fromtheyellowchair's review against another edition
4.0
Félix Tournachon, or Nadar as he is better known, was a forward thinking photographer, caricaturist, writer, and balloonist in 1800′s France. He ran in bohemian circles that included legendary figures such as Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and countless others. Always described to be larger than life, Nadar is deserving of a biography to match. The Great Nadar is an interesting and engrossing read mainly for it’s subject matter, often feeling dry and slow.
Nadar played many roles throughout his life. This biography focused mainly on his exploits in portrait photography, which is what I found to be the most interesting. Begley spent a disproportionate amount of time describing various figures from the Paris bohemian and literary society who crossed paths with Nadar, giving unnecessary backstories and bios. Celebrity was clearly an important part of his life and career but reading back to back retellings of long forgotten historical figures was drudgery.
Regardless, this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in photography or 19th century France. Nadar’s life and work is important and endlessly interesting. His portraits are still breathtaking, especially considering the equipment available at the time. The Great Nadar is full of photos and sketches along with descriptions of how they were made and insightful criticisms and descriptions. The author effectively contextualizes Nadar’s work both as an artist and an advocate for air travel, showing the reader how influential his career really was.
Although unbalanced, I still enjoyed reading this story of such an important photographer who I had previously never heard of.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Nadar played many roles throughout his life. This biography focused mainly on his exploits in portrait photography, which is what I found to be the most interesting. Begley spent a disproportionate amount of time describing various figures from the Paris bohemian and literary society who crossed paths with Nadar, giving unnecessary backstories and bios. Celebrity was clearly an important part of his life and career but reading back to back retellings of long forgotten historical figures was drudgery.
Regardless, this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in photography or 19th century France. Nadar’s life and work is important and endlessly interesting. His portraits are still breathtaking, especially considering the equipment available at the time. The Great Nadar is full of photos and sketches along with descriptions of how they were made and insightful criticisms and descriptions. The author effectively contextualizes Nadar’s work both as an artist and an advocate for air travel, showing the reader how influential his career really was.
Although unbalanced, I still enjoyed reading this story of such an important photographer who I had previously never heard of.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
fromtheyellowchair's review
4.0
Félix Tournachon, or Nadar as he is better known, was a forward thinking photographer, caricaturist, writer, and balloonist in 1800′s France. He ran in bohemian circles that included legendary figures such as Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and countless others. Always described to be larger than life, Nadar is deserving of a biography to match. The Great Nadar is an interesting and engrossing read mainly for it’s subject matter, often feeling dry and slow.
Nadar played many roles throughout his life. This biography focused mainly on his exploits in portrait photography, which is what I found to be the most interesting. Begley spent a disproportionate amount of time describing various figures from the Paris bohemian and literary society who crossed paths with Nadar, giving unnecessary backstories and bios. Celebrity was clearly an important part of his life and career but reading back to back retellings of long forgotten historical figures was drudgery.
Regardless, this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in photography or 19th century France. Nadar’s life and work is important and endlessly interesting. His portraits are still breathtaking, especially considering the equipment available at the time. The Great Nadar is full of photos and sketches along with descriptions of how they were made and insightful criticisms and descriptions. The author effectively contextualizes Nadar’s work both as an artist and an advocate for air travel, showing the reader how influential his career really was.
Although unbalanced, I still enjoyed reading this story of such an important photographer who I had previously never heard of.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Nadar played many roles throughout his life. This biography focused mainly on his exploits in portrait photography, which is what I found to be the most interesting. Begley spent a disproportionate amount of time describing various figures from the Paris bohemian and literary society who crossed paths with Nadar, giving unnecessary backstories and bios. Celebrity was clearly an important part of his life and career but reading back to back retellings of long forgotten historical figures was drudgery.
Regardless, this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in photography or 19th century France. Nadar’s life and work is important and endlessly interesting. His portraits are still breathtaking, especially considering the equipment available at the time. The Great Nadar is full of photos and sketches along with descriptions of how they were made and insightful criticisms and descriptions. The author effectively contextualizes Nadar’s work both as an artist and an advocate for air travel, showing the reader how influential his career really was.
Although unbalanced, I still enjoyed reading this story of such an important photographer who I had previously never heard of.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
shelf_love's review against another edition
3.0
A Penguin First to Read ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.
Celebrities are such a huge part of our culture, and The Great Nadar was part of the original cast. He is a fascinating man that accomplished so much in his lifetime. From what we read he was so full of life and animation but the book itself was more like a dense textbook so it was hard to get engaged into right away. Once I became more invested it was worth the read if you like history and seeing how people get their starts.
Celebrities are such a huge part of our culture, and The Great Nadar was part of the original cast. He is a fascinating man that accomplished so much in his lifetime. From what we read he was so full of life and animation but the book itself was more like a dense textbook so it was hard to get engaged into right away. Once I became more invested it was worth the read if you like history and seeing how people get their starts.
labourgeois's review
3.0
I expected to be a little more enthralled with this book than I was. The first few chapters were a slog to get through, and I never understood why he was such a fabulous dude. I have to admit, I abandoned it and read the last chapter just to know what happened.
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