I picked this book up for the illustration animal studies. Who'd be better to idealize than Beatrix Potter for animal drawings? I did review the book on my Illustration-y blog just a few minutes ago, but I am counting it towards my 50/50 leisure challenge, so I felt it was fitting to post a Part-2 here. To bullet point the pros and cons of The Art of Beatrix Potter:
- Mainly color plates of Potter's studies. Very nice to see.
- Some of the reproductions were obviously re-produced... I took some blurry pictures of the book, but there really were a few illustrations that were fuzzy.
- Some detail about Beatrix Potter, but if someone were looking for a biography, this would NOT be the book for you.
- I really appreciate the side-by-side sketch drawing and full color illustration reproduction plates. It's cool to see which details were left off and what was changed for her final paintings.
- Wow on the interiors!
- WOW on the fungi and magnification studies!
- I am very glad I was not the one to decipher her letters. I ended up skimming most of the final letters, but I was incredibly fascinated with their corresponding illustrations.
So I grant this book 4/5 stars, because it was precisely the kind of book I was looking for at the time. For biography detail, I would give it like a 2. The book is about her ART, therefore the 4. If someone is looking for a glimpse of Potter's biographic details, the film Miss Potter is really sweet, and comes highly recommend (from me).
