|
New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z By Title
Archives: A-Z By Author
Advanced Search
All-Time High Scores
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Books In Our Forums
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed books.
|
Matisse The Master
A Life Of Henri Matisse: The Conquest Of Colour: 1909-1954
by Hilary Spurling
This is the second (and final) volume of Spurling's epic biography of the colorful modern painter.
Knopf, 544 pages
09/06/2005
$40.00
ISBN: 0679434291
Nonfiction
Art, Architecture & Photography
Biographies & Memoirs
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor Christopher Andreae
This biography presents much more than a glimpse behind the scenes. It discloses a ruthlessly dedicated career, a massive determination, and, by giving flesh to the hidden shadows of the man, it provokes a stimulatingly fresh look at his art.
Daily Telegraph Philip Hensher
Spurling's book is not just a wonderful biography, deftly characterised, richly human in the sometimes sad and difficult relationships it explores, but a superb piece of art criticism.
Daily Telegraph Martin Gayford
This book makes one understand just how hard it is to make great art, and so helps the reader to see that art freshly.
Los Angeles Times Richard Eder
MONUMENTAL is the usual term for a biography that is profoundly researched, soberly though strikingly thought out and very long. To use the word for Hilary Spurling's biography of Henri Matisse, occupying two volumes and more than 1,000 pages, would not do it justice. [25 Sep 2005, p.R4]
Publishers Weekly
Spurling's rich, flexible style is well attuned to the rigors and flights of Matisse's creative life.
The Guardian John Elderfield
The very first serious biography of the artist--and destined to remain the standard biography for a long time.
The Independent Giles Waterfield
Spurling has shown herself a writer worthy of her subject.
The Independent Marc Bostridge
Hilary Spurling has written a rich and deeply illuminating life, with all the feeling and passion for the work that Henri Matisse himself would have appreciated. This is a true biographical masterpiece.
The Spectator Grey Gowrie
I hope Hilary Spurling gets the Legion d'Honneur.
Wall Street Journal Eric Gibson
In lesser hands, this tale could easily have been sentimentalized or, worse, sensationalized. Instead, Ms. Spurling's book -- like Matisse's art, in fact -- is poised and measured, though charged with intense emotion. Her narrative gifts, combined with her extensive quotations from the family's correspondence, give the book an immediacy that makes us silent witnesses to a long drama of creativity and ordeal.
Boston Globe David Rollow
Spurling's two volumes, in their intense focus and narrative power, compose the greatest biography yet written of a modern painter.
Chicago Tribune Katrin Schultheiss
Although at times the book strains to find drama in the life of a subject who seemed intent on avoiding it at all costs, it is nonetheless laden with insight and serves as an indispensable guide to understanding one of the 20th Century's most innovative and enigmatic artists. [25 Sep 2005]
Washington Post Phyllis Tuchman
Spurling's absorbing biography celebrates a chronic insomniac who shocked the art world at the beginning of his career and then, as death approached, continued to create transcendent, life-affirming work.
London Review Of Books Julian Bell
Spurling comes to the task of Matisse’s advocacy with a feel for the balances of classical English prose. Her sentences are springy. They touch down on nice details and bound off in search of the broad view, and when faced with uninviting stretches of raw material, she is keen to switch the narrative’s direction and accent before boredom sets in.
The New York Times Book Review Richard Howard
Spurling's enthusiastically detailed biography is a complete expression of the life of Matisse.
The New Yorker Peter Schjeldahl
The circumstances of [Matisse's] life and time, as detailed in this appropriately capacious biography, continually distill into drops of wonder.
Kirkus Reviews
[A] rich and colorful, if somewhat bulky, tribute to a visionary. [1 Jun 2005, p.628]
Library Journal Kathryn Wekselman
While the level of detail and Spurling's tendency to repeat themes can sometimes lead more to tedium than to deeper understanding, this book can be satisfying reading for patrons of both academic and public libraries. [1 Aug 2005, p.82]
 The average user rating for this book is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Discuss this book in our forums |
|
GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
