Gardens of Impressionism fully explores―from Manet’s Tuileries to Monet’s Giverny―with dazzling visual accompaniment, the Impressionist love affair with the new thinking about garden and landscape design that swept nineteenth-century France. Author Clare Willsdon discusses the artists’ complementary roles as painters and as gardeners, and offers exciting new interpretations of their art, informed by source material such as popular gardening manuals of the day. She also looks at the garden, public or private, as a new kind of space with political undertones, and relates it to the Impressionists’ adoption of plein-air techniques. In her analysis of specific works, their historical and horticultural context is presented in a clear, informative, and engaging manner including musings from such literary figures as Baudelaire, Duranty, Daudet, and Zola. Lively discussion of the artists’ private lives gives the text another satisfying perspective. 300+ illustrations

In the Gardens of Impressionism

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

For the first time, this book explores to the full, with dazzling visual accompaniment, the fascinating story of the Impressionist love affair with the new thinking about gardens, their flowers and design, in 19th-century France. It discusses the artists both as painters and as gardeners, and, using source material such as contemporary gardening manuals, offers exciting new interpretations of their art. It also looks at the garden, public or private, as a new kind of space with political undertones, and relates it to the Impressionists' adoption of plein-air techniques. While the approach is to concentrate on analyses of specific works, the historical context is presented in a clear, informative and engaging manner. There is also some lively discussion of the private lives of these artists.

In the Gardens of Impressionism (Hardback) /anglais

<div>The Anglo-American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903) is a household name - a man who inspired and astonished the Victorian world. Less well known, though, is the influence of nature on Whistler's work. This innovative and compelling study reconsiders Whistler's work from the context of his military service and his relationship with 'nature at the margins,' showing how Whistler's observation of nature and its moods underpinned his haunting visions of nineteenth-century life. This innovative and compelling study reconsiders Whistler's work from the context of his military service and his relationship with 'nature at the margins.' Whistler came from a family of soldiers and engineers; his father, Major George Washington Whistler, was originally a US military engineer. Drawing and mapmaking were important components of the military training that Whistler acquired as an officer cadet at West Point Academy in 1851-4 and subsequently in the Drawing Department at the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, where he attempted to realize his father's hopes that he would make engineering or architecture his profession. These influences in turn shaped Whistler's attitude towards nature, as expressed in works ranging from his celebrated London 'Nocturnes' to his French coastal scenes - all of which were created after Whistler moved permanently to Europe in 1855. Whistler's close observation of nature and its moods underpinned his powerful and haunting visions of nineteenth-century life. His images explore the contrasts between the natural and man-made worlds: rivers and wharves, gardens and courtyards, the ideal and the naturalistic. And his singular vison was always defined by his enduring affinity with the makers of railways, bridges, and ships, the cornerstones of Victorian wealth and trade. Influenced by Rembrandt, Whistler's early etchings of London are notable for their focus on line and topographical accuracy. From the 1860s, his enthusiasm for Japanese art, too, influenced his attitude to perspective and spatial relations between objects. This led him, in his London Nocturnes, to reduce the external world before him to its bare bones. Whistler's smoky images of warehouses, bridges, harbours and tall ships were designed to showcase a new kind of productive, wealth-generating landscape. It is a view of nature constrained by man-made structures: the shadowy outline of the warehouses and chimneys on the far shore; the mast and rigging of a Thames barge in the middle distance. This absorbing book reassesses a familiar and notoriously colorful artistic figure in a fascinating and pertinent new light, and is an important new contribution to our understanding of the Victorian art world and its physical context.</div>

Whistler and Nature

De Montfort, Patricia

Individual Artists

Paul Holberton Publishing

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Books by Willsdon, Clare

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Willsdon, Clare. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Impressionist Gardens /anglais

In the Gardens of Impressionism

In the Gardens of Impressionism (Hardback) /anglais

Whistler and Nature