Paris in Ruins

Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism

Narrated by Julian Elfer
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Pub Date Sep 10 2024 | Archive Date Sep 17 2024

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Description

From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the "Terrible Year" by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans-then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Sebastian Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. That feeling for transience-reflected in Impressionism's emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things-became the movement's great contribution to the history of art. Incisive and absorbing, Paris in Ruins captures the shifting passions and politics of the art world, revealing how the siege and the chaos of the Commune had a profound impact on modern art, and how artistic genius can emerge from darkness and catastrophe.

From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the "Terrible Year" by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans-then imperiled...


A Note From the Publisher

A Boston Globe 20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall
A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book for September 2024

A Boston Globe 20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall
A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book for September 2024


Advance Praise

"The book well could change the way you think about Impressionism, and it might alter your perception of art history." ―Simon Caterson, Sydney Morning Herald

"Sebastian Smee explodes a tired chestnut about the Impressionists: that their works are merely pretty. Like a restorer scraping off layers of grime and dust, he restores color and nuance and light, and performs the vital critical task of forcing us to look better and deeper at things we thought we already knew." ―Benjamin Moser, author of Sontag

"The book well could change the way you think about Impressionism, and it might alter your perception of art history." ―Simon Caterson, Sydney Morning Herald

"Sebastian Smee explodes a tired chestnut...


Available Editions

EDITION Audiobook, Unabridged
ISBN 9798855578027
PRICE $24.99 (USD)
DURATION 12 Hours, 5 Minutes

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (AUDIO)

Average rating from 5 members


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