Marc Chagall FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D.
Although he is best known for his unique paintings, the artist Marc Chagall designed theater sets and costumes, worked in printmaking and stained glass, made pottery, mosaics and sculpture, and illustrated books. An amazing life to be sure, the prolific Chagall lived to the age of 97. His lifetime encompassed the Russian Revolution, the horror of two World Wars, the death of his beloved first wife Bella, and his own enduring success as an artist. Chagall was born in Russia, but also lived in Paris and the United States. He outlived many of his contemporaries, including Modigliani, the French writer Andre Malraux, Matisse and the Russian painter Chaim Soutine. Chagall often blended images from reality with those from his imagination in his work. In his painting entitled "Window" there is the Eiffel tower and Parisian buildings, but there is also a doubled faced man and a cat with a human face perched on the windowsill. Recollections from his childhood informed much of his work. This excellent title, which is a book in the publisher's "Lives of the Artists" series, provides a powerhouse of information in an engaging way. Readers will note that each page spread deals with an important period in the artist's life. There is a paragraph summarizing that period, followed by smaller sections detailing relevant information. The reproductions of Chagall's paintings and photographs of people, buildings and memorabilia bring the text to life. This is a great resource for middle school art classes. Readers can easily carry this book to the art gallery, where they will want to go after getting a taste of the Chagall's work here. There is a glossary and an index back of the book. 2005, World AlmanacLibrary, Ages 10 up.
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-Connolly and Mason explore these artists' lives from birth through death. Their influences, styles, and mediums are related to readers in words and pictures and, quite importantly, so are the milieus in which they worked. Botticelli's Medici-controlled Florence, Rembrandt's Dutch golden age, and the experimental and innovative times of Chagall and Monet are all given emphasis. The artists' contemporaries and patrons are credited as well. The introductions contain overall chronologies of the men's lives, and time lines on each spread give a synopsis of the information presented. The books' design connects all of the related information on each spread, resulting in a layout similar to that of the "Eyewitness" books (DK): many associated paragraphs of text and pictures grouped on a spread and separated by white space or blocks of color. However, these titles have less white space, smaller type, more information, and a more sophisticated vocabulary than most "Eyewitness" titles. Though at times this makes the texts a challenge to read, the format works well to demonstrate the complexity of the artists' lives and times. The books contain numerous color reproductions and, when possible, related photographs.-Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
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