The Judgment of Paris: The
Revolutionary Decade that Gave the
World Impressionism by Ross King
Great Portrait Of An Era
While the Civil War raged in America, another revolution took 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 quite so controversial. The
drama of its birth, played out on canvas and against the backdrop of the
Franco-Prussian War and the Commune, would at times resemble a
battlefield; and as Ross King reveals, it would reorder both history and
culture, and resonate around the world.
Personal Review: The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary
Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King

Ross King frames his phenomenal story of the birth of Impressionism as a
titanic duel between Edouard Manet -- the visionary painter who is not
really an Impressionist! -- and Ernest Meissonier -- painter of wildly
popular and obsessively accurate historical scenes, who was the most
well-known artist in Europe in his day.
King describes Meissonier sympathetically as the inheritor and best
exponent of a style of art popular in France until the 1850s. Meissonier's
extraordinarily detailed images were painstakingly researched and
masterfully executed, but represented an artistic world that was all but
ready for revolution. The Paris Salon -- controlled by older artists with an
interest in rewarding others who painted in the same style -- assiduously
kept out upstarts like Monet and his growing crew of admirers. King also
covers political world of France in the mid-19th century, led by Emperor
Napoleon III and filled with royalists, arch-conservatives and aristocrats
who censored the press, suppressed revolutionary sentiment and
controlled the Salon.
Edouard Manet is the pathetic hero of the book. His efforts to break away
from the stale historical and classical traditions of the past (artists actually
used varnishes to tone down the color of their canvases!) were met with
almost universal derision. For years, Parisians would come to the Salon to
laugh at his paintings, many of which have become classics. King brings a
wonderful narrative expertise to the telling of Manet's story, but also the
way it intersects his contemporaries. We meet his models ( especially the
notorious Victorine Meurent), his detractors in the Paris Salon, his friends
(like the fiery Emile Zola, radical Corbusier and the volatile American,
James Whistler), mistresses, competitors and antagonists. 19th century
Paris is depicted with subtlety and detail. The oppressive political scene
against which Manet painted engages him and his fellow artists in a
complex and dangerous ballet. The disastrous Franco-Prussian War, a
conflict rarely treated on this side of the Atlantic, comes alive with scenes
of Manet, Meissonier and others manning the ramparts of their besieged
and doomed city. The technology of the age comes to life as well -- an age
when top hats were a new dress item, where "velocipèdes" (bicycles) were
making their first appearance and in which hot air balloons rose into the
skies.
Expect to be thrilled by the story of how Impressionism (a term not used by
its earliest devotees, who called their art Realism) came to be, and of the
tribulations that befell it before it gained wild popularity. King weaves a
fascinating tale that brings to life a period mostly known for its strange
dress and stuffily-posed portraits. The scene that King paints of the city, in
the days just before the Salon opened, of hundreds of artists wheeling their
enormous masterpieces (some in excess of 30 feet wide) through the
streets is unforgettable.
A phenomenal book that will lovers of painting, history and people,
regardless of their level of artistic interest.

For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism
by Ross King 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!