Russian Imperial Style

by Peter Schaffer, Laura Cerwinske

Release Date: November, 1990

Edition: Hardcover

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Nice Photographs

More than anything else, this book is a picture book. The photographs are of good quality and take more space than the text. The book is also printed on good quality paper. Each photo carries a brief well written description so that one could enjoy this book without ever reading the main text. The photos give the reader a nice introduction to imperial Russia: the nobility, their palaces, and their art. The text is informative but often does not correspond to the photos. The most glaring example of this is the chapter on painting. The author describes Van Dycke portraits, a Velesquez masterpiece, a sixteenth century Danae by Titian, a Danae by Rembrandt, and a gallery of seventeenth century Rubenses among others. The author compares and contrasts these paintings, yet no images of these works appear in the book. The reader is left hanging, wondering what these paintings really look like. Although the chapter on paintings is the most glaring example of this, the whole book does have this same problem. Absent this flaw, however, the book is well worth the money and should be recommended to anyone with an interest in imperial Russia.

Beautiful Book

This is a beautiful book! If you like Russian or French architecture, their art or furniture from the 17c on, you will love this book. With its beautiful color photos it is more of a coffee table book then a casual read. This would make a great Birthday or Mother's day gift.