TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: Watercolors

Three wellturned additions to Macmillan's series form a good contribution to the art book field in their signal presentations of particular aspects of the artists' works. The Holbein book, a collection of drawings in black and white by the three Holbeins- Hans the elder and younger and Ambrosius, has been introduced and annotated in scholarly manner by Edmund Schilling. While the Lautrec and Van Gogh volumes are similar in intent, the latter inevitably presents a more striking variety of pictures. Both books have chosen what was typical of the artist's course of work and where Lautrec's animated forms have always born the familiar sense of action as it portrayed character, Van Gogh's, by his very nature, show a drastic change from an almost quiet and exact realism to the swirling lines and shattering colors that marked the end of his life. For special tastes and studies, and general appreciation, these have their value.