2008-02-07 Beautifully illustrated but the text lacks depth

Monet by Karin Sagner provides a chronological account of Monet's life and work, with perhaps the emphasis on the former. While his paintings are discussed in relation to his life and travels, and occasionally influences, there is only a little in the way of in depth discussion of the work itself. The book concludes with a Biographical Summary illustrated with black and white photographs; there is no bibliography.

This is a well produced and attractively presented book; the pictures run with the text, and appear on the same page or as close as is practical to their mention in the text. The text is printed in quite a large size, and the images vary from around postcard size to full page plates and are almost entirely in full colour. There are about 225 illustrations, all but a very few of the paintings in full colour, most of the black and white images being period photographs. The quality of the plates is excellent often revealing the bush work and texture of the painted surface.