Art of the Defeat : France, 1940-1944

by Laurence Bertrand Dorleac; Jane Marie Todd; Serge Guilbaut

• ISBN13: 9780892368914
• ISBN10: 0892368918
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-01-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Summary

Art of the Defeat provides an unflinching look at the art scene in Occupied France. Beginning with Adolf Hitler's staging of the armistice at Rethondes, the book offers a survey of Nazi and Vichy artistic policies, key events and organizations, and individual acts of collaboration and resistance. Among the subjects examined are the demonization of foreigners and modernists, the looting of state museums and Jewish collections, the glorification of Philippe Petain and French national identity, and the official junket by French artists to Germany. The narrative is grounded by archival research and discussion of works by Gerard Ambroselli, Jean Bazaine, Arno Breker, Francois Cogne, Aristide Maillol, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and dozens of other artists and artisans. The sum is a pioneering expose of the deployment of art to hold darkness at bay.

Author Biography

GLaurence Bertrand Dorleac is a professor at the Universite de Picardie Jules Verne.
Jane Marie Todd is the translator of over forty scholarly books.
Serge Guilbaut is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.