I should first say That I love 19th century European painting and have a few interesting books on this subject. This one is rather expensive, but it would have been worth it to me if it did not have some serious weaknesses. As it is, I Took A Closer Look and DECIDED not to buy it, at least not at its regular steep price. The book's strengths are the many high-quality, color pictures of paintings. I also liked the text - as much as I read of it: I found it intelligent and insightful. It tries to give a thorough overview of the different movements and in a second section of different subjects of this era. Regarding the subjects, the choice is somewhat peculiar in some cases. Why would there be so many pages about paintings of cardinals, For Example? And there are two large chapters on animal paintings, Which is a bit much, in my opinion. But what's worse is the choice of Which painters (and countries) are covered and in Which detail. Caspar David Friedrich, probable the most important Romanticist painter, is Given almost no room in the book (there's one painting in the landscapes section), while lesser known painters are covered with lots of paintings. In some cases, for Example Bouguereau or Godward, I suspect it's Because The same publisher has published books about that painter and may simply have the copyright (and maybe try to make people buy Those books, too). But the end result is indeed some very important painters play almost no role, while others are far too much in the foreground. So It Should be Noted That the emphasis is very much on British and French painters, while other countries are neglected - even though the title promises on overview over European painting, so it Should Have a much broader scope. I find it regrettable fact the book has weaknesses thesis. As it is, the book is in parts quite interesting, but I definitely expected better from the title and price.
