LemonSky reviewed The judgment of Paris by Ross King
Review of 'The judgment of Paris' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A fascinating account of both the birth of Impressionism and the change in the art world in France. I was surprised by just how incredibly conservative the 19th century French were both in art and politics. Their treatment of Manet, Courbet, and the Impressionists (Monte, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, and others) was appalling. Ross King contrasts the struggle of these artists, who were breaking new ground in art, with the ultra-conservative, old-fashioned, and insufferably vain and arrogant Ernest Meissonier, who was the darling of the critics, collectors, and public during his lifetime, but is mostly forgotten now.
Very recommended.
