Art Institute of Chicago

Miniature rooms; the Thorne rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2d ed.

The English Great Hall of the Tudor period features suits of armor and a dog asleep before the fireplace. The French Hall of Louis XII is lit from an unseen window past an arch. The New Hampshire Dining Room includes heirloom china. One expects to hear a butler's footsteps ringing through these rooms, but said butler would have to be only a few inches tall. From 1934 to 1940 spirited socialite Mrs. James Ward Thorne led the effort to produce 68 miniature rooms for the Art Institute of Chicago. The rooms' primary purpose was educational, to give viewers an idea of what life was like in historical settings, and what constituted good taste in different times and places. Yet the rooms also evoke a sense of fantasy. The viewers' faces are reflected in the mirrors, and objects still in common use, such as eyeglasses, books, and even mops bridge the gap between the modern onlooker and these admittedly elite spaces. This situation becomes poignant given the rooms' first viewers were entering a war; some of the real rooms that inspired the miniatures were shortly to be dashed to dust. The authors provide color photographs and working plans, which are printed in their original size. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Seurat and the making of La Grande Jatte.

Greeted initially with derision, Seurat's painting was first exhibited in Paris in 1886, and became part of the Art Institute of Chicago's collection in 1926; now, as one of the most well-loved, well-studied, and frequently reproduced paintings, it resides in the mind's eye of much of the art-aware public. A 2004 exhibition at the Art Institute brought together more than 55 preparatory works, ranging from small sketches to larger paintings, offering a rich view of the artist's compositional process. Along with the exhibited images and discussion of each, this volume presents an illustrated, in-depth essay by art historian Robert L. Herbert on the context and genesis of La Grande Jatte and several shorter essays on Seurat's working process, materials, and techniques. A final section looks at the development of the painting as an icon. Back matter includes a catalogue of all known works related to the painting and a checklist of the exhibition. The volume is oversize: 10.5x11 inches. It is distributed by the U. of California Press. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)