Adolph Menzel: The Quest for Reality

AT FIRST I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK BECAUSE TOO MUCH OF THE BOOK WAS DEVOTED TO MENZELS EARLY PRINTS AND WORK THAT WAS COMMISSIONED SO HE COULD MAKE A LIVING .THERE ARE VERY FEW DRAWINGS INCLUDED .I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR WAS AWARE THAT THIS AREA HAS ALREADY BEEN COVERED VERY WELL.WHAT THE BOOK HAS THOUGH ARE THE BEST REPRODUCTIONS OF MENZELS CROWD PAINTINGS WITH SOME NICE DETAILED VIEWS.THIS BOOK IS REALLY FOR THE SPECIALIST WHO WANTS TO KNOW HOW MENZEL DEVELOPED RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.DON,T BUY IF YOU ARE ONLY REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING DRAWINGS.THER E IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK PUBLISHED IN 2016 BY DOVER .

Poor images of hack paintings. Very disappointed.

Disappointing book, poor reproductions, and not a large book for the price. The selection works is also poor, Menzel's best works are his drawings and paintings of dead animals. His large works are too parochial and do not speak to our time. There is a very interesting artist in there, but not in works displayed in this book. The Introduction of the book is extremely pretentious and irelevant to Menzel.