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Reviews
Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery by David Attenborough
mbirdface's review
3.0
This book got me all excited about the magic combo of art + nature. I only wish it were longer.
kris_mccracken's review
3.0
A series of essays about five pioneering scientific illustrators, accompanied by a lovely set of reprints in large scale of their work. A beautiful example of its type.
cmbohn's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.5
Some truly amazing art. I got this as a gift and I'm so in love with it.
avesmaria's review
3.0
This book is a series of very short essays about various classical (pre-modern-art) artists working in the subject of natural history. It reads like an exhibition catalogue, so don't expect anything incredibly profound, but it gave me some good insights about new artists to check out and new ways to think about people whose work I already knew.
daumari's review
5.0
Grad school suddenly cut in on recreational reading, so it took considerably longer to finish things I started late summer. David Attenborough does the introduction and a couple pages per chapter, but there's another 3 authors that cover the various artists. Absolutely gorgeous book; early scientific plates are works of art.
moody_gobling's review
3.0
Three stars instead of four only because I feel slightly mislead. The forward is certainly by Sir David, and there are several opinions on the art plates presented, but largely this is the work of others.
Not to say that the authors presented the material poorly. I enjoyed looking through the photographs, and reading some about the artists and naturalists behind them. This is a very early history.
I think this book has value in my home as a coffee table book, but I found a hard time reading straight through, as the chapters on these early naturalists were a little dry in comparison to their vibrant work.
Not to say that the authors presented the material poorly. I enjoyed looking through the photographs, and reading some about the artists and naturalists behind them. This is a very early history.
I think this book has value in my home as a coffee table book, but I found a hard time reading straight through, as the chapters on these early naturalists were a little dry in comparison to their vibrant work.
logarithms's review
3.0
I found this at my uni library and decided to read it during my break between classes instead of actually studying.
It was an interesting read, though was too focused on the timeline and not so much the topics.
I love botanical illustration, so it was fun to look at. There were also a few interesting points and things that inspired me.
All in all, a good study break. :^P
It was an interesting read, though was too focused on the timeline and not so much the topics.
I love botanical illustration, so it was fun to look at. There were also a few interesting points and things that inspired me.
All in all, a good study break. :^P
eling's review against another edition
4.0
I know some find this oddly organized or not to their expectations, but it is in fact not a reference book nor a natural history book. It is more about the art and the artists behind earlier natural history discoveries and illustrations. Really interesting and full of great illustrations, details and tidbits. Great for anyone interested in this type of artwork, or the history of scientific illustration. I really enjoyed it and bought it for my own collection.