  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 11/01/2014 This entry into the Great Artists series introduces bearded renegade painter Manet. Born of privilege, he was nonetheless bored by his preordained law career. He wanted to paint but found even his painting lessons boring. Thus he began to find inspiration in photographs: he liked the random, messy, chance framing of photos and agreed with other like-minded artists that they should “paint things as they really looked.” Thus was born impressionism, the style embraced by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and many others. Zaczek begins with a possibly too-quick six-page birth-to-death biography of Manet, before settling in for the main event: seven two-page spreads devoted to the close examination of seven paintings, including Music in the Tuileries Gardens and The Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil. These are a treat, with circular insets pointing out telling details, inside jokes, and impressionist methods within each painting. Especially cool is the “Palette of the Picture” box, which features daubs of the colors more heavily used. A great intro to a painter and his style. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. Loading...
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