Gabriel P. Weisberg Book order

"Léon Bonvin (1834-1866) never enjoyed the same notoriety as his half-brother, Franc̦ois (1817-1887), who was a well-regarded realist painter in the nineteenth century. The few sources that have come down to us convey the image of a misunderstood and ill-fated artist -- before his memory disappeared almost completely from view. In order to make a living, Léon Bonvin was obliged to take over his father's inn in Vaugirard. There he painted watercolours far from the gaze of the Parisian artistic and cultural milieu. He found his subjects in his immediate environment: bunches of wild flowers, still lifes, views of the still rural and working-class plain on the outskirts of Paris. The sincerity with which he depicted the reality of his everyday existence led him to an art of singular poetry. This catalogue raisonné of his work is introduced by a series of essays, the outcome of intensive research that sheds new light on the life and art of Léon Bonvin. The volume includes all of the currently known works by the artist, which are scattered throughout public and private collections, mainly in the United States of America and France. Among these are many which have never been published before." --back cover

Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan- Bouveret (1852-1929) was among a group of the most creative students of Jean Leon Gérôme, the leading French academic painter of his day. A well-established naturalist painter and an artist acknowledged worldwide during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Dagnan-Bouveret used contemporary themes and techniques to modernize the academic tradition in an attempt to meet the aesthetic changes initiated by the impressionists. Displaying real diversity, he created photographically accurate compositions inspired by daily life. His best-known pieces were mesmerizing mystical-religious compositions. Accolades at the1900 Paris Exposition Universelle and induction into the French Institute not only assured the status of his work, but also furthered his position as the upholder of the academic tradition at a time when it was coming under renewed attack by the modernists. The publication of this book coincides with an exhibition by the Dahesh Museum of Art in New York City of Dagnan-Bouveret's work—the first in a century. Against the Modern pays special attention to the evolution of this artist's work, and brings to the public gaze the real diversity, accessibility—and surprising modernity—that has made Dagnan-Bouveret's work of lasting value.