The Judgment of Paris The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism

by King, Ross

• ISBN13: 9780802714664
• ISBN10: 0802714668
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-10
• Publisher: Walker Books

Summary

While the Civil War raged in America, another very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been, at its inception, quite so controversial. The drama of its birth, played out on canvas, would at times resemble a battlefield; and, as Ross King reveals, Impressionism would reorder both history and culture as it resonated around the world. The Judgment of Parischronicles the dramatic decade between two famous exhibitionsthe scandalous Salon des Refuses in 1863 and the first Impressionist showing in 1874set against the rise and dramatic fall of Napoleon III and the Second Empire after the Franco-Prussian War. A tale of many artists, it revolves around the lives of two, described as "the two poles of art"Ernest Meissonier, the most famous and successful painter of the 19th century, hailed for his precision and devotion to history; and Edouard Manet, reviled in his time, who nonetheless heralded the most radical change in the history of art since the Renaissance. Out of the fascinating story of their parallel lives, illuminated by their legendary supporters and criticsZola, Delacroix, Courbet, Baudelaire, Whistler, Monet, Hugo, Degas, and many moreRoss King shows that their contest was not just about Art, it was about competing visions of a rapidly changing world. With a novelist's skill and the insight of an historian, King recalls a seminal period when Paris was the artistic center of the world, and a revolutionary movement had the power to electrify and divide a nation. Ross Kingis the author of the bestselling booksBrunelleschi's DomeandMichelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, as well as the novelsEx-LibrisandDomino. He lives in England, near Oxford. Winner of Canada's Governor General's Award An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year While the Civil war raged in America, another, very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris. The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amid scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been, at its inception, quite so controversial. The drama of its birth, played out on canvas, would at times resemble a battlefield; and, as Ross King reveals, Impressionism would reorder both history and culture as it resonated around the world. The Judgment of Parischronicles the dramatic decade between two famous exhibitionsthe scandalous Salon des Refuses in 1863 and the first Impressionist showing in 1874set against the splendor of Napoleon III's Second Empire, and its dramatic fall after the Franco-Prussian War. A tale of many artists, it revolves around the lives of two, described as "the two poles of art": Ernest Meissonier, the most famous and successful painter of the nineteenth century, hailed for his precision and devotion to history; and Edouard Manet, reviled in his time, who nonetheless heralded the most radical change in the history of art since the Renaissance. Out of the fascinating story of their parallel lives, illuminated by their legendary supporters and criticsZola, Delacroix, Courbet, Baudelaire, Whistler, Monet, Hugo, Degas, and many moreRoss King shows that their contest was not just about artistic expression, it was about competing visions of a world drastically changed by technolog

Author Biography

Born and raised in Canada, Ross King has lived in England since 1992. In 2002—03, two books of his were published in the United States, Domino, about the world of masquerades and opera in 18th century London and the New York Times bestselling Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.

Nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in 2003 in the category of critisicm, in Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling King tells the story of the four years—1508-1512.—Michelangelo spent painting the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine chapel. In this extraordinary book, he presents a magnificent tapestry of day-to-day life of the ingenious Sistine scaffolding and outside in the upheaval of early 16th century Rome.

King’s highly acclaimed Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, was an instant hit in the U.S., landing on the New York Times, Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller lists and becoming a handselling favorite among booksellers. Brunelleschi’s Dome was chosen "The 2000 Book Sense Nonfiction Book of the Year" and a Book Sense 76 top ten selection.

Anyone familiar with Ross King’s writing knows that he has an astonishing knowledge of European cultural history. He originally planned a career in academia, earning his Ph.D. in English Literature and moving to England to assume a research position at the University of London.

King lives near Oxford, England, in the historic town of Woodstock, the site of Blenheim Palace. He is a devoted cyclist and hikes regularly in both the Pyrenees and the Canadian Rockies.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xi
Chapter One: Chez Meissonier	1	(12)
Chapter Two: Modern Life	13	(13)
Chapter Three: The Lure of Perfection	26	(10)
Chapter Four: Mademoiselle V.	36	(7)
Chapter Five: Dreams of Genius	43	(5)
Chapter Six: Youthful Daring	48	(8)
Chapter Seven: A Baffling Maze of Canvas	56	(17)
Chapter Eight: The Salon of Venus	73	(8)
Chapter Nine: The Tempest of Fools	81	(11)
Chapter Ten: Famous Victories	92	(9)
Chapter Eleven: Young France	101	(12)
Chapter Twelve: Deliberations	113	(8)
Chapter Thirteen: Room M	121	(11)
Chapter Fourteen: Plein Air	132	(12)
Chapter Fifteen: A Beastly Slop	144	(7)
Chapter Sixteen: The Apostle of Ugliness	151	(8)
Chapter Seventeen: Maitre Velazquez	159	(8)
Chapter Eighteen: The Jury of Assassins	167	(8)
Chapter Nineteen: Monet or Manet?	175	(9)
Chapter Twenty: A Flash of Swords	184	(8)
Chapter Twenty-one: Marvels, Wonders and Miracles	192	(14)
Chapter Twenty-two: Funeral for a Friend	206	(11)
Chapter Twenty-three: Maneuvers	217	(10)
Chapter Twenty-four: A Salon of Newcomers	227	(6)
Chapter Twenty-five: Au Bord de la Mer	233	(8)
Chapter Twenty-six: Mademoiselle Berthe	241	(7)
Chapter Twenty-seven: Flying Gallops	248	(9)
Chapter Twenty-eight: The Wild Boar of the Batignolles	257	(8)
Chapter Twenty-nine: Vaulting Ambitions	265	(7)
Chapter Thirty: The Prussian Terror	272	(9)
Chapter Thirty-one: The Last Days of Paris	281	(12)
Chapter Thirty-two: A Carnival of Blood	293	(17)
Chapter Thirty-three: Days of Hardship	310	(8)
Chapter Thirty-four: The Apples of Discord	318	(9)
Chapter Thirty-five: A Ring of Gold	327	(5)
Chapter Thirty-six: Pure Haarlem Beer	332	(10)
Chapter Thirty-seven: Beyond Perfection	342	(7)
Chapter Thirty-eight: The Liberation of Paris	349	(13)
Epilogue: Finishing Touches	362	(13)
Political Timeline	375	(4)
Acknowledgments	379	(2)
Notes	381	(42)
Bibliography	423	(14)
Index	437