Velázquez (Basic Art)

Excellent brief account of Velazquez's life and work. Decent reproductions.

Good

I love it

Any review of this book would have to start out by pointing out that it is part of Taschen Publishing’s “Basic Art” series. For those who are not familiar with this series, it consists of books that are fairly short (96 pages) and are geared to the beginner (i.e., are intended as introductions to the artists they cover). Hence if one is a specialist or someone with in-depth knowledge of the artist little would be gained from reading it. For its intended audience, however, the book is very good. It provides a decent biography of the artist, from his birth to death, as well as coverage of his most important paintings. In addition, the paintings included are just awesome for a book in the $10-$15 price range. Not up to the par of museum books in the $100 price range but not surpassed in the $10-$15 price range (or even in the $30 or so range for that matter). The colors are vivid and there are numerous close ups of paintings showing impressive detail. Plus the author, Dr. Norbert Wolf, a professor of art history, does a very good job at describing each painting in terms of subject matter, context, etc. The book does have a few minor problems though. Unlike some of the better books in the “Basic Art” series, the artist’s technique is not examined (thought development of style over the course of the artist’s life is). In the “Basic Art” books covering Watteau, for example, there is a discussion of his long brushstrokes containing much paint and in the one on Vermeer there is a discussion of that artist’s use of the camera obscura. Nothing like that in this book on Velazquez though. In addition, there are small number of painting, mostly of other artists of the time, that may have inspired or influenced Velazquez. These are too small in this reviewer’s opinion albeit, due to space limitations, the tradeoff between quality and their ability to compare and contrast with Velazquez’s work is acceptable. On the flap of the book, as in all books of the “Basic Art” series, there is a quote by another artist on the art work of the particular artist being covered that always hits the nail on the head with respect to summing up the artist’s work. In this particular book that quote is, by Picasso, “There you have him, the true painter of reality”. This book does a very good job at bringing this quote to life.

Excellent art book.

Terrific small scale bio of the artist written so anyone can understand it. Gets really in depth as far as the artists life is concerned. Very useful tome on this artist like a text book.

I don't know if Taschen ever released this book in a larger format, but the copy I got is just too small to effectively deal with the paintings it reproduces. While it is understandable that the art director would have wanted to devote a full page to a detail of the early & prodigious masterpiece 'The Water Seller', it is fantastical that the full painting is then reproduced the size of a large postage stamp. There are other books on this artist, try them instead.

I just received this book, but I found its cover damaged as shown on the photo.

Velázquez... nice start, a good introduction to a great artist

ベラスケスの絵が大好きで、疲れた時とかにふっと眺めたくて購入しました。しかしながら…改めてみると、ベラスケスって本当に寡作ですよね。このうすーい画集をみているとしみじみ感じます。そして、様々な画家に与えた偉大なる影響！ ベラスケス好きは買っておいて損はない一冊です。

It was a great gift

It’s like new, great reproductions!

I am a fan of Taschen basic series books. They are so easy to carry around - I am a private tutor so need to carry books to students and the lighter the better! They are also well written and this one is no exception. A good resource and guide to the major works of Velazquez, well illustrated and great value especially second hand!