ART
A dazzling visual exploration of the Impressionists’ love affair with garden design in 19th-century France. Clare Willsdon is Senior Lecturer in History of Art, University of Glasgow. Among her previous books is Impressionist Gardens, also published by Thames & Hudson.
261 illustrations 31.0 x 24.0cm 288pp paperback ISBN 978 0 500 292228 January £19.95
In the Gardens of Impressionism
New in paperback
Clare A. P. Willsdon
14
‘Anyone interested in the Impressionists must obviously have this book, but it is a significant addition to the garden shelf as well’ The Art Newspaper ‘A luscious landscape of a book’ The Financial Times
In the Gardens of Impressionism explores to the full the fascinating story of the Impressionist love affair with the new thinking about gardens, their flowers and design, in 19th-century France. 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. Her analysis of specific works presents their historical and horticultural context, including musings from such literary figures as Baudelaire, Duranty, Daudet and Zola, while she also delves into the artists’ private lives. With superbly reproduced period photographs, engravings, paintings and drawings, this vital contribution to Impressionist scholarship will appeal equally to the scholar, student, art lover or gardening enthusiast.
‘An exhilarating stroll past light-dappled lily ponds and through Parisian parks’ The Times