Rococo

Compared to  Rococo (Art of Century Collection) , a much better survey of rococo art, this one is pretty uneven. The 23-page introduction is not very memorable or well organized. Frankly, it's all over the place. Eva-Gesine Baur starts off fine describing the cultural and historical scene of the era. There are some interesting sections about 18th century theater design, the popularity of pastel work, the "caprice", and contour in rococo art. But then she spends pages discussing the emergence of art criticism, individuality of artists, and devotes major portions to Goya's "Los Caprichos", Piranesi, and Fuseli. They do not belong in a rococo survey.Despite the odd digressions the author takes, she at least references many of the plates in the book. Few Taschen writers do this and Baur shows thoughtful judgment by selecting reproductions that support her text. Other than that, the introduction is adequate but not very distinctive, and for several pages, the focus is quite peculiar (Goya, Piranesi, and Fuseli...?)The rest of the book contains full-page reproductions of individual artists accompanied by a page of text. Baur's biographical sketches are brief, but her interpretation and discussion of the works are clear and competently written. I don't agree with one reviewer's criticism that Baur chose too many mediocre or unknown works. She aimed for diversity by including history and genre paintings, pastel portraits, ceiling frescos, and landscapes. Perhaps she got carried away with Thomas Lawrence and Goya's "Burial of the Sardine", but most of the works are appropriate. Boucher, Canaletto, Carriera, Fragonard, Watteau, and Tiepolo are all present, although their masterpieces are typically not on display here. This unconventional selection of lesser known works by the masters appealed to me, but it may bother others.Bottom line:  Rococo (Art of Century Collection)  and  Baroque & Rococo  are better surveys, but this Taschen book is still a good primer. The author takes some liberties with subject matter, but her write-ups on the plates are enjoyable enough.

It's a nice book with lots of pretty pictures.

the cover is appealing,but the contents of this book are disappointing.mostly unknown works and a couple of mediocre,unknown works of famousartists.

Simple guide, the usual images are included, I feel it's actually more effective to do a google search. Not great at all, I required a lot of information for an in-depth essay and while I realise this book was simply meant to outline the stylistic nature of the period, it was too basic.