Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [194]
The History of Impressionism (1946) and Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin (1956), both by John Rewald and published by the Museum of Modern Art. Rewald’s first book was published to universal acclaim, and he spent the rest of his life revising it in five subsequent editions. Post-Impressionism is widely acclaimed as well.
History of the Surrealist Movement, Gérard Durozoi (University of Chicago Press, 2002). This work is astounding in its depth and range, covering the years from 1919 to 1969, the year André Breton died, seen as the end of the movement.
The Judgement of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism, Ross King (Walker, 2006). Fans of King’s Brunelleschi’s Dome will also like this in-depth look at the decade between the Salon des Refusés in 1863 and the first Impressionist exhibit in 1874. Though a number of artists are highlighted in this book, two in particular merit the most attention: Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and Édouard Manet. King writes, “to overstate either Meissonier’s reputation or his fortune would have been difficult in the year 1863.” Meissonier’s signature was said to be worth that of the Bank of France. Delacroix declared him “the incontestable master of our epoch,” Alexandre Dumas fils called him “the painter of France,” and a newspaper referred to him as “the most renowned artist of our time.” But for all his renown and wealth, Meissonier was stuck in the eighteenth century, where he vastly preferred to be: Manet was about as opposite from Meissonier as imaginable. Though he, too, painted from the Old Masters in the Louvre and the Uffizi in Florence, with canvases such as The Absinthe Drinker and Le Bain he began to portray scenes of modern life. “More than a century after their deaths,” writes King, “Meissonier gathers dust in museum storerooms” while Manet maintains his stature among the greats. A fascinating look not only at the art world of the time but at France, especially Paris, during a time of immense change and progress.
ART BOOKS OF RELATED INTEREST
Antoine’s Alphabet: Watteau and His World, Jed Perl (Knopf, 2008). I love this little book because in many ways it reminds me of the A to Z Miscellany that appears in every volume of The Collected Traveler. Art critic Jed Perl covers items as varied as capriccio, fans, flirtation, London, Gérard de Nerval, and New York City, as well as ornament, party, qualities, religion, and youth, linking painter Jean-Antoine Watteau to each one. Perl brilliantly conveys how influential Watteau (1684–1721) was to numerous painters and writers, and “reaffirms the contemporary relevance of the greatest of all painters of young love and imperishable dreams.” After I read this I had a burning desire to stand in front of Watteau’s Gersaint’s Shopsign (in Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin) and The Holy Family (in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg), neither of which I’ve managed to see yet, unfortunately. I also had a renewed interest in The Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera in the Louvre (see “Paint the Town,” this page). It took five years for Watteau to complete this magnificent painting, which he submitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture as his reception piece. With this work he became known as the painter of fêtes galantes, which translates as “gallant parties” and refers to the pursuits of the wealthy that Watteau portrayed so well. The Greek island of Cythera, birthplace of Aphrodite, goddess of love, is the subject of a debate over whether the lovers in the painting are about to set sail for the island or if they are returning. The Louvre’s interpretative text panel notes that “without doubt, the mysterious hazy landscape in the distance is one of the most innovative features of the painting, reflecting the