Degas Landscapes
Degas was considered to be the dominant figurative painter among the French Impressionists. British art historian Kendall presents a highly focused study that details the artist's more than 40 years as a landscapist. Published in conjunction with an exhibition that opened at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and travels this spring to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts, this amply illustrated volume brings together for the first time less familiar Degas works, including previously unpublished images. Beginning with Degas's travels in Italy in the 1850s, Kendall discusses the artist's early Italian landscape studies, equestrian scenes, and pastel seascapes and concludes with a series from the French resort town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. There is a fascinating analysis of the only individual exhibition Degas himself ever staged, which was devoted solely to the landscapes and featured the artist's innovative color monotypes. Kendall's clear, solid scholarship proves that Degas was neither indifferent to landscapes nor scornful of plein-air painting (literally, painting done in the "open air"). Recommended for general and special collections.- Joan Levin, MLS, ChicagoCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.