The Art of Babar: The Work of Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff

From Publishers Weekly
With cooperation from Laurent de Brunhoff, whose father Jean created Babar in 1931, Weber, director of the Josef Albers Foundation in Connecticut, deepens readers' appreciation for this French family and their artistry. Jean's death at 37 in 1937 ended the tales about the beloved Babar until Laurent revived them in 1946. Today, the adventures of King Babar, Queen Celeste and their offspring are still international favorites. This beautiful volume includes early de Brunhoff family photos and a rich collection of paintings by father and son, those that illustrate the Babar books and other works displaying the artists' versatility. A touching biography combined with singular eye-appeal, the book is a lasting treasure. North Light Book Club and Graphic Artist's Book Club selections. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The value of this volume lies chiefly in its many working sketches and studies for the Babar books. Fine reproductions (250 in color) reveal the clarity and freedom of the original watercolors (although some fading distorts comparisons with the saturated and muddy colors of the printed books). The text gives useful information on the Brunhoffs' working methods but nothing on the printing of their art. Weber's art-historical name-dropping is unhelpful, and Laurent's contribution, hitherto undervalued, is here overpraised: few would agree that any aspect of his work "represents a leap beyond his father's achievement." This is more an appreciation than a work of criticism or scholarship; there is no secondary bibliography, and the few footnotes include a misreading of one citation (to Hardyment's Heidi's Alp ) and a phantom reference to Erasmus.- Patricia Dooley, Univ. of Washington Lib. Sch., SeattleCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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Friends of Barbar will trumpet their approval of this extensive collection of illustrations and text. Barbar was "born" in 1931, thanks to his illustrator-father Jean de Brunhoff. His wife Cecile actually invented the elephant and the first adventure one evening as a bedtime story for her two sons. Jean de Brunhoff produced the first seven books of the series before his untimely death in 1937. In 1946 his son Laurent brought Babar back to life and has written and illustrated 30 Barbar books. You could say that Babar was the first to popularize the "family values" theme. His honest sentiment and devotion to his family are the series' compelling threads. The Art of Babar explores these values that have been carried from father to son, and also depicts the artistic process of their watercolor techniques. Rough sketches to final illustrations show the development of the final product. This is the first time much of this material has ever been reproduced.


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