Richard Kendall (1946–2021)

Degas Landscapes was produced to accompany an exhibition of Degas' landscapes opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in January 1994 and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston in April 1994. If the title of this hefty volume comes as a surprise, it is unlikely the contents of the same will so much to change that view. It is however a fine book with a comprehensive text which discusses Degas’ work in detail, and includes anecdotes and Degas’ own words.

Yes, Degas did produce a few show more landscapes, most of which appear to be in pastel, and just a few paintings. The author negotiates this minor problem by including Degas’ equestrian paintings, and anything else he can find which can be construed as containing a landscape in the background; and he bolsters the meagre number of images by including examples of other artists’ landscapes.

The quality of the writing is not in question, it is intelligent, illuminating and extensive; and the images which illustrate the text are undoubtedly beautiful; subtle yet rich in colour and texture.

It includes a comprehensive bibliography, and details of the pictures included in the exhibition. There are about two hundred and thirty illustrations, almost all of which are in full colour, and include few photographs of the scene depicted in the painting, and sometimes a map showing the location and the view point for the picture. The illustrations some of which are half page or even full page, appear along with the text, and refreshingly generally manage to appear on the same page in which they are discussed.

While this is a fine work, I cannot help but think the reader will come away confirmed in the view that Degas and landscape are not words that readily sit together. show less

Book 269. When I did history of art at school Monet didn't stand out to me but when we went to New York in 2000 and visited the MoMA we were chatting as we went up the escalator and a whole wall slowly came into view... The waterlilies. It literally took our breath away, 2 m x 12.75m. Huge. I bought this book which has sat on the shelf for 24 yrs. I couldn't help but laugh at how on one hand he could knock out 5 paintings a day but he was continually broke, begging friends for money and show more always on the verge of having no reason to live... I was convinced he was going to commit suicide but he lived till he was 86. Productive and pathetic in equal measures. show less

A lovely book, but caveat for older readers: the 2004 reprint by TimeWarner Books is (I'd guess) a shrunken version of the original. It is a handy size for an art book, to be sure, but the print is TINY.

The reminiscences by others (and especially Daniel Halevy and Alice Michel) are at least as interesting as Degas' own writings. It's not that he was a bad writer, just that he was a complex character and some aspects of this are better viewed from 'outside.'

This book accompanied an exhibit at the Clark on Van Gogh and his life-long fascination with nature. Wonderfully curated, the theme of how much the beauty of the natural world affected Van Gogh throughout his life was portrayed beautifully in the exhibit and continues in a deeper level in this book, with many references to Van Gogh's correspondence with family and friends.