Soviet Impressionist Painting :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

A seminal contribution to 20th Century Art reference collections

2008-05-05
Bolshevik political ideology held contemporary European art movements such as Cubism and Abstract Modernism in contempt. The Soviet Union authorized, supported and fostered a naturalist oriented art movement from the 1930s through the 1980s. Thanks to the Cold War politics of the Kremlin, Russian artists created a realist school of painting, while the Communist government did what it could to suppress Soviet Impressionist paintings -- many of whose art works still managed to be smuggled out into western markets and find their way into European and American museums. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, scholars and art critics were finally able to appreciate Soviet impressionist art and arts. Now a compilation of the best of that art is showcased, along with an informed and informative commentary, in the 463-pages that comprise "Soviet Impressionist Painting" by Vern G. Swanson and published by the Antique Collectors' Club. Profusely illustrated with superb reproductions throughout, "Soviet Impressionist Painting" is enhanced with the inclusion a Chronology of Soviet Art; a glossary, extensive endnotes, a bibliography, a listing of the illustrations, and a comprehensive index. A seminal contribution to 20th Century Art reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "Soviet Impressionist Painting" is highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections.

Truly sumptuous

2008-01-04
Covering Soviet realist art from the 1930s to the 1980s, this impressive volume Soviet Impressionist Painting is a revelation. The well written and accessible text is both interesting and informative, explaining the prevailing conditions which influenced the artists and their work. The reproductions of the paintings are interspersed with the text, and vary from smaller than postcard size to the double page spread, one quibble here is that the text and the image to which it refers rarely appear on the same page, but usually two or three pages apart; with illustrations on every page this seems an odd arrangement. It concludes with a twenty five page chronology of Soviet art.

Perhaps because of their initial impact, the first impression is that the majority of pictures here depict happy workers off to the field, smiling families and cheerful youths. However this is not strictly the case, there are more pensive portraits and groups, and there is a fair sprinkling of landscapes along with a few still life and some nudes.

What really stands out, regardless of subject matter, is the quality of the painting; vibrant and energetic, with lively brush work and a strong sense of light these pictures cannot fail to appeal. Here the quality of the photography and printing come to the fore, one can sense the texture of paint and the brush work, adding greatly to the vitality of the work. The colour reproduction is superb, rich and at times vivid or even luminous; the paintings truly come to life on the page.

This is genuinely a sumptuous volume, lavishly illustrated almost entirely in colour. Grab a copy while you can before this one goes out of print.

Its back and better than ever.

2007-12-02
I thought I would never own this book as the out of print version was running from $300 up to $800!!!!?!?. That was for a book only a few years old. This one will be the same. This publisher tends toward the lower print runs so I suspect this item will be history (so to speak). As an artist my point of view is all about the images. I read the books that are honest assesments of the work and not deconstructionis bs (read Michael Fried). This book offers a fair assesment of the work being shown with no illusions regarding the setting within which the art work was created. In the introduction we read, "...they (critical western writers) imagined that in a controlled society all art was necessarily bad, because artists can only create in absolute freedom. Yet few in the West could name a single Soviet artist or visualize any of their paintings. What we had were blanket dismissals from the ill-informed." This book is about dispelling those blanket dismissals. Apart from all that, when the artwork is taken at face value, the work presented is a mindblowing celebration of talent. With awe I read artists name after name without any recongnition and realized the treasure this book begins to expose. The images are beautiful. The editors were not afraid to run an image over the gutter to show its best impact within the confines of the book. This is a book that will be read and studied for years. If you are a fan of Sorov, Sorolla, Fechen, etc....this is the mother load. The cover art is a good representation of the quality and kind of work you will find inside.