Dan
Franck
1998
Translated
from French to English in 2001 by Cynthia Hope Liebow
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The artists in
this book would not call this a “modernist” painting of their home.
The would call
it crap.
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Alexandrine Couplet about the Book Bohemian Paris
Stumbling and
drinking - artists wander Paris
creating some
great art - and also some bad art.
After realizing we had shockingly
similar art interests, a girl I was madly in love with at the time gave me her
copy of this book. I started reading it because I wanted to get laid
needed a new book that day. I finished
it because it’s honestly the best non-fic book about art I’ve ever read.
I’ve made a habit of recommending it to others, and am currently reading it for
the 2nd time. It’s about the painters in Paris between 1900
and 1950 or so, mostly foreigners (Picasso, his friends, and their ilk), and
their struggles with life, with bills, galleries, woman, each other, their
environment, and the art world. It’s told in a very anecdotal style that
gives a window into the lives of these people, paints a beautiful picture (ahem
– pun intended) of the places they lived (mostly Montparnasse and Montmartre –
you know, where Amelie’s from), and how and why they created the
art they created. It’s full of history and insight, but also
romance, hardship, action, duels, scams, and all those other things we
should spend more time reading about that are seldom in non-fic. At the
very least, it's an excellently researched and excellently narrated book.
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Sacrebleu!
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I’d recommend it to anyone
interested in art, even if these aren’t your favorite painters. At the
very least, you’ll understand better what they were attempting to do and why. And if you meet a girl with an interest in
art, give her your old dog-eared copy. I
hope it works better for you than it did for me.
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