The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism

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	• The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism Ross King Walker & Company, 2006 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 36 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

ART + HISTORY = ROSS KING

Truly a box of chocolates to be slowly savored bite by bite. Each tidbit contributes to a sumptuous historical feast. A delicious read that adds great depth to the birth of Impressionism.

The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism

An excellent review of French history in the 1860's & '70's. The extraordinary influence artistic styles had on society, and conversely political events which dictated the emergence of fresh, new art. Easily read and enjoyed!

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The Hero is Meissonier

Ross King has written a fine book, rich in detail, which covers the emergence of the Impressionists against an engaging background of the political, military, scientific, and cultural trends of mid-19th century France. Perhaps unintentionally, he has also made a case for rehabilitating Ernest Meissonier, the painter whose reputation went into eclipse as the world went nuts over Manet, Monet, and their ilk. We are told that Meissonier possessed colossal self-regard and hauteur, but the details adduced in THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS show him to be: generous (he supported a bankrupted blacksmith and a poor woman in Antibes), forgiving (when his son damaged his most important canvas), an ally to other artists (he signed his name to a petition over restrictive judging rules), a meticulous craftsman (he made countless models and sketches and even grew a wheat field to be trampled so he could paint it), and, most especially, wise about the vagaries of posthumous reputations ("Life. How little it really comes to.").

It is fine to argue now, as a fatuous NY Times review did, that Meissonier's major work, Friedland: 1807, is "fussy," but attention must also be paid to the quote in King's book that sheds important light on the Impressionists: On page 196, Claude Monet says: "It really is appallingly difficult to do something which is complete in every respect, and I think most people are content with mere approximations." Meissonier emerges, like his paintings, in three dimensions; Manet, like his, in two. Manet is portrayed as petulant, mean, and petty, refusing at first even to meet Monet because of a belief that the younger man was stealing his name. And while it is certain that the moneyed classes preferred Meissonier and kept him in high style, the younger artists were beneficiaries of shameless logrolling, particulary by Emile Zola. When Zola saw a Manet he apparently didn't like, he simply clammed up.

Ideally, viewers would judge art by looking at it and applying their own aesthetic standards. To take one example from the evil "conservatives" cited by King who tried to thwart the generation of 1863, I suggest looking at Dominique Ingres' "Princesse Debroglie" on the Web. Is this the painting of a hidebound no-talent? Or view Meissonier's "The Campaign of France." King calls it one of the greatest depictions of motion ever captured on canvas, and I see no cause to dispute him. Meissonier is forgotten, yes, but thanks to King maybe now he will get a little attention -- not as much as the sainted Impressionists, mind you, but a little.

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King's Impressions

Ross King writes with skill about a time in France that saw both the fall of a political regime and rise of a new school of art.

While many interesting bit actors are stuffed into this drama, the real focus is on Manet and the now forgotten Meissonier. Through their two lives the birth of Impressionism (and the decline of old art truths) and the companion political fate of the government of Louis-Napoleon are nicely described.

In my judgement, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the striking art and political upheavals that centered on Paris in the 1860s and 70s--- while serving as a nice cautionary tale on the fragile nature of artistic fame.

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Long Live the King!

I dislike many history books. History books written by academics for academics. (Publish or perish isnt exactly producing pageturners.) Books written by people who have "colleagues" and actually use that word more than once a week. Ahhh, but I love art. I love the history of art. Ross King is my hero. He can take a time line filled with people, places and dates and keep me turning the page. He made me understand one of my favorite times in the history of art, the passing of the french academic tradition into more modern forms of art. King infuses the caracters with life and makes you care about them. We meet Manet and learn the hardships he endured trying to show his work under the Salon system. We are introduced to Meissonier, the reigning champion of art in the 1800's. Never heard of him? Same here. This book is the story of the "greatest" artist, who we have completly forgotten and an artist who never was accepted in his life time, whom we all know.
THAT is the suff of great literature and life lessons. Long life the King!

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8

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