Product Description
The brilliantly colored paintings of the Blue Rider artists, a group of Expressionist painters centered in Munich, are rightly famous everywhere.

This book tells their story and includes some of the most beautiful paintings produced by Wassily Kandinsky and his friends Alexej Jawlensky, Paul Klee, August Macke, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Muenter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A sensory pleasure
As a long time admirer of Marc, Klee and Kandinsky this charming book is a visit with old friends.The colors are beautiful.Although suitable to be read aloud to a young child it is equally a delight to an adult.

Ride with The Blue Riders into the Enchantment of Painting!
What better way to introduce children to art than through the paintings of The Blue Riders, a group of painters that included Wassily Kandinsky andPaul Klee.The exciting story of these painters is illustrated with theirbright and glorious paintings and photographs of the artists at work andplay.Paintings are broken down into smaller pictures to help the readerunderstand recurrent themes and to pull one into the detail of eachpainting.Also included is an enchanting collection of hand-paintedpostcards from Franz Marc to Kandinsky with excerpts from his messages. Reading the text and savoring the paintings, I came away inspired andthrilled by such fun and colorful works of art.I couldn't wait to get outmy paint set!I think children will feel the same. ... Read more

Product Description
A behind-the-scenes look at the Kirov Ballet Academy, a training school for young dancers in Russia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

No Value Here
This book is not what it claims to be.If you want a collection ofartistically mediocre photographs of highly staged, make-believe moments atand around a Russian ballet school -- it only marginally fulfills even thatrole (the book reminds me of the complaint:"the food was awful, andsuch small portions!" -- since it is also highly abbreviated).

Iam very familiar with the leading Russian ballet academies, and this bookobscures far more than it portrays.A decent photographer compilingarbitrary (unstaged) shots in the course of a day would have produced abetter result than this attempt to cash in on the cache of this age-oldinstitution.Take my word for it and save yourself some money anddisappointment.

a look into the life of aspiring ballerinas
In this book, readers get a behind-the-scenes look at the Russian Kirov Ballet school.Photographs of classes and free time accompany interesting details written in large, readable print.Learn about the hard life ofyoung ballet dancers - starting from the age of ten in the first classesand finishing with the final performance years later.A friend of mine hasthis book and I was interested in buying it so I looked here on amazon.com,and although it's out of print I would still recommend taking the extratime to access it.It's a wonderful read for any young dancer wanting alook into another society's way of dance. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the life of the noted painter, from his birth in Russia to his death in France, with an emphasis on his Jewish background. ... Read more

Product Description
Focusing on Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935), one of the great pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, this is one of a series of illustrated monographs which offer introductions to modern art and artists. Each book presents a profile of the artist and analysis of his distinctive style. Malevich was a major figure in the Russian avant-garde, and a founder of Suprematism, which became the basis for most later trends in abstract painting. His life and work are traced from his early years to his triumphants Suprematist period, including his abanconment of painting altogether in 1918, in favour of teaching and designing architecture and objects for daily use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Colors a bit off, but good overall
As in all titles in the Great Modern Masters series published by Abrams: Colors are not vibrant, often with a brownish tint or/and too dark, and their accuracy is just O.K. There are 64 pages of a good size 9.5x12 inches (24x30.5 cm). It begins with an introduction with 5-6 small b&w pictures on 2 pages, which is followed by a biography with 5-6 small b&w pictures on 2 next pages. The rest is dedicated to good size over 60 full color plates divided into chapters dedicated to artist's carrier periods, style directions, or themes, each described by 12-16 lines of text. The series is inferior to the same size paperback series published by Taschen in 1990s, but superior to Taschen's series of smaller sizes published latter. Unfortunately, the Taschen series does not cover Bacon, Botero, Brancusi, Braque, Calder, de Chirico, Johns, Kokoschka, Leger, Man Ray, Malevich, Modigliani, and Rouault this series does.

A Nice Introduction to Kazimir Malevich and His Work
I've long been a fan of the brilliant Russian painter Kazimir Malevich. He along with Paul Cezanne are my two favorite painters, so when I ran across this book in my local Salvation Army store, I was delighted. Though only 64 pages long, some of his finest work is shown here, including two my two favorite paintings of his, "Woman in a Yellow Hat" and "Unemployed Girl".

The book opens with a short two paged chapter called "Malevich and the Russian Avant-Garde" the goes into another two page chapter on Kazimir Malevich where you'll find out who he was, where he painted and what that and why who he was is important.

Like me, Malevich admired Cezanne, but unlike me, he was hugely talented, was able to see Cezanne's work and take it to a different level. He believed Cezanne's attempt "to create a new order independent of the natural one in painting was the course that modern artists should follow" as he shifted to a cubist style. He considered himself a Cubo-Futurist and he was a member of the Russian Futurist group.

Though I admire all of his work, it's the work he did before he coined the idea of Suprematism that I like the best, the French Post-Impressionist looking stuff. Also, I didn't know he did propaganda posters during WW I supporting the Russian war effort. I've never seen them, but I'm going to go to Google after I post this review and see if I can find some.

If you've ever wandered into an art gallery and enjoyed yourself, then you'll enjoy this book and you just might learn a little something, I know I did.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane ... Read more

Product Description
One of the first and most famous abstract painters, Wassily Kandinsky created a form in which color and shape have a life of their own. Find out how this complex Russian artist established a truly abstract art.The DK ArtBook series presents both the life and works of each artist within the cultural, social, and political context of their time. To make the books easy to consult, they are divided into three areas -- the life and works of the artist, historical and cultural background, and analysis of major works -- which are identifiable by side bands. Each spread focuses on a specific theme, with an introductory text and several annotated illustrations. Few art history texts contain such abundance of full-color illustrations. The index section is also illustrated and gives background information on key figures and the location of the artist's works.Amazon.com Review
Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian-born painter, became one of thefounders of 20th-century abstract art, ultimately moving toward thegeometric forms for which he is best known. Some of the more beautifulworks included in this title are Several Circles (1926),Hard But Soft (1927), and Graceful Ascent(1934). Readers looking for a good introduction to the works ofKandinsky will be delighted with this volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Kandinsky
Excellent Book! It is very informative and well written.The illustrations are great and give deep insight into the artist's life and work.Ordering from the purveyor through Amazon was a breeze as always!I recommend this title to anyone dabbling in art history or with a real interest in examining his marvelous paintings.

The Book is Worth It!
This book has excellent images on Kandinsky's work beginning with his representational early works to his abstract later works.The color quality of the prints are good and the information is readable - to the point and not overwhelming like many art books can be.I only wish this book was bigger with more examples of his work....A good resource for art educators.

The Master On Display
The word "visionary" is so often overused, but Wassily Kandinsky truly was one. Pick up this book and find out why!

Must buy for any modern art lover
This book in few pages can describe Kandinsky so well. The style of Kandisky which reflected the developments and strides physics took in first 2 decades of century is shown in his love of planes and geometry. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents a biography of the nineteenth-century Russian composer who created such ballets as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty,and The Nutcracker. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

great book, info and so funny!
All of the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers books are good.Tchaikovsky's is full of information AND the funniest cartoons! I read it before I read it to my daughter and I laughed out loud while learning at the same time. Moviemaniac

Wonderful
This book has made Tchaikovsky's music even more interesting to our family.The book was comprehended and enjoyed by my 5 and 8 year old daughters.Nice use of humor in the cartoons to lighten it up.

Amusing Illustrations
This is one in a wonderful series of books intended to introduce young readers to the lives of famous composers. Tchaikovsky was an interesting character, to say the least, and Venezia does a nice job of expressing thatin an amusing way without losing respect for the composer. Venezia picksout events in Tchaikovsky's life that children can relate to and at thesame time, see his unique way of dealing with life. As with all the booksin this series, the best part are the illustrations. Cartoonlike andcolorful; they are full of details and wonderfully amusing. ... Read more

Product Description
Follows the life of Chagall from a small Russian village through the turmoil of the Russian Revolution to the artistic world of 1920s Paris and its bohemian lifestyle, and into the torment of World War II. Greenfeld traces the artist's career in vivid detail and shows how his childhood influenced his work. 45 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Brought the house down!
I cannot describe how much I enjoyed this book. Danilova speaks with such warmth and dignity. I felt like I was truly experiencing life with her and I could almost hear the audience come to their feet as she took her final bows. Truly inspiring! Fantastic!

Engaging, genuine and informative in the dancer's own voice
Alexanda Danilova's accounts of her life as a ballerina is full of charming details, from her early life as an orphan attending the Maryinsky Theater school to her career with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and afterward. The penultimate chapter describing her teaching philosophy is worth many times the price of the book. It should serve as a manifesto for ballet teachers and coaches everywhere. ... Read more