While art historian Erlande-Brandenburg’s careful, vigorous study of the construction of one of the greatest medieval cathedrals and of the symbolic intentions of its architecture, sculpture, and stained glass, does not break new ground, it does offer a clear, useful review of Notre Dame’s long history and importance. Drawing on everything from archaeological research to period documents, Erlande-Brandenburg, curator of the MusÇe de Cluny in Paris, situates the 12th-century cathedral within the context of its times, and offers an animated discussion of the ideas of the unknown master architects who came up with a design characterized by a mixture of “ambition, technical acumen, clarity, and serenity.” He explains both why the cathedral looks the way it does and how the effects were achieved. (Its delicate columns and soaring vaults are among the greatest architectural creations of the Middle Ages.) He also devotes considerable space to a discussion of the nature of the magnificent sculptures of saints, sinners, and demons added to the exterior of the cathedral, and its stained-glass windows. (262 illustrations, including 138 in color)
Pub Date: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8109-1394-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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