DOCSLIB.ORG

The Masterpiece by Émile Zola

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Masterpiece by Émile Zola µ˙ MFAH Book Club Fall 2014 Selection The Masterpiece by Émile Zola Suggested edition: Oxford World’s Classics, 2008. The 1886 novel The Masterpiece is set in France during the Second Empire, from 1852 to 1870, under the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III. Émile Zola imparts the story of naturalist painter Claude Lantier, who lives in a Bohemian world. Lantier strives to complete a masterpiece that reflects his talent and genius as a revolutionary, but he struggles to live up to his artistic potential. Though brilliant, Lantier is misunderstood and scorned by the art-going public because of their expectations for traditional subjects and styles. Zola's novel explores the rise of Realism, naturalism, and Impressionism in painting, along with contemporaneous developments in sculpture, literature, architecture, music, and journalism. The novel is: • book fourteen of Émile Zola’s twenty-book series called Les Rougon-Macquart. Each of the novels stands alone, and each exemplifies French naturalism. • believed to be a highly fictionalized account of Zola's friendship with painter Paul Cézanne. It was, perhaps, too personal for Cézanne, who ended his correspondence with Zola soon after receiving a copy of the novel as a gift from the novelist. How to Use this Book Discussion Guide How to Book an MFAH Book Club Tour Creating bridges between the literary and visual arts is For book clubs and other groups of six or more confirmed what makes the MFAH Book Club unique. All art arises participants, tours related to Émile Zola’s The Masterpiece from the context of its time. The discussion guides feature are available September 2–December 30, 2014, on Tuesdays questions about the book and works of art in the Museum at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.; Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. collections and exhibitions—and sometimes works of art and 3:30 p.m.; Thursdays at 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and from museums around the world—based on four broad 6:30 p.m.; and Sundays, 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours themes directly related to Émile Zola’s The Masterpiece. are led by docents and feature excerpts from the novel and Discuss the questions with your book club, then bring discussions about works of art on view at the Museum. your group (and your copy of the book) for an MFAH Book Club tour! For more information, please visit mfah.org/bookclub. Please e-mail [email protected] with any questions. 1 The Evolution of Paris Paris, in the nineteenth century, was evolving from a medieval town into a modern city. The changing face of Paris was, in many cases, due to modern technology: gas lamps, glass-and-steel construction, the railroad, steamships, and more. What do you think of Claude’s sentiments (p. 129) when he spoke with the architect Dubuche? “Down with the Greek temples; there was no use or place for them in modern society. Down with the Gothic cathedrals; belief in legends was dead! Down, too, with the delicate colonades and the intricate tracery of the Renaissance, that Classical revival crossed with medieval art, which produced architectural jewels but could never house democracy!” Consider how these three paintings in different styles depict Paris. Left to right: Armand Guillaumin, View of the Seine, Paris, 1871, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck.; Henri Rousseau, The Eiffel Tower, c. 1898, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck.; Maximilien Luce, Rue Ravignan, Paris, 1893, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck. © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris How does Zola contrast the city of Paris with the countryside? (Recall that Claude and Christine experienced their only moments of happiness in nature.) Also discuss the importance of painting en plein air (in open air, or out of doors) for the Impressionists. The Evolution of Painting The visual artists described in The Masterpiece strived for acceptance into the annual Salon de Paris, but many were refused. From Zola’s writing, what were some reasons why artists were included or excluded from the Salon? View these two paintings at the Museum, and discuss the following two questions: 1. Would these paintings have been acceptable or unacceptable for the Salon? 2. Which of these two paintings do you imagine could represent Christine in the role of mother, had her son lived? DID YOU KNOW? Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) and her sister, Edma Morisot, were taught by Jean-Baptiste- Camille Corot, the renowned Barbizon School painter, who introduced them to en plein air painting. In 1864, at the age of 23, Berthe showed for the first time in the Salon de Paris, and continued to show regularly in the Salon until 1873, Left to right: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, The Elder Sister, 1869, oil on canvas, the Museum when her affiliation with the Impressionists of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of an Anonymous Lady in led to changes in her painting techniques. memory of her father.; Berthe Morisot, The Basket Chair, 1882, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck. 2 Artists Struggle: Success versus Broken Dreams Zola wrote to Paul Cézanne, “There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman.” (Letter to Paul Cézanne, 16 April 1860, published in Paul Cézanne: Letters, 1995, edited by John Rewald.) Does this apply to Claude Lantier? Of the other artists included in The Masterpiece, who in your mind was “born a poet” and who “became a craftsman”? The Masterpiece is often described as semiautobiographical, with Pierre Sandoz as a stand-in for Zola himself and Claude Lantier as a stand-in for Cézanne. Do you believe the following words by Sandoz (p. 259) are actually Zola being creative for the sake of the novel, or speaking truthfully of himself—and why? “From the moment I start a new novel, life’s just one endless torture. The first few chapters may go fairly well and I may feel there’s still a chance to prove my worth, but that feeling soon disappears and every day I feel less and less satisfied. I begin to say the book’s no good, far inferior to my earlier ones, until I’ve wrung torture out of every page, every sentence, every word, and the very commas begin to look excruciatingly ugly. Then, when it’s finished, what a relief! Not the blissful delight of the gentleman who goes into ecstasies over his own production, but the resentful relief of a porter dropping a burden that’s nearly broken his back…” Why do you think Cézanne did not speak to Zola after reading The Masterpiece? Cézanne received the harshest critical commentary of all the Impressionists and, perhaps as a result, he was not a commercial success. The slightly younger Vincent van Gogh never sold a single painting during his lifetime, and was financially dependent upon his brother, Theo, an art dealer. Consider these two paintings in the MFAH collection, and discuss why some artists simply never achieve commercial success. DID YOU KNOW? Though Cézanne submitted paintings to the Salon de Paris many times he was rejected many times. and paintings he exhibited with the Impressionists were ridiculed by art critics. Nevertheless, during his lifetime, younger artists considered Cézanne a master, and he had many visitors to his studio in Aix en Provence. Left to right: Paul Cézanne, Bottom of the Ravine, c. 1879, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck.; Vincent van Gogh, The Rocks, 1888, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck. Who among Claude and his friends succumbed to familial and peer pressure, and who remained true to their personal vision and self-expression? What compromises did Claude and his friends make in their artistic pursuits, if any? What do you think is more satisfying: the struggle and journey toward achieving success, or actually achieving success? 3 Tragic Lives, Tragic Art Do you believe Claude loved Christine or did he love the idea of having Christine in his life? At the end of her life, do you believe Christine would have "followed" Claude through his life? Why or why not? What role does Jacques play in their lives? Where was Christine’s maternal instinct directed? Toward Jacques or toward Claude? Would you characterize Christine’s life as “tragic”? Why or why not? What choices did Christine make that you might make differently? Do you believe Zola named her Christine—meaning “follower of Christ”—for a reason? The MFAH collection has many works depicting tragic narratives. Consider how these two works/narratives compare to Claude Lantier’s life and work: When Meleager was born, the Fates predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Immediately, his mother doused and hid the brand. Once grown, Meleager’s father sent him to gather heroes from all over Greece to hunt the Calydonian boar that was terrorizing the region. Meleager also chose Atalanta, a huntress, whom he loved. Atalanta wounded the boar and Meleager killed it. He awarded Atalanta the hide since she drew first blood, but his brother and uncle were enraged the prize went to a woman. In the Roman, Sarcophagus Front, The Return of the Body of Meleager ensuing argument, Meleager killed them. When his mother discovered to Kalydon, late Severan period, 220–230 A.D., marble, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by he had killed her brother and one of her sons, she placed the brand the Agnes Cullen Arnold Endowment Fund upon the fire, fulfilling the prophecy by killing Meleager, her own son.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Impressionist Adventures
    impressionist adventures THE NORMANDY & PARIS REGION GUIDE 2020 IMPRESSIONIST ADVENTURES, INSPIRING MOMENTS! elcome to Normandy and Paris Region! It is in these regions and nowhere else that you can admire marvellous Impressionist paintings W while also enjoying the instantaneous emotions that inspired their artists. It was here that the art movement that revolutionised the history of art came into being and blossomed. Enamoured of nature and the advances in modern life, the Impressionists set up their easels in forests and gardens along the rivers Seine and Oise, on the Norman coasts, and in the heart of Paris’s districts where modernity was at its height. These settings and landscapes, which for the most part remain unspoilt, still bear the stamp of the greatest Impressionist artists, their precursors and their heirs: Daubigny, Boudin, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Caillebotte, Sisley, Van Gogh, Luce and many others. Today these regions invite you on a series of Impressionist journeys on which to experience many joyous moments. Admire the changing sky and light as you gaze out to sea and recharge your batteries in the cool of a garden. Relive the artistic excitement of Paris and Montmartre and the authenticity of the period’s bohemian culture. Enjoy a certain Impressionist joie de vivre in company: a “déjeuner sur l’herbe” with family, or a glass of wine with friends on the banks of the Oise or at an open-air café on the Seine. Be moved by the beauty of the paintings that fill the museums and enter the private lives of the artists, exploring their gardens and homes-cum-studios.
    [Show full text]
  • Page 1 H-France Review Vol. 15 (July 2015), No. 91 Claire White
    H-France Review Volume 15 (2015) Page 1 H-France Review Vol. 15 (July 2015), No. 91 Claire White, Work and Leisure in Late Nineteenth-Century French Literature and Visual Culture: Time, Politics and Class. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014. 246 pp. Figures, notes, bibliography, and index. $75.00 U.S. (hb). ISBN 978-1-137-37306-9. Review by Elizabeth Emery, Montclair State University. The 2006 youth protests against the Contrat première embauche and the 2014 CGT and FO walkouts on the third Conférence sociale pour le travail provide vivid examples of the extent to which the regulation of work continues to dominate the French cultural landscape. Claire White’s Work and Leisure in Late Nineteenth-Century French Literature and Visual Culture contributes a new and fascinating, if idiosyncratic, chapter to our knowledge of French attitudes toward labor and leisure. This is not a classic history of labor reform, but rather, as the author puts it in her introduction, an attempt to situate art and literature within this well-studied context by focusing primarily on the representation of work and leisure in the novels of Emile Zola, the poetry of Jules Laforgue, and the paintings of Maximilien Luce. The book’s title should not be interpreted as a study of the representation of work and leisure in literature and visual culture in general, but in the specific case of these three artists, each of whom “engages with discourses of labour and leisure in a way which is both highly self-conscious and which reveals something about his own understanding of the processes, values and politics of cultural work in the early Third Republic” (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibition Checklist
    Exhibition Checklist Félix Fénéon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde—From Signac to Matisse and Beyond Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac May 28, 2019-September 29, 2019 Musée de l'Orangerie October 16, 2019-January 27, 2020 The Museum of Modern Art, New York March 22, 2020-July 25, 2020 11w53, On View, 3rd Floor, South Gallery GIACOMO BALLA (Italian, 1871–1958) ALPHONSE BERTILLON (French, 1853–1914) Ravachol. François Claudius Kœnigstein. 1892 Albumen silver print 4 1/8 × 2 3/4 × 3/16" (10.5 × 7 × 0.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005 ALPHONSE BERTILLON (French, 1853–1914) Fénéon. Félix. 1894–95 Albumen silver print 4 1/8 × 2 3/4 × 3/16" (10.5 × 7 × 0.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005 ALPHONSE BERTILLON (French, 1853–1914) Luce. Maximilien. 1894 Albumen silver print 4 1/8 × 2 3/4 × 3/16" (10.5 × 7 × 0.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005 Félix Fénéon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde—From Signac to Matisse and Beyond 1 ALPHONSE BERTILLON (French, 1853–1914) Police photograph of exterior of Restaurant Foyot, Paris, after the bombing on April 4, 1894 1894 Facsimile 6 × 9 1/8" (15.2 × 23.1 cm) Archives de la Préfecture de police, Paris UMBERTO BOCCIONI (Italian, 1882–1916) The Laugh 1911 Oil on canvas 43 3/8 x 57 1/4" (110.2 x 145.4 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Download (PDF)
    EDUCATOR GUIDE SCHEDULE EDUCATOR OPEN HOUSE Friday, September 28, 4–6pm | Jepson Center TABLE OF CONTENTS LECTURE Schedule 2 Thursday, September 27, 6pm TO Visiting the Museum 2 Members only | Jepson Center MONET Museum Manners 3 French Impressionism About the Exhibition 4 VISITING THE MUSEUM PLAN YOUR TRIP About the Artist 5 Schedule your guided tour three weeks Claude Monet 6–8 in advance and notify us of any changes MATISSE Jean-François Raffaëlli 9–10 or cancellations. Call Abigail Stevens, Sept. 28, 2018 – Feb. 10, 2019 School & Docent Program Coordinator, at Maximilien Luce 11–12 912.790.8827 to book a tour. Mary Cassatt 13–14 Admission is $5 each student per site, and we Camille Pissarro 15–16 allow one free teacher or adult chaperone per every 10 students. Additional adults are $5.50 Edgar Degas 17–19 per site. Connections to Telfair Museums’ Use this resource to engage students in pre- Permanent Collection 20–22 and post-lessons! We find that students get Key Terms 22 the most out of their museum experience if they know what to expect and revisit the Suggested Resources 23 material again. For information on school tours please visit https://www.telfair.org/school-tours/. MEMBERSHIP It pays to join! Visit telfair.org/membership for more information. As an educator, you are eligible for a special membership rate. For $40, an educator membership includes the following: n Unlimited free admission to Telfair Museums’ three sites for one year (Telfair Academy, Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, Jepson Center) n Invitations to special events and lectures n Discounted rates for art classes (for all ages) and summer camps n 10 percent discount at Telfair Stores n Eligibility to join museum member groups n A one-time use guest pass 2 MUSEUM MANNERS Address museum manners before you leave school.
    [Show full text]
  • Portraits of Sculptors in Modernism
    Konstvetenskapliga institutionen Portraits of Sculptors in Modernism Författare: Olga Grinchtein © Handledare: Karin Wahlberg Liljeström Påbyggnadskurs (C) i konstvetenskap Vårterminen 2021 ABSTRACT Institution/Ämne Uppsala universitet. Konstvetenskapliga institutionen, Konstvetenskap Författare Olga Grinchtein Titel och undertitel: Portraits of Sculptors in Modernism Engelsk titel: Portraits of Sculptors in Modernism Handledare Karin Wahlberg Liljeström Ventileringstermin: Höstterm. (år) Vårterm. (år) Sommartermin (år) 2021 The portrait of sculptor emerged in the sixteenth century, where the sitter’s occupation was indicated by his holding a statue. This thesis has focus on portraits of sculptors at the turn of 1900, which have indications of profession. 60 artworks created between 1872 and 1927 are analyzed. The goal of the thesis is to identify new facets that modernism introduced to the portraits of sculptors. The thesis covers the evolution of artistic convention in the depiction of sculptor. The comparison of portraits at the turn of 1900 with portraits of sculptors from previous epochs is included. The thesis is also a contribution to the bibliography of portraits of sculptors. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Karin Wahlberg Liljeström for her help and advice. I also thank Linda Hinners for providing information about Annie Bergman’s portrait of Gertrud Linnea Sprinchorn. I would like to thank my mother for supporting my interest in art history. 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Seine at Rolleboise Pastel and Watercolour on Paper, Laid Down
    Maximilien Luce (Paris 1858 - Paris 1941) The Seine at Rolleboise Pastel and watercolour on paper, laid down. Signed, dated and inscribed Luce / Rolleboise / 1924 at the lower right. Numbered 63 twice and inscribed Maximilien Luce No 1834 on the old backing board. 317 x 495 mm. (12 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.) ACQUIRED BY THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, D.C. Luce first visited the village of Rolleboise, at a bend on the river Seine between Mantes and Bonnières, northwest of Paris, in 1917. He had discovered the village through the painter Alexis Veillet, and rented a room in the town, from where he would often visit his friend Claude Monet at Giverny, not far away. In 1920 he purchased a house just below the church at Rolleboise, as Carol Heitz has noted, ‘on a hillside sloping down gently to the Seine, a most pleasant and peaceful spot...This is where Luce spent the happiest years of his life.’ Luce produced numerous vibrant paintings of the countryside around Rolleboise and the valley of the Seine, painted with great sensitivity. The artist died in Paris and is buried at Rolleboise. Drawn in 1924, this large and vibrant watercolour is characteristic of Luce’s confident draughtsmanship. The view depicts the village and church of Rolleboise, perched above a bend in the Seine. Artist description: Born in the Parisian neighbourhood of Montparnasse, Maximilien Luce displayed a lifelong interest in the depiction of the daily life of the working-class city folk he grew up with. Trained initially as a wood- engraver, he took up landscape painting in the late 1870’s.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Gauguin, the Group of the Nabis and Joséphin Péladan
    Veridian E-Journal, Silpakorn University International (Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts) ISSN 1906 – 3431 Volume 11 Number 4 January-June 2018 Libertarian creeds and artists of the symbolist movements* ลัทธิอิสรเสรีนิยมและศิลปินสัญลักษณ์นิยม Sébastien Tayac (เซบาสเตียน ตา-ยาค)** Abstract: The political, social and religious ideas of artists are usually put aside to present only their thoughts on the artistic field. To fill this void, the article focuses on unveiling the commitments and libertarian creeds of artists of the symbolist nebula at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century; namely, Paul Gauguin, the group of the Nabis and Joséphin Péladan. Keywords: Symbolism, libertarianism, Gauguin, Nabis, Péladan. * The purpose of this article is to highlight the political, social and religious convictions, often hidden, of symbolist artists, with particular emphasis on their relationships with the different currents of anarchism. วัตถุประสงค์ของบทความนี้เพื่อเน้นย้้าความเชื่อมั่นทางการเมือง สังคม และศาสนา ที่มักถูกซ่อนเร้นในกลุ่มของศิลปินลัทธิสัญลักษณ์นิยม โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งความสัมพันธ์ของพวกเขากับอนาธิปไตยในหลากหลายรูปแบบในปัจจุบัน ** Lecturer, Painting Division, Visual Arts Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University. Email: [email protected] 453 International (Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts) Veridian E-Journal, Silpakorn University Volume 11 Number 4 January-June 2018 ISSN 1906 – 3431 บทคัดย่อ: แนวคิดทางการเมือง สังคม และศาสนาของศิลปินมักถูกทิ้งไว้เพื่อน้าเสนอความคิดของพวกเขาใน ส่วนของศิลปะเท่านั้น
    [Show full text]
  • Our Last Day in Paris Was for Visiting Museums. the Louvre Arc De Triomphe Du Carrousel Near the Louvre
    Our last day in Paris was for visiting museums. The Louvre Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel near the Louvre. Glass Pyramid at the Louvre. Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione by Raffaello Raphael The Summer by Giuseppe Arcimboldo The Spring by Giuseppe Arcimboldo The Mysteries of the Passion of Christ by Antonio Campi The Annunciation by Guido Reni Last Supper by Joos van Cleve The Orsay Alphonsine Fournaise by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Rest after a bath by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Dance at the moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Chrysanthemums by Claude Monet Study of a figure outdoors by Claude Monet The artist’s garden at Giverny by Claude Monet Poppy field by Claude Monet The cathedral at Rouen by Claude Monet Luncheon on the grass by Claude Monet Female drinking absinthe by Pablo Picasso The Hermitage at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro Spring plum blossoms by Camille Pissarro White frost by Camille Pissarro Blue dancers by Edgar Degas Women in profile by Toulouse-Lautrec The yellow harvest by Paul Gauguin The Siesta by Van Gogh Luncheon on the grass by Edouard Manet The dinner table by Paul Cezanne Notre-Dame by Maximilien Luce The Rochelle Harbor by Paul Signac Women with umbrella by Paul Signac Cypress trees at Cagnes by Henri- Edmond Cross The Orangery museum The Orangery museum is known for the Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet and also houses a permanent impressionist artist collection. Water Lilies Claude Monet Argenteuil by Claude Monet Antonia by Amedeo Modigliani A women with velvet ribbon by Amedeo Modigliani Wind blown tree by Chaim Soutine The Houses by Chaim Soutine The Village by Chaim Soutine The little pastry cook by Chaim Soutine Nude women in a landscape by Pierre- Auguste Renoir Gabrielle in the garden by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Young girls with piano by Pierre- Auguste Renoir Great nude with drapery by Pablo Picasso Harlequin and Pierrot by Andre Derain The Child with doll by Henri Rousseau Landscape with the red roof and pine by Paul Cezanne.
    [Show full text]
  • New Directions in Neo-Impressionism (London, 20 Nov 10)
    New Directions in Neo-Impressionism (London, 20 Nov 10) Dr Tania Woloshyn et al Call for Papers CONFERENCE: Saturday 20 November 2010 VENUE: Richmond, the American International University in London, UK Proposals of approx.250 words due by 1 July to: [email protected] 2010 marks the centenary of the death of Neo-Impressionist Henri-Edmond Cross (1856-1910) as well as the release of a new book of collected essays which re-evaluate the work of Georges Seurat (1859-1891), 'Seurat Re-Viewed' (edited by Paul Smith; published by Penn State Press, 2010). It is therefore a fitting time to reconsider the artistic production and contextual themes around Neo-Impressionism, a much maligned movement that has often been described as a series of artistic, political and scientific failures. Its new direction after the death of Seurat in 1891, under the self-declared leadership of Paul Signac (1863-1935), has been posited less as a renewal towards alternative but equally radical luminous experiments than a progressive degeneration from its original conception. Specifically, the works of Cross, Signac and Théo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926) produced along the Côte d'Azur during the 1890s and early 1900s deserve new academic attention as more than merely utopic or escapist visions set in 'holiday' landscapes. This conference proposes to bring together emerging and established scholars of Neo-Impressionism for an exciting reappraisal of its history within the heart of London at an international, bilingual conference at Richmond, the American International
    [Show full text]
  • Paris, Fin De Siècle: Signac, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec and Their Contemporaries Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - Bilbao, Spain May 12 – September 17, 2017
    PARIS, FIN DE SIÈCLE: SIGNAC, REDON, TOULOUSE-LAUTREC AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO - BILBAO, SPAIN MAY 12 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2017 TERMS OF LOAN AND CREDITS The attached images are on loan to you, and are accepted by you under the following terms and conditions: ‣That the reproductions are accompanied by the name of the artist, the title and date of work, the owner credit line, the copyright holder and photocredit; ‣That the reproductions are not cropped, overprinted, tinted or subject to any form of derogatory treatment without the prior approval of the copyright owner; ‣That the images are only reproduced to illustrate an article or feature reviewing or reporting on Paris, Fin de Siècle: Signac, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec and Their Contemporaries; ‣That any reproductions that accompany an article are not used for marketing or advertising purposes. If you have any queries about image use please contact the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Press Office at [email protected] or call +34 944 359 008. PIERRE BONNARD The Little Laundry Girl (La petite blanchisseuse) 1896 Color lithograph 29.3 x 19.6 cm (11 9/16 x 7 11/16 inches) Private collection ©Pierre Bonnard, VEGAP, Bilbao, 2017 HENRI-EDMOND CROSS The Promenade or The Cypresses (La Promenade or Les cyprès) 1897 Color lithograph image: 28.3 x 41 cm (11 1/8 x 16 1/8 inches) sheet: 43 x 56.8 cm (16 15/16 x 22 3/8 inches) Private collection MAURICE DENIS April (The Anemones) (Avril [Les anémones]) 1891 Oil on canvas 65 x 78 cm (25 9/16 x 30 11/16 inches) Private collection ©Maurice
    [Show full text]
  • Expressionism in Germany and France: from Van Gogh to Kandinsky
    ^ Exhibition Didactics Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky Private Collectors French avant-garde art was being avidly collected and exhibited in Germany, especially by private collectors, who did not have the same constraints that museum directors and curators faced. Karl Ernst Osthaus was one of the most passionate and important collectors and a fervent supporter of the German Expressionists. In 1902 Osthaus opened the Museum Folkwang in Hagen (today the museum is in Essen). There he exhibited his own collection, including the works of Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Paul Signac. His museum was frequented by admirers of avant-garde art, including many of the new generation of Expressionists, among them August Macke, Franz Marc, Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein, and Christian Rohlfs (who later moved to Hagen and had a studio at the museum). The cosmopolitan Count Harry Kessler, who grew up partly in Paris and later divided his time between France and Germany, discovered Neo-Impressionism early through the works of Signac and Théo van Rysselberghe, which he saw in Paris. He was also interested in the French artists group known as the Nabis, and acquired The Mirror in the Green Room (on view in this exhibition) by Pierre Bonnard, one of its members. Kessler also commissioned works from French painters, including Henri-Edmond Cross’s Bather , also on view in this exhibition. In 1905, when he was the director of the Grand Ducal Museum in Weimar, Kessler organized the first major Gauguin exhibition in Germany. Although it provoked a scandal— Gauguin was criticized for being too “exotic”—the exhibition presented the artist’s colorful Symbolist paintings of Brittany and Tahiti to the German art world.
    [Show full text]
  • Decorative Painting and Politics in France, 1890-1914
    Decorative Painting and Politics in France, 1890-1914 by Katherine D. Brion A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History of Art) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Professor Howard Lay, Chair Professor Joshua Cole Professor Michèle Hannoosh Professor Susan Siegfried © Katherine D. Brion 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I will begin by thanking Howard Lay, who was instrumental in shaping the direction and final form of this dissertation. His unbroken calm and good-humor, even in the face of my tendency to take up new ideas and projects before finishing with the old, was of huge benefit to me, especially in the final stages—as were his careful and generous (re)readings of the text. Susan Siegfried and Michèle Hannoosh were also early mentors, first offering inspiring coursework and then, as committee members, advice and comments at key stages. Their feedback was such that I always wished I had solicited more, along with Michèle’s tea. Josh Cole’s seminar gave me a window not only into nineteenth-century France but also into the practice of history, and his kind yet rigorous comments on the dissertation are a model I hope to emulate. Betsy Sears has also been an important source of advice and encouragement. The research and writing of this dissertation was funded by fellowships and grants from the Georges Lurcy Foundation, the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan, the Mellon Foundation, and the Getty Research Institute, as well as a Susan Lipschutz Award. My research was also made possible by the staffs at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Institut nationale d’Histoire de l’Art, the Getty Research Library, the Musée des arts décoratifs/Musée de la Publicité, and the Musée Maurice Denis, ii among other institutions.
    [Show full text]