101 French Proverbs

Book Description

101 French Proverbs is a delightful introduction to the colorful and insightful proverbs that French speakers use every day. The 101 proverbs are grouped according to useful themes such as animals, occupations, dining, daily life, people, and others.

Customer Reviews:

Fills in the Blanks.......2007-01-13

For people learning French or advanced French speakers, this book gives cultural insight so we can better understand French culture and not be left in the dark when proverbs are used. Very useful.

Very helpful and interesting as well.......2004-12-07

I ordered this book to further my reading skills of French material.It did.Perfectly. I am an intermediate self-taught French language student,and this little book helped out quite a bit,plus it was fun to read.Can't get any better than that.
I recommend it to anyone who loves the French language.You will learn a lot here.And,while reading the proverbs in French,you will discover that you know a lot more words than you thought you did,which was a nice discovery for me.I liked this book a lot,and I think you might,as well!

French Fun.......2004-03-29

101 French Proverbs was recommended to me by my French teacher--a woman born and raised in France. The books trade paperback format devotes a full page to each proverb and provides a clever cartoon and a little story in French, some in the form of a dialogue, to further illustrate the proverb's meaning.
All proverbs are grouped in the following categories: Our Animal Friends---proverbs containing similes likening human behavior to that of domestic animals, Animals in the Wild----human behavior likened to non-domestic animals, Occupations---Behaviors attributed to certain occupations, Eating in Style --- proverbs where food positively and negatively reflects life, Life Day by Day---axioms to make daily life livable, People --- of the "too many cooks spoil the broth" genre, The Blue Planet --- proverbs involving a natural setting, Time Flies --- common sense sayings revolving around duration and time of day and Words to Live By --- A catch-all category for those proverbs that defy categorization. At the end of the volume, each of the 101 illustrative stories and dialogues are translated in English. At the tail end, the proverbs are listed alphabetically in French with corresponding page numbers.

This book is simply great--its a lot of fun, and can be used almost like a calendar where one page is read and savored a day. The use of idioms is extensive and can be used to further anyone's study of everyday French.

Recommended to all students of French who want to interject a little fun into their grammar and vocabulary memorization.

Depends what you want..........2004-03-13

I thought that this would be an amusing way to work on my French now that I live and have a job in Paris. I enjoy reading through this book, and learning about the proverbs. However, I brought it with me one day to show my French co-workers and they were amazed. They had heard of less than 10% of the proverbs in the book. So... if you want to find a pleasant way to enrich your knowledge of French trivia and culture, then buy this book. But if you are looking for a way to better communicate in French, this probably isn't for you.

Very interesting, not only for learning language.......2003-02-16

I completely agree to the former reviewer, including reasons why he recommend it, so I add only some points.

The word-for-word translation, for example - "there's more than one donkey called Martin in the market place" - is very useful for beginners to increase whose vocabulary. Its cartoon will help it.

And I think maybe you can enjoy this book not only for learning French language.
Indeed, I found an interesting fact - some French proverbs are very close to OUR JAPANESE/ASIAN proverbs in detail, rather than to English ones. For example, what you shouldn't do at once is "to chase two hares" both in France and Japan, and every jar does find a lid in France, so does every pot in Japan.
I don't know if sometime someone introduced them or it's only a coincidence, but there're something make me touched, the fact different peoples have same manner of thinking. So it seems there're more common points than differences, as it's said.
I thank the authors for they made me find it.

Highly recommended!

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101 French Proverbs
Marie-Jean Cassagne
Manufacturer: MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COM
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K76NFO

Customer Reviews:

Not great if you want to learn the basics.......2007-06-19

This book is not an in-depth guide to a narrow subject. I purchased this book hoping that it would be more instructional in the technique of painting the human figure but it contains mostly complete works. It is not a step-by-step guide but a thorough presentation of concepts and how they relate to the final artwork, which again, if you're a beginner, it doesn't help.

Thorough Overview.......2002-07-14

This book is more than just basic instruction, but it starts with the basics and progresses though the essentials to advanced figure drawing and painting concepts. It is not a step-by-step guide but a thorough presentation of these concepts and how they relate to the final artwork. I have read numerous other books and taken a number of life drawing and painting classes so I was especially impressed to learn several techniques/concepts which were new to me. In addition, several artists are featured which helps avoid techniques unique to a particular artist. I highly recommend the book for any artist seeking a comprehensive overview of figure drawing and painting.

Visually Perfect.......2002-07-06

This is my favorite book on painting the figure. The book demonstrates that there are many approaches to the figure and each technique is demonstrated by a different artist. The book is very well illustrated with color photo's of the examples in process, the artist working on them and there models. Truth is I admire some of the artist in the book and enjoy the beautiful photo's of there work. For the student and the master of art the book offers many angles and approaches in every medium. The books introduction was written philosophically and historically offering an overview of changes in attitude and approaches artist have tackled the figure with. In the end it's a very sincere, informative, and visually dynamic book. A must have for any artist or teachers library.

Painting People.......2002-01-28

This is a great overview for anybody who wants to paint the human figure. It covers the tradition of the nude, the basics of proportions and anatomy, a variety of media, clothed and nude, various types of poses and models. Just about everything.

Step by step guides from pose to painting are frequent - we see inside an artist's studio, palette, thought processes and techniques. As a beginner in life drawing, I found this book my number one resource whenever I wanted to practice and follow up what I had learnt in class.

Not an in-depth guide to a narrow subject, this book's breadth is its strong point. An ideal starting place, but without stopping too soon and leaving the user or reader wanting more. A perfect mix of overview and detail, in my opinion.

Highly recommended.

Absolutely Excellent!.......2000-06-28

Great examples of drawing and painting from the subject! Excellent photography! Highly recommended for anyone interest in figure drawing and / or painting.

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Incredible collection of work
From the New York Times
Beautiful and sensual
Lambda Literary Award Finalist!
An artist in step with a better time

Paul Cadmus: The Male Nude
Justin Spring
Manufacturer: Universe Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0789305895
Release Date: 2002-11-09

Book Description

One of the most accomplished artists of the twentieth century, Paul Cadmus is best known for his provocative satires of American life. He first gained national recognition in 1934 when his bawdy painting The Fleet's In! was barred from a Public Works of Art exhibition in Washington, D.C. For more than six decades following, Cadmus led a career as a meticulous craftsman devoted to Renaissance-era traditions of figurative realism. But his drawings of the male nude, which always formed the heart of his work, were often overlooked.

Here for the first time in one volume are seventy of Cadmus's most stunning tributes to the male form. Cadmus continued to produce these works up until his death at age ninety-four, and this volume includes many drawings that have never been seen before. The artist's most frequent model was his lifelong partner Jon Anderson, and the drawings offer up not just an elegant fluency and technical virtuosity but also a tender emotional resonance. Introducing each era of the artist's career is an illustrated essay by respected critic and writer Justin Spring, placing Cadmus in the context of the rich history of the male nude.

Paul Cadmus reminds us-- poignantly, eloquently, humbly-- of the sincere beauty of the male form and of humanity itself with each masterful rendering. As Guy Davenport wrote in The Drawings of Paul Cadmus, "His drawings of male nudes are of bodies, but of achieved, perfected bodies that serve as symbols, as in ancient Greece, of a perfect unity of spirit and flesh, mind and body. For Cadmus the body is the person."

Customer Reviews:

Incredible collection of work.......2007-01-05

Excellent resource for figure drawing, beautiful images, full page in most cases, wonderful information on the artist Cadmus, would recommend to anyone interested in drawing, figure drawing, or art in general!

From the New York Times.......2006-01-04

"Mr. Cadmus was, at the time of his death, a senior examplar of a vital if submerged academic realist tradition in American painting, one that has meandered in various guises from Thomas Eakins to Ivan Albright and Reginald Marsh and has resurfaced, again transformed, in the work of younger painters today."--Holland Cotter, NEW YORK TIMES

Beautiful and sensual.......2005-09-09

I only discovered about Paul Cadmus a little bit ago, but was simply blown away by his style and art. This book is a wonderful introduction to the life and art of one of the twentieth century's quietest artists who remained active to the very end of his long life, and managed to cross both gender and sexual barriers to breathe new life into what most of us would regard as a dry subject -- namely, art. Here Cadmus' love for, and vigor, show through in more than seventy drawings, many of them of his life partner and lover, Jon Anderson. Techinically brilliant, they are also sensitive without being overtly erotic -- enough so that I wouldn't mind hanging any of the artist's prints in my own home. Both lovers of art and artists will like this one, the reproductions are crisp enough that Cadmus' style of crosshatching and use of charcoal and chalk will both inspire and bring enjoyment. Recommended.

Lambda Literary Award Finalist!.......2003-02-14

Paul Cadmus: The Male Nude was just named a Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the Visual Arts Category. Congratulations to author Justin Spring! The winners will be announced on May 29th, 2003 in Los Angeles.

An artist in step with a better time.......2003-01-02

This book is a treasure for any Cadmus fan. While Lincoln Kirstein's 1992 monograph includes reproductions of all of Cadmus's major paintings, it only has a dozen or so of his figurative drawings. Justin Spring's book more than makes up for this lack (it has 67 color plates). The fact that he does so by taking on the seemingly narrow focus of male nudes is truly appropriate. While the paintings are often highly active, heavily detailed social satires with not-so-subtle homoerotic elements, the drawings are calmer, context-free, more admiring meditations on the male form. They are clearly the work of an attentive observer and a disciplined draughtsman. When the art world was going ga-ga over abstract expressionism and slap-dash gestural drawing, Cadmus was painstakingly working in virtual isolation. And though a number of sketches are included in this volume, it is the finished drawing that most interested Cadmus. Reginald Marsh, Jared French, Pierro dela Francesca, Michaelangelo, Signorelli, and Ingres were his dominent influences. Along with ballet photographer George Platt Lynes. And from writer E.M. Forster he acquired a philosophic outlook that would guide him both as an artist and as a man: "tolerance, good temper and sympathy--they are what matter...if the human race is not to collapse."

Spring's five essays (Introduction, Beginnings, Development, Maturity, Conclusion) provide everything you need to know to fully appreciate the plates. He addresses Cadmus's homosexuality directly and without sensation and discusses Cadmus's well-reasoned reluctance to be associated with more blatantly sexual gay art (including his refusal to have one of his works reproduced in a biography of Tom of Finland, an admirer of Cadmus). Spring also identifies the models for many of the drawings; this is significant because Cadmus considered his drawings to be a collaboration between himself and his models. Cadmus's life partner Jon Anderson was his frequent subject from the late 60s until the artist's death, and it is fascinating to see how Anderson's body changed over time; the model clearly never lost his sense of comfort and ease modeling nude.

Customer Reviews:

NOT PHOTOGRAPHS, THESE ARE DRAWINGS!.......2003-10-10

This 1992 book is an updated and revised edition of a 1982 book of Mr. Leonard's drawings titled CHANGES: 50 DRAWINGS By MICHAEL LEONARD. Its revision consists of a new artist's note, the replacement of 10 drawings from the original edition with 10 drawings from years 1986 through 1992 and a larger format.To my eye the reproductions here appear washed out and underexsposed (no pun intended), losing much of the subtly found in Leonard's drawings. The reproductions are larger than in the previous edition but their impact is weaker, because much of these drawings' power and beauty lie in their nuanced values and atmospheric feeling.Still, since it's the only volume on Mr. Leonard's drawings currently available I DO recommend it.Mr. Leonard crops and positions his figures in such a way as to create a strong dynamism within the frame of his drawings. It's surprising how many compositional variations Leonard can create from the simple subject of men undressing. His modelling and edge control are superb. Even though the images come from photographic sources, they have been modified and rendered with such skill as to convincingly inhabit their space. I would have given this book four stars if not for the disappointing reproductions. I also would have liked to seen some of Mr. Leonard's female nudes (Yes, he's done those too!) in this volume. I know that the publisher specializes in books geared to the gay sensibility, but surely a female nude won't frighten off any art lover who happens to be gay!?!I think it's about time for a new book of Michael Leonard's art covering the past 11 years. It's a pity that such a talent should be ignored.

The art is beautiful but the book is short on inspiration.......2001-10-20

Perhaps it is the "let's get it all in here" mentality of this book of Michael Leonard's drawings that diminishes the overall impact of what could be an elegant homage to a fine artist. Or perhaps it is the scale of reproductions and quality of transfer that makes this inherently tender book seem sterile. But past these deficiencies there is much to savour. Leonard draws beautifully, celebrating the male form in his own vision of honesty of observation that leads to sensually satisfying images. He has been drawing and painting the male figure for years now and few can match his softly lighted men changing and stretching. Others in his class include Wade Reynolds, Paul Cadmus, Charles Beauchamp and Claudio Bravo - each with his signature style making it patently obvious that the time to return to the male nude has finally arrived.

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The Zenith of the Genre

Drawings of the Male Nude
Don Bachardy
Manufacturer: Twelvetrees Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 094264218X

Customer Reviews:

The Zenith of the Genre.......2001-03-19

Don Bachardy's skills as a draughtsman are firmly established. He has been drawing and painting from the model for several decades and now that his reputation as an artist is well established it is doubly rewarding to visit his early work. DRAWINGS OF THE MALE NUDE, published with the usual high degree of artistic integrity that has become the hallmark of TwelveTrees/Twin Palms Press, is a large format, generously spacious book that sets off Bachardy's drawings almost as well as looking at the originals. The works are all pencil, pen and ink, and ink wash renderings of friends and acquaintances of Bachardy. With his extraordinary powers of observation he renders portions of the figure full, leaving other portions merely suggested. The eyes have it: Bachardy admits that he always begins with the eyes. But his appreciation of the nude male body is obvious in his choices of pose, and sensuality, his hints of eroticism. Spend time leafing through this book and you will come to know these various men well! Do what you can do to find a copy of this book!

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth (Walter Foster Art Instruction Series, 191 - Figure Drawing)

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Figure Drawing for All It's Worth (Walter Foster Art Instruction Series, 191 - Figure Drawing)
Andrew Loomis
Manufacturer: Walter T. Foster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NI9XW0

Product Description

1971 reprint of 1943 material by Andrew Loomis. It has 33 pages of instruction on drawing the female nude, and four page of instruction on the male nude. Loomis' 1943 work of the same name is quite sought after. There are a number of full-page studies in this book, with three in color. The emphasis in the instruction is portrayal of the figure in motion, or in unusual positions. The book measures 10 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches.

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Another role of the artist
A Tortured Vision

Luis Caballero: Paintings and Drawings
Luis Caballero
Manufacturer: Gay Men's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Luis Caballero: Large Scale Drawings

ASIN: 0854491635

Customer Reviews:

Another role of the artist.......2002-07-18

The paintings of Luis Caballero are now in the realm of shrines or altars to the plagues that merged as one in the form of AIDS in the 20th Century. These paintings and drawings are not grotesque: these works are packed with the immediacy of facing a finite life whether that terminal state is due to disease as in the artist's case or to other horrors such as wars, brutality, homophobia, random acts of violence. Caballero was a brilliant draughtsman and captured so much movement in his line that the figures, though languishing, still maintain a quality of constant movement. Edward Lucie-Smith adds his usually fine comments to this monograph. This is one collection of art that goes beyond just being art to being an homage to the artist's plight. And isn't that what great art is, afterall?

A Tortured Vision.......1999-12-06

This book is richly illustrated with beautifully coloured reproductions of many of Caballero's paintings. Mostly they show the male, wounded, in a sort of ecstasy of pain. They are powerfully erotic, but in the distanced way that we see in Bernini's St. Theresa. Caballero, however, uses paint, not marble, so the paintings are hotter, more immediate. Edward Lucie Smith's essay, all too brief, convincingly sets Caballeros' work in the context of a brutal South American experience, and in world art generally. Caballeros' death from the results of AIDS adds a poignancy to this stangely moving book.

Mode Drawing: Nude/Male (Mode Drawing Series, No 3)

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Mode Drawing: Nude/Male (Mode Drawing Series, No 3)
Isao Yajima
Manufacturer: Books Nippan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 4766103947

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TERIFIC!

Drawing The Male Nude
Giovanni Civardi
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1841882100

Book Description

Hundreds of examples illustrate the male figure from all angles in a wide variety of stationary poses and in motion. Covers materials and techniques like line drawing, shading, foreshortening, and lighting, as well as important principles of human anatomy. All stages of drawing are presented, from the initial spatial dimensions to the final details that make it come alive. “An excellent manual...useful in most public collections.”—Library Journal.

Customer Reviews:

TERIFIC!.......1997-04-22

A wonderful supplement to Mr. Civardi's Drawing the human anatomy! For those of you who wish to study the male anatomy in detail, this is the book for you. While you may be familiar with the general proportions of the human body, this book will give you the specific proportions of the male body! Get it

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Drawing the Male Figure
Joseph Sheppard
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0823014053

Encounters With the Nude Male: Paintings & Drawings

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Not worth the price of omisson: talent
Stunning and memorable

Encounters With the Nude Male: Paintings & Drawings
J. B. Harter
Manufacturer: Gay Men's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Not worth the price of omisson: talent.......1999-01-01

I cannot understand why GMP published this waif of a book. The art is stilted and stunted;the male figure is truncated to almost "midget" proportions. The drawing is mediocre.I wanted to return my copy but it was too late.Procrastination can be expensive

Stunning and memorable.......1998-05-14

The perfect "coffee table" book for those seeking to add a little sunshine to their decor.

Clever devils, they've kept my guests away from the Men's Fitness!

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