Paris Between the Wars 1919-1939: Art, Life & Culture [Hardcover]

Gerard Durozoi (Author), Vincent Bouvet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2010

During the années folles following World War I, Paris underwent a creative fever that brought artists and intellectuals from around the world to the City of Light. The bohemian charms of Montparnasse attracted artists such as Picasso, Chagall, and Giacometti, while a vibrant café culture provided a forum for disputes between Dadaists and Surrealists and gave rise to a group of expa­triate writers. The creative energy was all-encompassing, establishing Paris as the epicenter of new trends in the arts, a position it would occupy until World War II. This newest title in a celebrated series addresses such diverse topics as aesthetics, literature, the changing role of women, and the transformation of avant-garde culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Teeming with nearly three million people from all walks of life, Paris between the two great wars experienced an artistic and intellectual golden age, detailed and illustrated here. During these years, writers explored unconventional subjects and styles, from Colette's exploration of the struggle between the sexes to Céline's unconventional language and a darkly absurd vision of humanity. In music and dance, Stravinsky composed two emblematic works of modern neoclassicism, Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms; American jazz flowed in Montmartre clubs; Josephine Baker's topless dancing caused a sensation; and the Ballets Russes recruited the greatest practitioners of the dance, musical, and visual arts for revolutionary new ballets. Radical modernist architects grouped around Le Corbusier. Matisse's sensual odalisques, Duchamp's Mona Lisa with Mustache, Picasso's war-inspired Guernica, Chagall's dreamy flying lovers, and Dalí's and Magritte's disturbing images all defined the era. The essays by the art historian authors are competent although dry and lacking a unifying introduction. The real treats are abundant illustrations that evoke a singular era that is indelibly impressed upon our collective cultural consciousness. (Dec.)
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About the Author

Vincent Bouvet is an art historian specializing in 19th- and 20th-century decorative arts.

 

Gérard Durozoi, a French philosopher and art historian, is editor of a dictionary of modern and contemporary art and author of the acclaimed History of the Surrealist Movement.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Vendome Press (November 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086565252X
• ISBN-13: 978-0865652521
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I remember Paris December 16, 2010

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

This heavy 9x6 book does an amazing job of telling the story of Paris between the wars - between the victory parades of WWI and the march into the city by the Germans in WWII. During these years Paris was the center of all art and style and bohemian life
There are seemingly as many pictures as there is text. Many of the illustrations are full page and they explain what the picture is and the year it was done. The photos, drawings and paintings are of the city, the people, the nightlife and style.

The book is well organized into: everyday life - which explains how the ordinary citizens lived and what their living conditions were like, where they shopped and what they did. City planning and the ideas to transform Paris are covered, as are the decorative arts- buildings, design and furnishings. Of course the world of fashion, painting and sculpture are included, as is photography, intellectual life and music. The pleasures of Paris and the café society, cabarets, dance halls and ladies of the evening conclude the days of Paris between the wars.

The text for all these sections is worthy of note and covers every aspect of life; you can see and feel the city and its people, they are so well described and with the addition of the pictures you feel as if you are there...what a perfect way to show history.
Lovers of Paris, history, culture and art would enjoy this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Arts and history holdings strong in French and European history must have this January 17, 2011

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

Paris Between the Wars 1919-1939: Art, Life & Culture provides a fine survey of Paris in the years following World war I, when it attracted artists and intellectuals from around the world. The melding of cultural forces in Paris during the two decades between the wars are captured in a survey exploring achievements in all the arts, and packs in a visual feast of drawings, paintings, period photos, ads, film stills and more. Arts and history holdings strong in French and European history must have this.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a must for Paris lovers January 25, 2011

By Robert C. Finigan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This well written and superbly illustrated book must be in the library of anyone in love with the City of Lights. The historical period it covers is an intriguing time, and often dismissed by frivolous accounts of the 'roaring '20s'. But as this book makes abundantly clear, there was much more of interest going on in Paris in the years between the wars.