Skip to main content

Shocking Paris by Stanley Meisler: book review



Shocking Paris: Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparnasse (2015) is about the foreign-born immigrant painters in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. ‘Most came from the Russian empire, almost all were Jewish, and they made an impact on the history of art before most Parisians realized they were there.’ These include AmedeoModigliani, Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, and Jules Pascin.The area was Montparnasse in Paris. 

Meisler begins with Soutine (1893-1943), the tenth of eleven children, who moved to Paris in 1913 in extreme poverty, but regarded as the most talented of foreign artists of the time. Then Soutine’s close friend Italian-born Modigliani (1884-1920), who died at the age of 35 – and whose painting Nude Sitting on a Divan (1917) sold at auction on 14 May 2018 for $157 million – arrived in Paris. 

Not much is known about Soutine, because he was so secretive – even his partner of three-years, Gerda Groth, had not seen his work. Although Marie-Berthe Aurenche who moved into Soutine’s apartment in 1940 did see his work, she thought his portrait of her was ugly. Chagall, on the other hand, was more outgoing. Chagall (1887-1985) had written his own memoir at the age of 35 and was a prolific letter-writer. 

Meisler also writes of the impact of World War I and World War II, which affected the lives of the French, and the foreign artists. Continually  nervous and in fear of the German Gestapo, and the French police, took a toll on Soutine’s health, already an intense painter with bouts of depression. After the war, the tight community of foreign artists disbanded and were not a large presence in Paris again. 

While the author sub-titles the book ‘Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparnasse’ there is a heavy concentration on Chaim Soutine, even though Marc Chagall lived for another 40 years. The author has ‘ties’ to Soutine, although is not related. Nevertheless, the book brings to light the lives of the three greats of the time – Soutine, Modigliani, and Chagall – particularly the short lives of the first two, and their influences and muses, set before and during the Second World War. It’s an interesting read. 



MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
1 comment
Read more