First published in 1883, but never before translated into English, this collection of J.-K. Huysmans’ art criticism reveals the author of Against Nature to be as combative in his aesthetic opinions as he was in his literary ones. At a time when the Impressionists were still being ridiculed, or worse still ignored, Huysmans defiantly proclaimed Degas to be the best painter in France. He filled his pages with analyses of the works of artists whose genius and popularity have been confirmed by time: Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Gauguin, Mary Cassatt, Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Odilon Redon and Gustave Moreau.Huysmans intersperses his reviews of these independent artists with those of the annual Official Salon, whose conventional and dryly academic works he lambasts with his customary gusto and invective.This is the first complete translation of L’Art moderne, and includes 200 black and white illustrations, notes and a glossary of artists.
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Brendan King is a freelance writer, reviewer and translator with a special interest in late nineteenth-century French fiction. His Ph.D. was on the life and work of J.-K.Huysmans. He has translated La-Bas, Parisian Sketches, Marthe, Against Nature, Stranded, The Cathedral, The Vatard Sisters, Drifting and Modern Art by J.-K. Huysmans for Dedalus. He has also edited The Life of J.-K.Huysmans by Robert Baldick for Dedalus. He lives in Paris.