The Judgment of Paris, Ross King
The Judgment of Paris, Ross King
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Judgment of Paris
The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism

Author: Ross King

Narrator: Tristan Layton

Unabridged: 14 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/10/2006

Categories: Nonfiction, Art


Synopsis

While the Civil War raged in America, another very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been, at its inception, quite so controversial. The drama of its birth, played out on canvas, would at times resemble a battlefield; and, as Ross King reveals, Impressionism would reorder both history and culture as it resonated around the world.

The Judgment of Paris chronicles the dramatic decade between two famous exhibitions—the scandalous Salon des Refuses in 1863 and the first Impressionist showing in 1874—set against the rise and dramatic fall of Napoleon III and the Second Empire after the Franco-Prussian War. A tale of many artists, it revolves around the lives of two, described as "the two poles of art"—Ernest Meissonier, the most famous and successful painter of the 19th century, hailed for his precision and devotion to history; and Edouard Manet, reviled in his time, who nonetheless heralded the most radical change in the history of art since the Renaissance. Out of the fascinating story of their parallel lives, illuminated by their legendary supporters and critics—Zola, Delacroix, Courbet, Baudelaire, Whistler, Monet, Hugo, Degas, and many more—Ross King shows that their contest was not just about Art, it was about competing visions of a rapidly changing world.

With a novelist's skill and the insight of an historian, King recalls a seminal period when Paris was the artistic center of the world, and a revolutionary movement had the power to electrify and divide a nation.

About Ross King

Born and raised in Canada, Ross King has lived in England since 1992. In 2002—03, two books of his were published in the United States, Domino, about the world of masquerades and opera in 18th century London and the New York Times bestselling Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in 2003 in the category of critisicm, in Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling King tells the story of the four years—1508-1512.—Michelangelo spent painting the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine chapel. In this extraordinary book, he presents a magnificent tapestry of day-to-day life of the ingenious Sistine scaffolding and outside in the upheaval of early 16th century Rome.King’s highly acclaimed Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, was an instant hit in the U.S., landing on the New York Times, Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller lists and becoming a handselling favorite among booksellers. Brunelleschi’s Dome was chosen "The 2000 Book Sense Nonfiction Book of the Year" and a Book Sense 76 top ten selection. Anyone familiar with Ross King’s writing knows that he has an astonishing knowledge of European cultural history. He originally planned a career in academia, earning his Ph.D. in English Literature and moving to England to assume a research position at the University of London. King lives near Oxford, England, in the historic town of Woodstock, the site of Blenheim Palace. He is a devoted cyclist and hikes regularly in both the Pyrenees and the Canadian Rockies.

About Tristan Layton

TRISTAN LAYTON has performed in plays in London and New York and served as a television host.  He's done voice work for documentaries as well as for television and radio commercials.  Tristan's audiobook credits include reading Ross King’s The Judgment of Paris, Sebastian Faulks's Devil May Care, and David Nicholls's The Understudy.  Known as “The Master of Accents,” Tristan currently lives in New York. 


Reviews

I believe many of us fall into the category: “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” For those who want to know more about Impressionism, the style of painting that created a revolution in the world of art, this book offers a view of the decade that led up to that shift. If you love th......more

Goodreads review by Robert on April 15, 2012

Stirring and dramatic. The book tells the story of a sea-change in art by concentrating on two painters, Manet and Messonier. If you've never heard of Meissonier, don't worry--few have. He was the most successful French painter in the second half of the 19th century, but his reputation collapsed alm......more

Goodreads review by Dvora on April 12, 2011

I very much enjoyed this history of the beginnings of Impressionism in France. It was well written, fairly well illustrated (there is always the internet for looking up more of the paintings mentioned, but I hate getting up from my reading to do that), and the subject matter and people involved were......more

Goodreads review by Lori on March 28, 2011

This is an excellent exploration of the political, social and artistic background that led to the birth of Impressionism. It is a very detailed, in-depth look at the artists Manet and Meissonier, their work and how that work both exemplified and defied the artistic trends and political environment o......more

Goodreads review by Ensiform on July 06, 2019

This densely-packed, well-researched, erudite 375 page tome is also, somehow, an engaging and readable account of the conflicting careers, and reversing fortunes, of two French painters: Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, whose precise, detailed, studied work makes him the most beloved painter in France,......more


Quotes

“A fluid, engaging account of how the conflicting careers of two French painters-the popular establishment favorite Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and the oft-reviled newcomer Édouard Manet-reveal the slow emergence of Impressionism and its new view of painting and the world.... Of great interest is the savage reception (including laughter and disgust and disdain-even from friends) that Manet endured year after year at the Salons. (He fought a feckless duel with one critic.) A weaker man might have considered another career. King illustrates that the clash of ideas is even more exciting than the clang of swords.” —Kirkus starred review


Awards

  • Audie Award Finalist