While not exactly like "Desperate Housewives," these desperate Impressionists, as portrayed by Sue Roe in "The Private Lives of the Impressionists," lived a life of clear desperation, much of it self-inflicted, for 40 years (more or less).
I liked "Private Lives." It is a good book, a good read, and easily recommended -- especially to those who already know something about Impressionist Art and have a clear idea as to who these 10 to 15 people are, their place in art history and their place in our everyday understanding of the fine arts in general. The writing is uneven at times, and I wish (as other reviewers have pointed out) that a strong editor with an eye to correct English usage had wielded a stronger hand. But those errors and miscues are minor.
Why were the Impressionists so desperate? Money, money, money. The book could have easily been titled, "The Business of Impressionism." At least one-third of the book is devoted to buying, selling, promoting, paying (or not paying) rent, borrowing, penury, and on-and-on descriptions of the hapless monetary/financial lives of the Impressionists. We could have done with less.
With some exceptions (such as Caillebotte and very few others who had family money), these artists lived on what many refer to as OPM (Other People's Money) during most of their early careers (up to about the 1890s). Thus, for only 10 to 20 years of their lives did any of these artists enjoy the "fruits of their labors," and live a life of relative non-desperation.
We could have done with more art. One learns little about the Art of Impressionism, how these artists' works vary one from the other, let alone why their art is enduring and 125 years later enjoys ever-expanding popularity. The book focuses so much on the marketing, business and financial aspects of the Impressionists lives and works that their actual art is too-often ignored or minimized. Pity that. The photographs of the art in the book are far too few, way too small, and often a poor example of the works of these artists. Caillebotte's work is certainly badly represented.
The book is a "group biography," and as such is a difficult undertaking. Roe does a good job of shifting the scene from one artist's problems to another's. The pace is good. Sometimes there is simply TMI (too much information) about background and family stuff, but in the main, we get a clear picture of these individuals and of the group dynamic.
Almost without exception, the individuals in this group of Impressionists are seen as selfish, self-centered, incompetent at social relations, terrible at marriage and fidelity, isolationist and incapable of dealing with ordinary life pressures around the topic of money. They were awful at the business of painting. Roe makes one thing crystal clear: painting and paintings are a commercial enterprise, and these artists were terrible at the commercial aspect of their careers.
If, by way of the slightly misleading title, you thought you would have a peek into the bedrooms of the Impressionists, you'll be disappointed. Even when describing Gustave Caillebotte, who everyone in the world knew then and knows now, was homosexual, Roe describes him as a "private person" who kept his private life to himself and was secretive about it. So, there are no scintillating passages, no sex scenes, and no pure intimacy. Only when describing Manet does Roe deviate from her insistence on ignoring sex. Manet was a known philanderer. His sexual escapades cost him his life. He died of syphilis in 1883 at age 50.
Instead she focuses us on their impoverishment, their ridiculously bad relationships, and their almost neurotic tendency to ignore reality and the world around them. The French war against Prussia in the early 1870's showed the true character of many of the painters. Some escaped and avoided; others served in the armed forces.
What is most interesting about this group is that they were a group. It was the first and only time in the history of modern art that a group of artists banded together (more or less and with a lot of in-fighting) to further their collective vision and fate. Though they fought tooth and nail with each other, not always without petty jealousies, they made their mark on the art world because they were a group that simply would not go away. In addition, the group provided a breakthrough for women painters, since 2 of these extraordinary Impressionist painters were women.
Finally, we learn much about the business of Art. The Impressionists would not have made a nickel, really, were it not for agents or other representatives who served as "middle-men" between buyers and artists. One such agent literally made the Impressionists a success single-handedly. Without him and his successors, these painters might very well still wallow in oblivion. The payoff for the reader is in the final pages where we learn something of the present-day value of their priceless works, a phenomenon related as much to the skill of marketing their works as to the inherent value of the art itself.
A very good read, and it rates a 4.
Get more detail about
The Private Lives of the Impressionists.
