Artistic Places

Gorgeous illustrations, but unable to download text. I have had this problem with other titles in this series

Artistic Places contains beautiful illustrations of places that inspired artists accompanied by information about the place and the artists inspired by them.

This was such a creative book! It was so interesting to read through and see the spots that inspired artists. Places around the world that inspired Klimt, Munch, Picasso, and O'Keefe were a few of the featured destinations that I particularly enjoyed. Reading an art historian's perspective was fascinating when it came to examining how the locations featured inspired the work of great painters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just beautiful - unfortunately I had real issues downloading and reading the text (I was using the Bluefire reading app and NetGalley shelf) the idea though is brilliant and what I could read was very well written, enjoyable and informative.

You'd really have to read this book in print form to truly appreciate and enjoy it. The cover is gorgeous, I'd be immediately drawn to it if I saw it sitting on the shelf.

The illustrations are very pretty and pleasing, and the colour palette used is bright and welcoming. I especially enjoyed the reimagined artworks of the different locations.

There is a great balance of text and imagery, with a generous amount of both to please both history readers and those just here to look at the pretty art.

Thank you so much to The Quarto Group/White Lion Publishing for allowing me access to a free e-copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful collection of places each artist painted. It gives insights to the artist’s interpretation, why they chose the place, the view they had envisioned! Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Quarto Publishing Group for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

The latest volume in this occasional series from these creators takes us armchair travellers to places featured in art – some that we may never fully see on canvas, some that were inspiration to sculptures, and some that were so successfully embodied by an artistic talent it feels we've been there before. And so we begin with central London, Constable Country and St Ives (for the Hepworths), before leaving the UK and first hitting on a scrap of Portuguese coast where Paula Rego found something to imitate. The visuals here are wholly the creative team's efforts, so it's going to annoy some people that we don't get a look at the specific Rego painting featured in the writing. Instead we get a snapshot of what it's like to witness the general locale as a tourist now, and the design never once tries to mimic or pastiche the artworks, but to respond to a 2020s view, rendered in the established style of prior books by this partnership.

That all may make this sound a little inconsequential, and not ideal for art-lovers. Yet, even when we go to Giverny, knowing full well what the paintings look like and having a very clear picture of what getting there would give us, it's still interesting to read these brief postcard-styled entries. We're there, too, off our own bat, with walks to walk and buildings to visit, and not crammed in between six thousand coach loads of Japanese tourists. Some entries sounded too close to a trashy magazine article (the juxtaposition of Paul Klee's, er, difficult art with the "ooh, you can buy this, and eat that, and drink that!" yack is really quite jarring), but on the whole I'm always happy to travel by proxy in the hands of these guides.

A beautiful and informative collection of art and places! This is such a great collection of art pieces and the info on the artists and places was such a nice read! I think this would make a great read for anyone who loves art, places, and exploring!

*Thanks Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book is so lovely and perfectly put together. It’s a collection of places that are known for their beauty and artistic inspiration. Beautifully crafted and illustrated, I can wholeheartedly recommend to all.

When I saw the cover for Artistic Places I knew I had to read it. I’m someone who loves travel and loves art to the point that I have literally planned vacations to Europe around the art museums I wanted to visit. I loved reading about the places I have visited (London, Giverny, Florence, Venice, Oslo, etc.) and have added a few more to my list thanks to this book (I really want to go roam around Lake Attersee where Klimt painted).

The book is roughly 50/50 split between illustrations and text. The text was easy to read and well organized. There was some information for travelers in the text (like how to get to Giverny from Paris or how to reserve a slot to visit Georgia O’Keefe’s house) and a little bit of each city’s history, but the main focus was the art and artists.

The illustrations by Amy Girmes are stunning. I liked that there was a good mix of one page and two page pictures. I also enjoyed the nods to the artists themselves found within some of the works. While illustrations were absolutely beautiful, I did find myself frustrated by the lack of depictions of the works described. While I was familiar with 18 of the main 25 artists featured, I was not familiar enough with the remaining seven and numerous other mentioned in passing to fully “get” what the author was describing. A few I Googled as I was reading and found that I actually was familiar with their works, but couldn’t connect them to the artist’s name. This is not a book for someone without a knowledge of art history.

As with most art history books, this one is very euro-centric. Only seven of the locations featured are outside of Europe and only three of the 25 main artists are not white. I know that much of art history as a discipline is focused on Europe, but there are so many non-Europeans place and artists that have been featured.

Thank you to White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pros: Although I have not been able to physically travel during the pandemic, I’ve used books to mentally travel. This book is perfect for mentally traveling when we can’t physically travel. In another life, I would have been an art history major, so this book about the places that inspired artists’ art was a fascinating read. The illustrator’s illustrations are wonderful, and the author provides detailed and well-researched descriptions of each location.

Cons: Some readers might pick up this book wanting photographs rather than illustrations or thinking they were going to see the resulting pieces of art that were inspired by the locations. I look at that as an opportunity to look up photos online and to learn even more about the locations and art mentioned in this book.

One frustration about the reading experience was how this book was formatted in the NetGalley app. Although I liked being able to see the illustration of the location next to the description of the location, it made for difficult reading. Lots of zooming in was required. That being said, this is obviously a book that is meant to be enjoyed in print, so I understand that PDF was not the intended format for reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quatro Publishing Group - White Lion for the opportunity to read this book!

A shame that I.could only download this onto my app as I couldn't read the text, but I did manage to see the pictures which were absolutely stunning.
The artists style is simple but incredibly effective.
This will be one to look out for.

What a lovely title for armchair travelers who enjoy art. In this book, visit London with Whistler; Suffolk with Constable; St Ives with Barbara Hepworth; Guernica with Picasso; Giverny with Monet; Brussels with Magritte,; Florence with Michelangelo, Oslo with Munch; Polynesia with Gauguin; New York with Basquiat and more.

This title begins with an informative introduction on artists, the places that had meaning to them and the ways in which those places were interpreted in their art. Following this the sketches begin. Each is accompanied by an illustration; this is not a reproduction of the artist’s work but rather a rendition of the place by the book’s author. Each essay gives information about both the place over time and the artist. Readers may then well be inspired to look up the specific art works mentioned.

This is not a scholarly tome but a pleasant diversion. It offers a chance to contemplate places and art from one’s home and to enjoy spending time with artists both already loved and those new to the reader.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

I love the amount of information and history in this book. The artwork was also beautiful. I enjoy artwork and art history so this was a delightful and informative book. The only thing that I felt was missing was that the original art that is being referenced was not shown. I'm aware that this may have been for legal reasons but I spent some of the time that I was reading looking up the originals of the paintings. Other than that, this book was wonderful and incredibly well written.

ARTISTIC PLACES features 25+ stunning locales beloved by iconic artists, such as Matisse’s Tangier, Klee’s Bern, O’Keefe’s Taos. Eye-catching art depicts each destination, while info-rich text explains the impact of place on creativity. A soothing read for angsty times.

4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 16 Mar 2021
#ArtisticPlaces #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First up thank you for allowing me to read this book!
I was pretty happy to see a new book in this series pop up. I loved Hidden Places (though I read it in Dutch), so I was excited for this one. However, sadly, I cannot read it. Since it has illustrations I cannot read it on Kindle as the illustrations would lose all their beauty. I thought I would be able to read it through the Netgalley app (my eyes would tire/head hurt but I would still be able to read it in parts), but sadly that also doesn't work as the book isn't one page per time, but two, so it gets smooshed. Sadly, I cannot read that much text on my PC, especially not when it is that tiny. Haha, after just one page (well two but you get what I mean) my already existing headache just exploded.. So I will just have to wait for this book to get translated to Dutch (as I am sure there won't be an English version here) and then read and review it! Hopefully soon! For now I will give it 4 stars as what I saw is something I loved/liked.

Artistic Places is another great addition to this series about literary and artistic locations. The illustrations are phenomenal, just the right of realism and whimsy.
This collection of books would make for a lovely library addition. They inspire day-dreams of future travel.
I'd love to keep these on my coffee table to browse and read through periodically.

Inspiring whimsy! These 25 iconic and recognizable places are destinations to re-live and dream of, half of which I have had the fortunate to visit, some many times. But what the author said about "knowing" places we haven't been to is so true...through words and art we can feel we HAVE been there. And during covid we can dream with this book which captures the essence of place.

Each entry includes paintings and descriptive paragraphs with history, what to see, beauty spots and other information. I really like the little symbols included which are fun to identify and make each place so special. My personal favourites include pastoral Constable Country with gentle streams, Giverny, Bern (chocolate and clock tower), Renaissance Florence (David and Florence Cathedra), incomparable iconic Venice and Elbe (romantic nature).

The simplistic art is powerful and brings back gorgeous memories! I love that. If you wish to escape into art and interesting places, immerse yourself in this book.

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this refreshing and lovely book!

This book allows some “armchair travel” during the pandemic. It is a combination travel guide and art guide taking you to different places around the world. The illustrations are gorgeous. I would have liked to see some of the artwork being referenced. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by this author; a couple of years ago I read Why your five-year-old could not have done that: Modern Art Explained; which I loved, so I was pretty excited to find out she was coming out with a new book.

This book was very informative, and it is clear that the author has thoroughly researched the places that she mentions. Some of them are very famous (like New York, Florence or Venice) but others I was very glad to discover things about, because even though I knew of the place, I knew very little about it (like Dessau and Bern).


The illustrations are so beautiful I don’t even have the words to describe them. I kind of want to hang them in my house.

The text was very hard to read, I don’t know if this was my fault or not, because of the format, but I almost gave up a couple of times because of how much it cost me to read the words.

This is my new favourite book on art - beautifully illustrated and informative. It left me feeling inspired to paint having transported me to many different places which influenced great artists such as Monet and Gaugin. Highly recommended for art lovers worldwide.

"Artistic Places" would be a gorgeous coffee-table book! Susie Hodge discusses in this book the various places that inspired famous artists to travel to, despite the difficulty of their times, just to capture those unique landscapes.

An interesting concept with beautiful illustrations that could have been even longer. The facts and history are interesting and there's a great balance between text and illustrations. Monet's "The Water Lily Pond" is one of my favorites, so I loved those illustrations the most!

Graphically very appealing. The colour palette is very bright and joyful..
This is a list of places beloved by great artists such as Monet, Magritte, Klee, Michelangelo.. Of each place there are beautiful illustrations and some historical infos.

Artistic Places is another beautiful volume in the Inspired Traveler’s Guide series. This one takes us to places inspired by art and artists. Each location is attributed to a work of art or artist that was inspired by the location. Details are given as to sites to see, such as the cafe or pond in the painting, or the artists museum at the location, just like a travel guide. Beautiful illustrations by Amy Grimes accompany each location-sometimes her rendering of the artwork itself, or the location.

This was a beautiful book to make plans for future travel with. The majority of locations are in Europe and most if not all of the artists or artworks should be familiar to most people. I looked up each piece of art as I was reading, even if I was familiar with it, to help give me a better understanding of the author’s descriptions. In some cases, more than one work is notated.

Definitely a must have for people who like like art and enjoy visiting museums on their travels. I have yet to be disappointed with a book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair an honest review.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* What beautiful artwork! i love all the artwork, the style and the color schemes in this book!

I completely love travel excursions through photography, so I curious to try the same with hand illustrations. I was not disappointed. The illustrations were beautiful, and the descriptions were informative. I had to use my imagination a little more than other travel books, which was a nice change and challenge. I was able to research and learn beyond what was provided, which is always a sign of a good book to me. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

What a beautiful little book! Beautiful AND informative!

In Artistic Places, the reader can find gorgeous illustrations of different places throughout the world, but also informations about said places and about the artists inspired by them!
I knew about some of them, like Vincent Van Gogh ; I discovered about others, such as Anni Albers, who I didn't know at all!

I really loved it: it had everything to please me! I learnt things, I saw great art (I searched the mentioned works of art on Internet) both by very well-known artists and by the illustrator of the book, Amy Grimes.
Maybe its only drawback: I really want to travel to these places now and I can't for the time being! But, one day!!

Clearly, this book is one I'd like to have on my shelves because of both its beauty and content!

Artistic Places introduces several regions that are intrinsically linked to an author's work. They might have inspired one famous artwork, like Gernika for Picasso; they might have been a literal inspiration for a whole career, like O'Keefe in New Mexico; or they may be part of a shared history, like Michelangelo and Florence. There's very touristic destinations, like London and New York; and barely known ones, like Dessau and Lake Mälaren.

This is a book that I wouldn't take with me on a trip, but that I would definitely read as a way of "travelling from home." It is simple enough to be comprehensible for those who are interested in art, but aren't experts, and there's just the right amount of history discussed and advice for those who will travel to the area. It is a good starting point if you want to visit some of these places in the future.

However, I assumed there would be pictures of either the artworks or, at least, the towns discussed in the book. As beautiful as the graphic art is, it is not quite the same, and having to stop to Google both painting and town while reading was a bit annoying.

This book is gorgeous - the images are lovely and evocative. I already knew about some of these places, and artists while others were new discoveries. I like the idea that a particular place holds artistic inspiration but I wonder could all places be inspirational for the right artist?

My favourite section was the Frida Kahlo one - she was an inspiring woman and it was interesting to read more about what inspired her.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was first attracted to the cover of this book, being a big fan of Monet. The book focuses on locations that inspired famous artists with the book's illustrator adding their own interpretation of the view. I really do like her work--it's bold and colorful. The text describes each location from an artistic point of view, with stories about the artist(s) when they lived in that environment. A nice twist for someone who's planning a trip, as it adds a different perspective to the usual travel guides. It would be an excellent addition to a public library collection or to a serious traveler's library.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an amazing read for lovers of art and travelling. This book attracted me first with its beautiful cover and after that it made me so eager to get back to it because of the wonderful and stunning artwork created by the illustrator that accompany each description of the places visited by some of the greatest artists of our time. Actually, Amy Grimes created her own vision of those places in her illustrations and not the visions of the real artists named in the book.

I loved the author's original idea about this book. I loved to read about what inspired some of my favorite artists such as Dali, Monet, Michelangelo, Kahlo, Matisse and Klimt. That was so precious. In such a time where you can't go to any place this book would make you imagine and dream about all those beautiful landscapes and might inspire you to visit them in the future.



I

Apologies, I did not download this file in time before it was archived, and I've only realised that now when it has been placed in Archived-Not Downloaded.

“Even if we’ve never been there, some places in the world can be uncannily familiar. They might be misty mountain ranges or craggy ravines, dense forests or sunlit waterways, imposing architecture with ornamental facades, flower filled fields, secluded interiors, mystical mountains or tranquil ponds. They may be exhilarating places that take our breath away or calm locations that fill us with comfort, like a warm scarf on a cold day.”

These 25 places have been interpreted by talented artists, entire worlds are created for us in pencil, paint, ink, or pastel, or marble or bronze, or even in wool, silk and other textiles, sometimes colourful, sometimes sober, often uplifting or contemplative, threatening or restful. And we have seen them often, in galleries or in reproductions — localities that have become iconic, presented to us by an artist’s skilful hand.

“Artistic Places” includes: Whistler’s atmospheric River Thames scenes; Constable’s English countryside; Hepsworth’s St. Ives, an inspiration of light, sea, wind and hills; Rego’s rugged Portuguese coastline; Picasso’s Guernica; Dali’s Catalonia; Claude Monet’s home in Giverny, a place of abundant flowers and tranquility; van Gogh’s Arles, an ancient Roman city of swirling skies and artistic legends; Magritte’s Brussels; Klee’s Bern; Michaelangelo’s iconic Renaissance city, Florence; Canaletto’s Venice, a magical jewel-box city; Vermeer’s Delft; Anni Albers industrial Bauhaus in Germany; Friedrich’s Elbe Sandstone Mountains; Klimt’s ethereal, glass-like Lake Attersee; Munch’s Norwegian fjordland; Hilma af Klimt’s Lake Malaren; Matisse’s Tangier, a city filled with evocative northern light; Katsushika Hokusai’s Mount Fugi; Gaugin’s Tahiti; Basquiat’s New York; Grant Wood’s rural Iowa; the faraway otherworldliness of O’Keefe’s New Mexican desert, and Coyocan, Kahlo’s sultry, magical neighborhood.

Susie Hodges is clearly very knowledgeable about art and artists and writes lyrically about the places she has chosen for this magnificently produced book. Her writing is often in conversation with the natural world and the artistic life. She roams across centuries, very different histories, lives and places. “Artistic Places” is vivid, strongly present and beautifully organized. Amy Grimes’ bright and bold illustrations celebrate the collaboration between art and writing. There is so much to enjoy here I found myself sinking into the book and dreamily taking in the art and places.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and #WhiteLionPublishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Susan Hodge’s Artistic Places, blends the love of art with the love of travel exploration. Each chapter focuses on a specific location that inspired a famous artwork, the story behind it and the artist who created it. Hodge also brings us a little slice of travel heaven: a brief history of the region, tidbits about the culture, people, food, travel tips and regional events.

When I first heard about this book I was excited to read it. As an artist with a degree in art history, this shot to my must read top of the list.

From Monet’s inspiration of the lily pond of Giverny, France, to Picasso’s anguished depiction of the Guernica bombing in Spain, to Hokusai’s Mount Fuji In Japan, Hodge provides just enough information to tease your curiosity to travel and learn more. The book also covers locations I never would have thought to visit but now I’m itching to discover.

Art history lovers and artist will read this cover to cover. Travelers may keep this on the shelf as a referral for places they’d like to explore that are based upon paintings yet provide a much richer look into the local culture.

The book is lovingly illustrated by Amy Grimes. I will say I was a bit disappointed to see that the art pieces were not depicted in the book. It would have been nice to compare the piece to the description of the location. So I was left to search out the painting online and any information about the area. It turned out this was the better option as it allowed me to learn much more about the artist, art piece and location. Maybe that’s because I was an art history major so I enjoy that research. However, It still would have been more convenient to at least have the art piece represented to better understand it when the author describes the piece.

Luminous locations!

A stunning collection of paintings in various locations around the world. Artists include Kahlo (Coyoacan), Katsushika Hokusai (Mount Fuji) Canaletto (Venice) Matisse (Tangier)—a veritable smorgasbord of wonderfully creative and visionary practitioners and some of their fav places.
I loved the places depicted, the stunning colors (for some I felt like pinks permeated the collection. Ok others shades of colors shine as well but my brain seemed to fixate on this)
I wasn’t that sold on the layout. I wonder how it really works in hard copy due to the size 6” x 8.6”. This is about the size of my iPad which doesn't do the chosen works full justice. I want them to 'sing' on the pages. Still if you were carrying this around as a guide (when travel is an option) the size makes sense.
The combinations of artists and places depicted--a winner makes!

A Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)