Martin Rosenberg, The European Studies Journal
"We should be grateful for the many stimulating observations [Rand] contributes."
his emphasis on consciousness; his incredible pictorial concision; the complexity and oddity of the relationships, like those in La Gare Saint-Lazare so strikingly and coolly presented." (Rima Drell Reck, The French Review
"Rand has identified brilliantly the sources of Manet's talent for outraging his critics and befuddling even his advocates, including Zola
Book Description
The art of Edouard Manet has been called upon to support various, mostly conflicting, theories about nineteenth-century art, modernist painting, Realism, the personality and intentions of the artist, and the development of Impressionism. Manet was an exceedingly private man and left scant record of his ideas and ambitions. Harry Rand's consideration of Manet's friendship with Stphane Mallarm illuminates their shared aesthetic, and his close examination of the pictorial organization of a particular painting, the Gare Saint- Lazare (also known as The Railway), yields unmistakable clues to Manet's thoughts about painting, literature, and society.
From the Back Cover
"I would expect Rand's interpretation, however controversial it may be, to bring the issue of the depiction of 'consciousness' into the center of the arena in which Manet scholars battle over a proper interpretation." (Richard Shiff)
About the Author
Harry Rand is Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Manet's Contemplation at the Gare Saint-Lazare FROM THE PUBLISHER
'Rand's book offers many perspectives. His reading of the Manet 'Gare Saint-Lazare' is moving and shaped my whole 'vision' of it. The book opens up an area of much-needed thought on the strangely complex years that harbored so rich a production of poetry and painting--as those fin de siecle decades.' -Germaine Bree
Art & Photography
Book Info
