The Judgment of Paris is a masterful look at Impressionist movement in France. The lives of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet are profiled in dramatic counterpoint and the broader movement is explored in detail.
While Meissonier, a realist, was a beloved and successful artist, Manet, the impressionist, was reviled by the critics (although he did have some loyal admirers). Today the opposite is true and Meissonier has fallen from favor and is rarely even profiled in art history encyclopedias. This is a very readable history.
2 comments:
Agreed. I really enjoyed this. I love how King can give you a history lesson by telling a story, not lecturing.
Here's my review. Cool how we're both from KC and both the only reviewers of this work on LibraryThing (that's how I found your blog). You're added to my blogroll (if that's okay).
Nice to see there are more enthousiasts concerning this book, although you read it years before me, so my review will be old news for you. Have you also read "The Private Lives of the Impressionists" by Sue Roe? I really enjoyed that too. At the moment I'm reading "Berthe Morisot: The First Lady of Impressionism" by Margaret Shennan. Perhaps you can tell ... I'm an art and Paris lover ;-)
Greetings,
Rodney
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