Books with title Masterpiece

The Masterpiece is the tragic story of Claude Lantier, an ambitious and talented young artist who has come from the provinces to conquer Paris but is conquered instead by the flaws of his own genius. Set in the 1860s and 1870s, it is the most autobiographical of the twenty novels in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series. It provides a unique insight into Zola's career as a writer and his relationship with Cezanne, a friend since their schooldays in Aix-en-Provence. It also presents a well-documented account of the turbulent Bohemian world in which the Impressionists came to prominence despite the conservatism of the Academy and the ridicule of the general public.

HIS MASTERPIECE which in the original French bears the title of L’Oeuvre, is a strikingly accurate story of artistic life in Paris during the latter years of the Second Empire. Amusing at times, extremely pathetic and even painful at others, it not only contributes a necessary element to the Rougon-Macquart series of novels—a series illustrative of all phases of life in France within certain dates—but it also represents a particular period of M. Zola’s own career and work. Some years, indeed, before the latter had made himself known at all widely as a novelist, he had acquired among Parisian painters and sculptors considerable notoriety as a revolutionary art critic, a fervent champion of that ‘Open-air’ school which came into being during the Second Empire, and which found its first real master in Edouard Manet, whose then derided works are regarded, in these later days, as masterpieces. Manet died before his genius was fully recognised; still he lived long enough to reap some measure of recognition and to see his influence triumph in more than one respect among his brother artists. Indeed, few if any painters left a stronger mark on the art of the second half of the nineteenth century than he did, even though the school, which he suggested rather than established, lapsed largely into mere impressionism—a term, by the way, which he himself coined already in 1858; for it is an error to attribute it—as is often done—to his friend and junior, Claude Monet.

37 masterpieces inspire an artist in this introduction to art history that includes a search-and-find game. "Today I will make a new painting," declares an artist, but first she must build a stretcher to stretch the canvas; select which paints, brushes, and palette knives to use; and, most importantly, decide what to paint. Will she paint a still life in the style of Robert S. Duncanson or a portrait in the manner of Mary Cassatt? Using reproductions of art from the National Gallery of Art by Vincent van Gogh, Judith Leyster, Claude Monet and others pivotal figures in art history, Roxie Munroe introduces readers to a variety of iconic artists, art styles, and time periods. The sweeping painting she creates by the book's end cleverly incorporates all 37 pieces she has considered. Eagle-eyed readers will love finding the works of art in her painting and learning more about the artists in the notes in the back matter. You'll want to start building canvases and mixing colors for a masterpiece of your very own!

Gold medal winner of the 2016 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards! Nineteen-year-old Ivy Redd's talent with a needle and thread has earned her a spot on a coveted reality TV art competition set in New York's Metropolitan Museum. The prize: a significant amount of money and instant acceptance into the Masterpiecers, the school that ensures new artists fame and fortune. Her talent has also thrust her and her twin sister, Aster, into the spotlight. Not that Aster needed help with becoming a media favorite. She managed that on her own by running over a wanted Mafioso. She told the police it was self-defense, because she couldn't tell them the truth - the truth would make her sister look bad. Locked in an Indiana jail to await her trial, Aster watches Ivy on the small TV hanging in the dayroom. It's the highlight of her day, until she finds out what her sister truly thinks of her. Then, observing her sister becomes a punishment far crueler than imprisonment.