An impressive work that achieves an admirable balance between text and image.
A remarkable collection of black-and-white photographs featuring a unique garden in the Italian countryside.
Located approximately 45 miles southeast of Rome, Ninfa represents the passing of many centuries in Roman and Italian history, but it also embodies a personal narrative for Kromer, who first visited the area in 1971 as a doctoral student. Based on the images in this book, produced during five visits between 2000 and 2005, it’s easy to see why Ninfa captivated her and beckoned her to return after an absence of 27 years. With her precise yet evocative writing style, Kromer reveals what attracts her so strongly to this wondrous garden. “To me, as an artist and former classical scholar, the tower, the walls, and ruined churches speak of its rich culture and history,” she says. “As someone who has worked on houses and in gardens, I am equally moved by the planning and infinite care that are taken in maintaining this oasi, as it is called in Italian.” Likewise, Kromer explains the history of the region and the botanical, structural and logistical decisions made by the Caetani family, which helped make Ninfa so distinctive. The author concisely documents the conditions that led to the prevalence of malaria in the area and then helpfully provides an entry in the annotated bibliography for those who wish to investigate the matter further. Kromer acknowledges the individuals who made it possible for her to access locations off the beaten path, enhancing the singular nature of this project. In some of the images, the interplay of landscape, water, foliage and historic structures conveys a meditative stillness, while other photos display a sort of shimmering quality despite the lack of color. Each photograph stands alone on an entire page for a captivating visual display, though the written passages constitute an integral, contextualizing element that’s laudable in its own right.
An impressive work that achieves an admirable balance between text and image.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615875668
Page Count: 84
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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