Impressions of Light: The French Landscape from Corot to Monet

The book Impressions of Light by George Shackleford et al is a companion book to an art exhibit of works from Boston's Museum of Fine Art. The paintings are landscapes created by France's greatest nineteenth century painters and photographers. Most of the painters are Impressionists but others schools are represented as well. The book also contains sketches which were part of the exhibit. The sketches, as well as the written commentary which accompanies many of them, allows the reader to better understand the creative process of the painters. The factual information in the book is very extensive and helps the readers see more in the works than normally meets the eye. Perhaps what is most interesting about this book and the collection of paintings and photographs included it is the plethora of lesser known works by these great artists. Readers, especially those who have been fortunate to view the exhibit, will be transported to the settings of these great works and gain a deeper appreciation of these great artists and photographers.

Impressions Of Light: The French Landscape From Corot To Monet is a lavishly, richly, spectaculrly beautifully, illustrated art history showcasing one hundred years of French art and 56 French artists. Included area wealth of rare and unusual monotypes by Degas, three states of a softground etching by Pissarro, and numerous illustrative works by lesser-known by equally significant contemporaries. Of particular interest is the attention paid to intersecting developments in French art from the Barbizon school through post-Impressionism. Enhanced with more than 80 paintings and 70 works on paper drawn from the MFA collections, showcasing the French landscape through painting, prints, and photography, Impressions Of Light deftly explores individual artists' perceptions as well as the manifold ways that influenced each other. Impressions Of Light will prove to be a welcome and much appreciated contribution to Art History collections in general, and 19th Century French landscape art and photography in particular.