“Concision in art is a necessity and an elegance. The verbose painter bores: who will get rid of all these trimmings?” – Edouard Manet Edouard Manet is sometimes grouped in with the Impressionists of the late nineteenth century art movement, however he was more of a forerunner. Being a decade older than Claude Monet and his contemporaries, Manet’s style did… Read more »
The Subject of a Portrait by John Harvey In the mid-nineteenth century, art critic John Ruskin and his wife, Euphemia (Effie), left their London home bound for a summer in Scotland. Their traveling companions were a set of brothers, one of which was the famous artist John Everette Millais who was to paint John’s portrait in the Highlands. During the… Read more »
Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell First of all, I have to say it – this is my favorite Robin Maxwell novel! Yes, even more than O, Juliet I’m afraid! I’m so glad to have saved this one for last, and though I was on a tight schedule to get it read, I savored it for 2 more days than… Read more »
Madame Picasso by Anne Girard At the close of the opulent Belle Époque era in Paris, Eva Gouel makes her debut as a seamstress/designer at the glamorous cabaret Moulin Rouge, where she first spots Pablo Picasso in the audience. Another meeting at an art exhibit furthers their acquaintance, and they begin a tête-à-tête that blossoms into a deep and inescapable… Read more »
